A.A. Degree General Education
In compliance with Rule 6A-14.0303, General Education Core Course Options, prior to the award of an Associate in Arts degree, students must complete at least one course from each of the General Education subject areas listed in this section.https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ruleno.asp?id=6A-14.0303
- Communication:
- ENC X101 English Composition 1; or
- Any student who successfully completes a course with an ENC prefix for which ENC X101 is an immediate prerequisite shall be considered to have completed the communication core.
- Humanities:
- ARH X000 Art Appreciation;
- HUM X020 Introduction to Humanities;
- LIT X000 Introduction to Literature;
- MUL X010 Music Literature/Music Appreciation;
- PHI X010 Introduction to Philosophy; or
- THE X000 Theatre Appreciation
- Mathematics:
- MAC X105 College Algebra;
- MAC X311 Calculus I;
- MGF X130 Mathematical Thinking;
- STA X023 Statistical Methods; or
- Any student who successfully completes a mathematics course for which one of the general education core courses options in mathematics is an immediate prerequisite shall be considered to have completed the mathematics core.
- Natural Science:
- AST X002 Descriptive Astronomy;
- BSC X005 General Biology
- BSC X010 General Biology I;
- BSC X085 Anatomy and Physiology I;
- CHM X020 Chemistry for Liberal Studies;
- CHM X045 General Chemistry I;
- ESC X000 Introduction to Earth Science;
- EVR X001 Introduction to Environmental Science;
- GLY X010 Introduction to Geology;
- OCE X001 Introduction to Oceanography;
- PHY X020 Fundamentals of Physics;
- PHY X048 General Physics with Calculus;
- PHY X053 General Physics I; or
- Any student who successfully completes a natural science course for which one of the general education core course options in natural science is an immediate prerequisite shall be considered to have completed the natural science core.
- Social Sciences:
- AMH X010 Introduction to Survey to 1877. NOTE: AMH X010 taken prior to Fall 2024 will not satisfy the general education core requirement for the discipline area;
- AMH X020 Introduction to Survey Since 1877 (also meets Civic Literacy Competency);
- ANT X000 Introduction to Anthropology;
- ECO X013 Principles of Macroeconomics;
- POS X041 American Government (also meets Civic Literacy Competency);or
- PSY X012 Introduction to Psychology.
Indian River State College requires all incoming students from the 2018-2019 academic year and beyond, to meet the Civic Literacy requirement. All first-time-in-college (FTIC) students entering all Florida College System (FCS) and State University System (SUS) institutions must demonstrate competency in civic literacy by the time they graduate per Florida Statute 1007.25 and Florida Board of Governors Regulation 8.006. There are three cohorts of students currently matriculating at Florida public institutions subject to varying Civic Literacy requirements . As demonstrated below, the exact civic literacy requirements are based on the academic term in which a student first enrolled in a Florida public institution. If you are unsure which cohort you fall into, schedule an appointment with your assigned academic advisor.
Cohort 1: Prior to the award of an associate in arts or baccalaureate degree, first-time-in-college students entering a Florida College System institution between the 2018-19 to 2020-21 school year must demonstrate competency in civic literacy by successfully completing either a course or an exam.
Cohort 2: Prior to the award of an associate in arts or baccalaureate degree, students initially entering a Florida College System institution in the 2021-22 school year, and thereafter, must demonstrate competency in civic literacy by successfully completing a course and an exam.
Cohort 3: Prior to the award of an associate in science or associate in applied science degree, students initially entering a Florida College System institution in the 2022-23 school year, and thereafter, must demonstrate competency in civic literacy by successfully completing a course and an exam.
In compliance with the Florida Department of Education Rule 6A-10.02413, students must demonstrate civic literacy competency prior to the award of an Associates or Bachelors degree. The State Board of Education defines civics literacy competency as follows:
- Earning a passing grade in AMH 2010 (if taken Fall 2024 and forward), AMH 2020 or POS 1041 AND earning a passing score on the Florida Civics Literacy Exam
OR
- Passing one of the following exams which gives students credit for the course and civics literacy exam
AP Government and Politics: United States (3)
AP United States History (4)
CLEP: American Government (50)
CLEP: History of the United States (50) (if taken Fall 2024 and forward).
Required Courses for Graduation - (A.A. Degree) – 36 Semester Hours
The faculty of Indian River State College are committed to the continuous improvement of teaching and learning. The Associate in Arts Program Learning Outcomes represent the essential skills needed for successful transfer from the Associate in Arts to the baccalaureate. The Associate in Arts Program Learning outcomes include the General Education Learning Outcomes as a core component of the A.A. Curriculum.
Associate in Arts Learning Outcomes
- Behavioral and Social Analysis - Demonstrate critical thinking skills in the analysis, evaluation, and formation of ideas about the human experience.
- Communication - Demonstrate effective communication skills for a variety of audiences.
- Critical thinking - Demonstrate ability to interpret meaning and draw conclusions using evidence as support.
- Ethical Reasoning - Demonstrate ability to recognize, understand, and use ethical reasoning.
- Historical Thinking - Demonstrate ability to analyze change, continuity, complexity, context, and causality of historical events, people, ideas, or process.
- Information Literacy - Demonstrate the ability to think critically about how information is created, consumed, and distributed. Recognize when information is needed and demonstrate the ability to locate, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Demonstrate mathematical reasoning in problem solving.
- Scientific Reasoning - Demonstrate scientific reasoning in problem solving.
Degree Requirements
Students intending to transfer into one of the state’s universities to complete a four-year degree are encouraged to review the admission requirements (including prerequisites) of their intended institution.
Communications - 6 credits
Students must complete ENC 1101 to comply with General Education Core Course Options.
| and select one from the following: | |
| College Core General Education Courses | |
| ENC 1102 | English Composition II | 3 credits |
| ENC 1107 | Advanced College Writing | 3 credits |
| ENC 2210 | Technical Writing | 3 credits |
| MMC 2100 | Writing for Mass Communications | 3 credits |
| SPC 1608 | Public Speaking | 3 credits |
In each of the above courses, students will demonstrate college-level writing skills through multiple assignments and complete each course with a grade of "C" or higher..
Humanities - 6 credits
Students must choose one course from the State Core General Education Courses and one course from either State Core General Education Courses or College Core General Education courses.
| State Core General Education Courses | |
| ARH 1000 | Art Appreciation | 3 credits |
| HUM 1020 | Introduction to Humanities | 3 credits |
| LIT 1000 | Introduction to Literature | 3 credits |
| MUL 2010 | Music Appreciation | 3 credits |
| THE 1000 | Introduction to Theatre | 3 credits |
| PHI 1010 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 credits |
| College Core General Education Courses | |
| AML 2010 | American Literature through Reconstruction | 3 credits |
| AML 2020 | American Literature from Reconstruction to Present | 3 credits |
| AML 2600 | Introduction to African American Literature | 3 credits |
| ENL 2012 | English Literature: Medieval to Romantic Era | 3 credits |
| ENL 2022 | English Literature: Romantic Era to Present | 3 credits |
| ENL 2330 | Introduction to Shakespeare | 3 credits |
| LIT 2110 | World Literature from ancient through the Renaissance | 3 credits |
| LIT 2120 | World Literature from the Enlightenment through the present | 3 credits |
| LIT 2190 | Caribbean Literature | 3 credits |
| MUL 2012 | Survey of Music Literature - Musical Theater | 3 credits |
| MUY 2100 | Music and Music Therapy | 3 credits |
| PHI 1002 | Philosophical Practice | 3 credits |
| PHI 1071 | Eastern Philosophies | 3 credits |
| PHI 1103 | Critical and Creative Thinking | 3 credits |
| PHI 1113 | Reason and Emotion | 3 credits |
| PHI 1624 | Philosophy and Popular Culture | 3 credits |
| PHI 1635 | Ethical Issues in Health Care | 3 credits |
| PHI 1801 | Philosophy of Art | 3 credits |
| PHI 2100 | Introduction to Logic | 3 credits |
| PHI 2620 | Environmental Ethics | 3 credits |
| PHI 2630 | Introduction to Ethics | 3 credits |
| PHP 1791 | Existentialism | 3 credits |
| REL 1300 | Introduction to World Religions | 3 credits |
| THE 2300 | Survey of Dramatic Literature | 3 credits |
In each of the above courses, students will demonstrate college-level writing skills through multiple assignments and complete each course with a grade of "C" or higher.
Mathematics - 6 credits
Students must choose one course from the State Core General Education Courses and one course from either State Core General Education Courses or College Core General Education courses.
Effective Fall 2024 MGF 1106 and MGF1107 no longer meet General Education Core Course Options for Mathematics subject area.
Effective Fall 2017, Associate in Arts degree-seeking students must enroll in the first required math course appropriate for their degree by the time they have earned fifteen college credits or reached the 25% benchmark toward degree. These students must enroll in a math course each subsequent semester until the math General Education requirement has been met.
| State Core General Education Courses | |
| MAC 1105 | College Algebra | 3 credits |
| MGF 1130 | Mathematical Thinking | 3 credits |
| STA 2023 | Elementary Statistics I | 3 credits |
| MAC 2311 | Calculus I with Analytic Geometry | 5 credits |
| College Core General Education Courses | |
| MAC 1114 | Plane Trigonometry | 3 credits |
| MAC 1140 | Precalculus Algebra | 3 credits |
| MAC 1147 | Precalculus/Trigonometry | 5 credits |
| MAC 2233 | Business Calculus I | 3 credits |
| MAD 2104 | Discrete Mathematics | 3 credits |
| MAP 2302 | Differential Equations | 3 credits |
| MGF 1106 | Survey in Mathematics | 3 credits |
| MGF 1131 | Mathematics in Context | 3 credits |
| MTG 2204 | Elementary Geometry | 3 credits |
Students must complete each course with a grade of C or higher.
Science - 6 credits
Students must choose one course from the State Core General Education Courses and one course from either State Core General Education Courses or College Core General Education courses. IRSC does not offer ESC 1000, or EVR 1001, but does accept the courses as Natural Science General Education.
GLY 1010 and OCE 2001 taken prior to Fall 2024 will not satisfy the general education core requirement for the discipline area.
| State Core General Education Courses | |
| AST 1002 | General Astronomy | 3 credits |
| BSC 1005 | Life Science | 3 credits |
| BSC 2010 | General Biology I | 3 credits |
| BSC 2085 | Anatomy & Physiology I | 3 credits |
| CHM 1020 | Introduction to Chemistry | 3 credits |
| CHM 1045 | General Chemistry I | 3 credits |
| GLY 1010 | Introduction to Geology | 3 credits |
| OCE 2001 | Introduction to Oceanography | 3 credits |
| PHY 1020 | Principles of Physics | 3 credits |
| PHY 2048 | Physics with Calculus I | 3 credits |
| PHY 1053 | College Physics I | 3 credits |
| College Core General Education Courses | |
| BSC 1020 | Introduction to Human Biology | 3 credits |
| BSC 1020L | Introduction to Human Biology Lab | 1 credit |
| BSC 1084 | Survey of the Human Body | 3 credits |
| BSC 2011 | General Biology II | 3 credits |
| BSC 2011L | General Biology II Lab | 1 credit |
| BSC 2086 | Anatomy & Physiology II | 3 credits |
| CHM 1046 | General Chemistry II | 3 credits |
| CHM 1046L | General Chemistry II Lab | 1 credit |
| OCB 1000 | Introduction to Marine Biology | 3 credits |
| OCB 1630 | Marine Ecology | 3 credits |
| PHY 2048L | Physics with Calculus I Lab | 1 credit |
| PHY 2049 | Physics with Calculus II | 3 credits |
| PHY 2049L | Physics with Calculus II Lab | 1 credit |
| PHY 1054 | College Physics II | 3 credits |
| PHY 1054L | College Physics II Lab | 1 credit |
| PSC 1121 | Survey of Physical Science | 3 credits |
Students intending to transfer into one of the state’s universities to complete a four-year degree are encouraged to review the admission requirements (including prerequisites) of their intended institution.
Social Science - Students must take 6 credits from the following
Students must choose at least one course from the State Core General Education Courses, the remaining 9 credits may be taken from either State Core General Education Courses or College Core General Education courses, however 6 credits must be taken from each of the two Social Science areas, for a total of 12 credits of Social Science Courses.
NOTE: AMH 2010 taken prior to Fall 2024 will not satisfy the general education core requirement for the discipline area.
Successful completion of AMH 2010 (if taken Fall 2024 and forward), AMH 2020, or POS 1041 may also satisfy the course requirement of the civic literacy competency.
| State Core General Education Courses | |
| AMH 2010 | American History: Discovery through Reconstruction | 3 credits |
| AMH 2020 | American History: Reconstruction to the Present | 3 credits |
| College Core General Education Courses | |
| WOH 2012 | World History to 1500 | 3 credits |
| WOH 2022 | World History Since 1500 | 3 credits |
| WOH 2040 | World in the 20th Century | 3 credits |
Social Science - Students must take 6 credits from the following
| State Core General Education Courses | |
| ANT 1000 | Introduction to General Anthropology | 3 credits |
| ECO 2013 | Principles of Economics Macro | 3 credits |
| POS 1041 | American Government | 3 credits |
| PSY 2012 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 credits |
| College Core General Education Courses | |
| DEP 2004 | Human Development | 3 credits |
| ECO 2023 | Principles of Economics Micro | 3 credits |
| INR 2002 | Introduction to International Relations | 3 credits |
| SPC 1017 | Fundamentals of Speech Communication | 3 credits |
| SYG 1361 | Sociology of Death | 3 credits |
| SYG 2000 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 credits |
| SYG 2010 | Social Problems | 3 credits |
Students must take 12 credits total of Social Science courses.
Electives – 24 Credits
No upper level or courses with the designation (N) are permitted in the Associate in Arts Degree program.
Required Prerequisites
(See Program Listings or Advisor)
To earn the Associate in Arts Degree, certain General Education requirements and elective courses must be satisfactorily completed. Although A.A. students at Indian River State College do not declare majors, students must select prerequisite courses which will best prepare them for transfer into a particular major field at a specific college or university.
In planning their program of study at IRSC, it is strong recommended that students schedule an appointment with their assigned Academic Advisor. Academic Advisors specialize in specific meta-majors and can suggest the most appropriate coursework for meeting the General Education requirements, as specific General Education courses may be recommended for a particular meta-major. In addition, the assigned Academic Advisor can suggest prerequisites and explain the correct sequence of courses for a specific degree program and major.
The length of programs may vary depending on the major area of study and the college or university the student plans to attend.
The listings are examples of programs that meet the requirements for the Associate in Arts Degree and include prerequisite electives generally recommended for certain majors at most of the state (public) universities. Students should check, however, that the suggested courses meet the requirement for the major field at the specific college or university that they plan to attend. Choice of program and selection of courses are the student’s responsibility.
The Program Code required for the IRSC Application for Admission is the five digit number following the Program Title.