General Education and Course Requirements
The Associate in Arts degree requires a minimum of 60 acceptable college-level credits including 36 credits in general education, 24 credits of acceptable electives, and satisfaction of the foreign language proficiency requirement.
General Education Program Requirements for the Associate in Arts Degree (36 Credits)
The general education program at Valencia is an integral part of the A.A. degree program and is designed to contribute to the student’s educational growth by providing a basic liberal arts education. A student who completes the general education program should have achieved the following outcomes:
Cultural and Historical Understanding: Demonstrate understanding of the diverse traditions of the world, and an individual’s place in it.
Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning: Use processes, procedures, data, or evidence to solve problems and make effective decisions.
Communication Skills: Engage in effective interpersonal, oral and written communication.
Ethical Responsibility: Demonstrate awareness of personal responsibility in one’s civic, social and academic life.
Information Literacy: Locate, evaluate and effectively use information from diverse sources.
Critical Thinking: Effectively analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and apply information and ideas from diverse sources and disciplines.
There are two approaches to general education at Valencia. The first is 36 semester credits which serve as the core of the curriculum. The 36 credits are selected from 5 core areas of academic courses offered at Valencia: Communications, Humanities, Mathematics, Science and Social Sciences.
The second approach is the 24-semester-credit Interdisciplinary Studies Honors Program and completion of SPC 1608,or SPC 1608Hor SPC 1017,or SPC 1017H, and SLS 1122orSLS 1122H and the six-semester-credit mathematics requirement outlined in Area 3. The description of the first approach follows, and the second approach is described in the Honors section of this catalog.
Area 1. Communications | 12 | |
Area 2. Humanities | 6 | |
Area 3. Mathematics | 6 | |
Area 4. Science | 6 | |
Area 5. Social Sciences | 6 | |
Total Credit Hours | 36 |
Area 1. Communications
Required Courses - There are a required 12 credits. The Freshman Composition courses must be completed with a minimum grade of C to fulfill the Gordon Rule Requirement | ||
Freshman Composition I | ||
ENC 1101 | FRESHMAN COMPOSITION I +*~ | 3 |
or ENC 1101H | Freshman Comp I Honors | |
Freshman Composition II | ||
ENC 1102 | Freshman Comp II +*~ | 3 |
or ENC 1102H | Freshman Comp II-Honors | |
Select one of the following Oral Communication courses: | 3 | |
FUNDAMENTALS OF SPEECH ~ | ||
Fundamentals of Speech- Honors ~ | ||
Interpersonal Communication ~ | ||
Interpersonal Comm - Honors ~ | ||
New Student Experience | 3 | |
New Student Experience ~ | ||
or SLS 1122H | NEW STUDENT EXPERIENCE-HONORS | |
Total Credit Hours | 12 |
Area 2. Humanities
Required Courses - There are 6 required credits. Students must take three credits hours from the Core offerings and three credit hours from Institutional offerings. One course must be a Gordon Rule (GR) course, and completed with a minimum grade of C to fulfill the Gordon Rule Requirement | ||
Core | 3 | |
ART APPRECIATION ~ | ||
Intro To Humanities ~ | ||
or HUM 1020H | Intro to Humanities - Honors | |
Intro to Lit ~ | ||
MUSIC APPRECIATION +*~ (GR) | ||
Philosophy ~ | ||
INTRODUCTION TO THEATER ~ | ||
Institutional | 3 | |
HUMANITIES - GREEK AND ROMAN +*~ (GR) | ||
or HUM 2220H | Humanities Greek and Roman Hon | |
THE MIDDLE AGES +*~ (GR) | ||
or HUM 2223H | THE MIDDLE AGES HONORS | |
Hum Renaissance and Baroque +*~ (GR) | ||
or HUM 2232H | Hum Renaissnce and Barque Hon | |
18TH AND 19TH CENTURY HUM +*~ (GR) | ||
or HUM 2234H | 18TH & 19TH CENTURY HUM HONORS | |
20TH AND 21ST CENTURY HUM +*~ (GR) | ||
or HUM 2250H | 20TH & 21ST CENTURY HUM HONORS | |
Mythology +*~ (GR) | ||
or HUM 2310H | Mythology Honors | |
MIDDLE EASTERN HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | ||
Asian Humanities +*~ (GR) | ||
AFRICAN - AMERICAN HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | ||
Latin American Humanities +*~ (GR) | ||
or HUM 2461H | LATIN AMERICAN HUMANITIES - HONORS | |
WORLD RELIGIONS +*~ (GR) | ||
History of Architecture I +*~ (GR) | ||
Introduction to Art History II +*~ (GR) | ||
or ARH 2051H | ||
Music Theory I ~ | ||
ETHICS AND CRITICAL THINKING +*~ (GR) | ||
Total Credit Hours | 6 |
Area 3. Mathematics
Required Courses - There are 6 required credits. Students must take three credit hours from the Core offerings, and three credit hours from either the Core or Institutional offerings. All courses must be completed with a minimum grade of C to meet the Gordon Rule Requirement. Any student who successfully completes a mathematics course for which one of the general education core course options in mathematics is an immediate prerequisite shall be considered to have completed the mathematics core. | ||
Core ^must take a minimum of three credit hours | 3 | |
College Algebra +*~ (GR) | ||
or MAC 1105H | College Algebra - Honors | |
COLLEGE MATHEMATICS +*~ (GR) | ||
Math for the Liberal Arts +*~ (GR) | ||
CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY I +*~ (GR) | ||
or MAC 2311H | Calc/Analytic Geometry I Honor | |
Statistical Methods +*~ (GR) | ||
or STA 2023H | Statistical Methods - Honors | |
Institutional ^students may take three or more credit hours | 3 | |
College Trigonometry +*~ (GR) | ||
Precalculus Algebra +*~ (GR) | ||
CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY II +*~ (GR) | ||
or MAC 2312H | Calc/Analytic Geometry II-Hnrs | |
Calc For Busn and Soc Scien +*~ (GR) | ||
or MAC 2233H | Calc for Busin and Soc Sci H | |
Total Credit Hours | 6 |
Area 4. Science
Required Courses -There are 6 required credits. Students must take at least three credit hours from the Core offerings and three credit hours from either the Core or Institutional offerings. 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. | ||
Valencia does not require a science course with a laboratory. Courses with a C designation have a combined class and laboratory; however, university majors determine if the student must take one or more laboratory science courses at Valencia. To select the most appropriate science courses for your major or transfer plan, complete an education plan through Atlas. | ||
Core ^minimum of three credit hours required | 3 | |
Astronomy ~ | ||
or AST 1002H | Astronomy-Honors | |
Biological Science ~ | ||
Lab Applied Biology ~ | ||
Biological Science Combined ~ | ||
or BSC 1005H | Biological Science - Honors | |
GENERAL BIOLOGY I *~ | ||
or BSC 1010H | GENERAL BIOLOGY I HONORS | |
Chemistry In Everyday Life ~ | ||
GENERAL CHEMISTRY WITH QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS *~ | ||
or CHM 1045H | GENERAL CHEMISTRY WITH QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS I -HONORS | |
Earth Science ~ | ||
Intro to Environ Science ~ | ||
or EVR 1001H | Intro to Environ Science Hon | |
Conceptual Physics ~ | ||
GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS I *~ | ||
or PHY 2048H | GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS I - HONORS | |
COLLEGE PHYSICS I WITH ALGEBRA *~ | ||
Institutional ^students may take three or more credit hours | 3 | |
Botany ~ | ||
GENERAL BIOLOGY II *~ | ||
or BSC 1011H | General Biology II Honors | |
Human Biology ~ | ||
HUMAN BIOLOGY COMBINED ~ | ||
Biology of Human Sexuality ~ | ||
or BSC 1026H | Biol of Human Sexuality Honors | |
INTRODUCTION TO BIOTECHNOLOGY ~ | ||
HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY I *~ | ||
HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY II *~ | ||
Intro To General Chemistry *~ | ||
Gen Chem Qual Analysis II *~ | ||
Physical Geology ~ | ||
Geology of National Parks ~ | ||
Intro To Meteorology ~ | ||
Intro to Marine Biology ~ | ||
Intro To Oceanography ~ | ||
or OCE 1001H | Intro to Oceanography-Honors | |
GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS II *~ | ||
COLLEGE PHYSICS II WITH ALGEBRA AND TRIGONOMETRY *~ | ||
MICROBIOLOGY *~ | ||
Total Credit Hours | 6 |
Area 5. Social Sciences
Required Courses - There are 6 required credits. Students are required to take three credit hours from the Core offerings and three credit hours from Institutional offerings. The three hours of Institutional credit will apply toward the Gordon Rule (GR) requirement and must be completed with a minimum grade of C to fulfill the Gordon Rule Requirement. | ||
Core | 3 | |
U.S. Government ~ | ||
or POS 2041H | US Government Honors | |
U.S. History 1877 to Present ~ | ||
or AMH 2020H | US Hist 1877 to Pres Honors | |
Introductory Anthropology ~ | ||
or ANT 2000H | Introductory Anthropology Hon | |
Principles of Economics-Macro | ||
or ECO 2013H | Prin of Economics-Macro-Honors | |
General Psychology ~ | ||
or PSY 2012H | General Psychology-Honors | |
Introductory Sociology | ||
or SYG 2000H | Introductory Sociology-Honors | |
Institutional | 3 | |
DEAF CULTURE +*~ (GR) | ||
Ancient and Medieval West Civ +*~ (GR) | ||
Modern Western Civ +*~ (GR) | ||
or EUH 2001H | MODERN WESTERN CIVILIZATION-HONORS | |
International Politics +*~ (GR) | ||
or INR 2002H | International Politics Honors | |
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT +*~ (GR) | ||
or POS 2112H | STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT - HONORS | |
Total Credit Hours | 6 |
+ | This course must be completed with a grade of C or better. |
* | This course has a prerequisite; check description in Valencia catalog |
~ | This is a General Education course. |
(GR) | Denotes a Gordon Rule course |
Electives/Required Prerequisites for Major (24 Credits)
Most college-level credit courses taught at Valencia will count toward elective credit. Any credits in excess of the minimum required in any of the five core areas listed above will count as elective credits. University majors require certain prerequisite courses before transferring; these are the courses that should be taken as electives at Valencia.
To select the most appropriate electives, create an education plan through Atlas for review with a Student Services staff member.
Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement
Valencia’s college-level foreign language proficiency requirement can be satisfied in one of the following ways:
- You may complete two credits (two years) of high school instruction in one language other than English with a passing grade each year as documented on your official high school transcript.
- You may successfully complete one of the following sequences in a single foreign language with a letter grade of “C” or better:
ARA 1120
& ARA 1121Elementary Arabic I
and Elementary Arabic II8 ASL 2140
& ASL 2150American Sign Language I
and American Sign Language II8 CHI 1120
& CHI 1121ELEMENTARY CHINESE I
and ELEMENTARY CHINESE II8 FRE 1120
& FRE 1121Elementary French I
and Elementary French II8 GER 1120
& GER 1121Elementary German l
and Elementary German ll8 ITA 1120
& ITA 1121Elementary Italian I
and Elementary Italian II8 JPN 1120
& JPN 1121ELEMENTARY JAPANESE I
and ELEMENTARY JAPANESE II8 LAT 1120
& LAT 1121Elementary Latin I
and Elementary Latin II8 POR 1120
& POR 1121ELEMENTARY PORTUGUESE I
and ELEMENTARY PORTUGUESE II8 POR 1340
& POR 1341PORTUGUESE FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS I
and PORTUGUESE FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS II8 SPN 1120
& SPN 1121Elementary Spanish I
and Elementary Spanish II8 SPN 1340
& SPN 1341Spanish for Heritage Speakers
and Spanish for Heritage Speakerll8 - You may satisfy this requirement by successfully completing foreign language course work at the Elementary II college level with a minimum grade of "C."
- Demonstration of proficiency by passing a CLEP (College Level Examination Program) foreign language test or a foreign language proficiency test administered by the University of Central Florida. Students who earn college-level foreign language credits through course work or CLEP may apply these credits toward the 24 Elective credits.
- If your native language is a language other than English, you may satisfy the foreign language proficiency requirement by successful completion of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course requirements and successful completion of the Area I Communications requirements for the Associate in Arts degree.
- Demonstrated college-level proficiency in American Sign Language (either through completion of eight semester credits or successful completion of ASL 2150) can be used to fulfill this requirement at Valencia.
- Demonstration of proficiency by passing Advanced Placement test with a score of 4 or higher.
- American Sign Language cannot be used to fulfill the foreign language graduation requirement at many universities. Students are responsible for verifying acceptability at the institution to which they plan to transfer.
Note: Satisfaction of this graduation requirement for Valencia may also satisfy the foreign language admission requirement for Florida public universities; it may or may not satisfy a specific university graduation requirement. Students are encouraged to find out the specific requirements of institutions in which they are interested.