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. Communications12
Area 2. Humanities6
Area 3. Mathematics6
Area 4. Science6
Area 5. Social Sciences6
Total Credit Hours36

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 1101FRESHMAN COMPOSITION I +*~3
or ENC 1101H Freshman Comp I Honors
Freshman Composition II
ENC 1102Freshman 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 Experience3
New Student Experience ~
NEW STUDENT EXPERIENCE-HONORS
Total Credit Hours12

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
Core3
ART APPRECIATION ~
Intro To Humanities ~
Intro to Humanities - Honors
Intro to Lit ~
MUSIC APPRECIATION +*~ (GR)
Philosophy ~
INTRODUCTION TO THEATER ~
Institutional 3
HUMANITIES - GREEK AND ROMAN +*~ (GR)
Humanities Greek and Roman Hon
THE MIDDLE AGES +*~ (GR)
THE MIDDLE AGES HONORS
Hum Renaissance and Baroque +*~ (GR)
Hum Renaissnce and Barque Hon
18TH AND 19TH CENTURY HUM +*~ (GR)
18TH & 19TH CENTURY HUM HONORS
20TH AND 21ST CENTURY HUM +*~ (GR)
20TH & 21ST CENTURY HUM HONORS
Mythology +*~ (GR)
Mythology Honors
MIDDLE EASTERN HUMANITIES +*~ (GR)
Asian Humanities +*~ (GR)
AFRICAN - AMERICAN HUMANITIES +*~ (GR)
Latin American Humanities +*~ (GR)
LATIN AMERICAN HUMANITIES - HONORS
WORLD RELIGIONS +*~ (GR)
History of Architecture I +*~ (GR)
Introduction to Art History II +*~ (GR)
Music Theory I ~
ETHICS AND CRITICAL THINKING +*~ (GR)
Total Credit Hours6

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 hours3
College Algebra +*~ (GR)
College Algebra - Honors
COLLEGE MATHEMATICS +*~ (GR)
COLLEGE MATHEMATICS - HONORS
Math for the Liberal Arts +*~ (GR)
CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY I +*~ (GR)
Calc/Analytic Geometry I Honor
Statistical Methods +*~ (GR)
Statistical Methods - Honors
Institutional ^students may take three or more credit hours3
College Trigonometry +*~ (GR)
Precalculus Algebra +*~ (GR)
CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY II +*~ (GR)
Calc/Analytic Geometry II-Hnrs
Calc For Busn and Soc Scien +*~ (GR)
Calc for Busin and Soc Sci H
Total Credit Hours6

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 required3
Astronomy ~
Astronomy-Honors
Biological Science ~
LAB IN APPLIED BIOLOGY ~
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE COMBINED ~
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE - HONORS
GENERAL BIOLOGY I *~
GENERAL BIOLOGY I HONORS
Chemistry In Everyday Life ~
GENERAL CHEMISTRY WITH QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS *~
GENERAL CHEMISTRY WITH QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS I -HONORS
Earth Science ~
Intro to Environ Science ~
Intro to Environ Science Hon
Conceptual Physics ~
GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS I *~
GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS I - HONORS
COLLEGE PHYSICS I WITH ALGEBRA *~
Institutional ^students may take three or more credit hours3
BOTANY ~
GENERAL BIOLOGY II *~
GENERAL BIOLOGY II - HONORS
Human Biology ~
HUMAN BIOLOGY COMBINED ~
Biology of Human Sexuality ~
Biol of Human Sexuality Honors
INTRODUCTION TO BIOTECHNOLOGY ~
HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY I *~
HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY II *~
INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL CHEMISTRY *~
GENERAL CHEMISTRY WITH QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS II *~
Physical Geology ~
Geology of National Parks ~
The Science of Nutrition
Intro To Meteorology ~
Intro to Marine Biology ~
Intro To Oceanography ~
Intro to Oceanography-Honors
GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS II *~
COLLEGE PHYSICS II WITH ALGEBRA AND TRIGONOMETRY *~
MICROBIOLOGY *~
Total Credit Hours6

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.
Core3
U.S. Government ~
US Government Honors
U.S. History 1877 to Present ~
US Hist 1877 to Pres Honors
Introductory Anthropology ~
Introductory Anthropology Hon
Principles of Economics-Macro
Prin of Economics-Macro-Honors
General Psychology ~
General Psychology-Honors
Introductory Sociology
Introductory Sociology-Honors
Institutional 3
DEAF CULTURE +*~ (GR)
Ancient and Medieval West Civ +*~ (GR)
Modern Western Civ +*~ (GR)
MODERN WESTERN CIVILIZATION-HONORS
International Politics +*~ (GR)
International Politics Honors
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT +*~ (GR)
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT - HONORS
Total Credit Hours6

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 1121    		Elementary Arabic I
    and Elementary Arabic II    		8
    ASL 2140
    & ASL 2150    		American Sign Language I
    and American Sign Language II    		8
    CHI 1120
    & CHI 1121    		ELEMENTARY CHINESE I
    and ELEMENTARY CHINESE II    		8
    FRE 1120
    & FRE 1121    		Elementary French I
    and Elementary French II    		8
    GER 1120
    & GER 1121    		Elementary German l
    and Elementary German ll    		8
    ITA 1120
    & ITA 1121    		Elementary Italian I
    and Elementary Italian II    		8
    JPN 1120
    & JPN 1121    		ELEMENTARY JAPANESE I
    and ELEMENTARY JAPANESE II    		8
    LAT 1120
    & LAT 1121    		Elementary Latin I
    and Elementary Latin II    		8
    POR 1120
    & POR 1121    		ELEMENTARY PORTUGUESE I
    and ELEMENTARY PORTUGUESE II    		8
    POR 1340
    & POR 1341    		PORTUGUESE FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS I
    and PORTUGUESE FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS II    		8
    SPN 1120
    & SPN 1121    		Elementary Spanish I
    and Elementary Spanish II    		8
    SPN 1340
    & SPN 1341    		Spanish for Heritage Speakers
    and Spanish for Heritage Speakerll    		8
  • 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.