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An associate's degree is a degree awarded by community colleges,
junior colleges and some bachelor's degree-granting colleges and
universities in Canada and the United States upon completion of a course of
study equivalent to the first two years in a four-year college or
university. It is the lowest in the hierarchy of academic degrees offered in
these countries. Common abbreviations are AA (Associate of Arts), AS
(Associate of Science) and AAS (Associate of Applied Science).
Generalized categories or types of Associate's Degrees
It is possible to break the Associate's Degree into three general
categories.
An Associate of Arts degree is often awarded for programs that are
terminal or intended for transfer to a four year college, usually with a
major in the social sciences or humanities. It is also awarded to General
Studies students, those who decline to select an area of concentration.
The Associate of Science degree is similarly awarded to terminal
students or to potential transferees to a four years college, but the areas
of concentration are usually in mathematics, natural sciences, or
technology.
The Associate of Applied Science degree is awarded to students who
are permitted to relax some of the general education requirements in order
to study more course work in their program area. Typically, this kind of
degree is for students who intend to enter the work force upon graduation.
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