The General Studies degree plans are designed to be flexible. Both are constructed around the Core Curriculum, thereby facilitating the completion of an associate’s degree while fulfilling the Core Curriculum requirements for transfer.

The Core Curriculum is defined in House Bill 2183 of the Texas Legislature as “the curriculum in the liberal arts, humanities, sciences, and political, social, and cultural history that all undergraduates of a particular institution of higher education are required to complete before receiving an associate or baccalaureate degree.” The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is responsible for ensuring that each state-supported college and university has a Core Curriculum. ACC requires students seeking an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science to complete the college’s Core Curriculum of 42 credit hours.

The purpose of the Core Curriculum is to provide the skills, knowledge, and perspectives that help define the educated person. Courses that are included in the Core Curriculum contribute to the acquisition of these skills, perspectives, and to a basic core of knowledge.

A complete list of the Core Curriculum courses is given in the ACC catalog (just click on the Core Curriculum link). To fulfill the Core Curriculum, students are required to take the following semester credit hours (SCH) taken from the approved list:

• 6 SCH/2 courses in Communication (this includes rhetoric, composition, oral communications)
• 3 SCH/1 course in Mathematics
• 6 SCH/2 courses in Life and Physical Sciences
• 3 SCH/1 course in Language, Philosophy, Culture
• 3 SCH/1 course in Creative Arts
• 6 SCH/2 courses in American History
• 6 SCH/2 courses in Government/Political Science
• 3 SCH/1 course in Social and Behavioral Sciences
• 6 SCH/2 courses in Component Area Option (this could include oral communications or any courses overflowing from any other category. Additional science classes can go here)

Students planning to transfer to a four–year college or university are encouraged to obtain information about the course requirements for at least two possible majors of interest from their four–year college or university and choose their courses appropriately. Usually, a student must make a minimum grade of C in any required course in order for it to qualify towards a degree.

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