Degree and Transfer Info
Associate in Arts
General information for all A.A. degree seekers
MCC's Associate in Arts degree generally provides the first two years of college work a student might complete at a four-year college or university. The program includes 42 hours of general education courses, as well as enough electives to reach the required 62 credit hours.
Students who plan to earn an Associate in Arts degree should meet with an advisor or counselor to make sure they're taking the right classes. This degree prepares them for further study in any of the following areas:
| Anthropology | Mass Communications |
| Art | Mathematics |
| Biology | Music |
| Business | Nursing |
| Chemistry | Philosophy |
| Criminal Justice | Physical Education |
| Economics | Physics |
| Education | Political Science |
| English | Psychology |
| Foreign Language | Social Work |
| Geography | Sociology |
| Geology | Speech and Theater Arts |
| History | Teacher Education |
| Human Services | Journalism |
Degree Requirements
To receive an Associate in Arts degree, students must complete the following:
- The graduation requirements for transfer degrees.
- The general education requirements listed below.
- Sufficient electives to bring their total number of credits to 62.
- COLL 100 First Year Seminar
General Education Requirements
The general education courses strengthen students' basic skills and provide them with knowledge to competently function in a variety of environments- school, work and day-to-day life. MCC's general education outcomes provide students with opportunities to cultivate competencies in effective communication and critical thinking; value learning as an ongoing, lifelong process; acquire quantitative literacy skills; understand the principles of natural and physical sciences; appreciate the human condition through the study of humanities; and achieve an awareness of social, political, and behavioral environments.
American Institutions - 6 credits
Rationale: The American Institutions requirement will enable students to understand and participate in the political institutions of the United States and Missouri, and to critically evaluate relationships among cultural, historical, and social environments. Such study will also enhance students' communication, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.
Complete two courses from the following: (One must be HIST.)
HIST 120 United States History to 1865
HIST 121 United States History Since 1865
POLS 135 Introduction to Political Science
POLS 136 Introduction to American National Politics
POLS 137 Introduction to State and Local Politics
If a student has not completed one course which is the equivalent of HIST 120, HIST 121, POLS 135, POLS 136, or POLS 137 at a Missouri institution of higher education, the student must arrange with his/her home MCC college to satisfy the Missouri Constitution requirement either through additional course work or special exam.
Communications - 9 credits
Rationale: The Communications requirement will provide students with opportunities to practice and hone active listening, effective speaking, analytical reading, and purposeful writing. Students will draw on analytical and creative thought processes to find and retrieve reliable information, evaluate the relevance of source material, synthesize and draw conclusions from ideas, reflect upon their own and others' ideas and experiences, and conceptualize new ways of perceiving ideas. They will design carefully reasoned and creative presentations, both spoken and written.
Complete the following:
ENGL 101 Composition and Reading I and
ENGL 102 Composition and Reading II and
SPDR 100 Fundamentals of Speech or
SPDR 102 Fundamentals of Human Communication
Humanities - 9 credits
Rationale: The Humanities requirement will engage students in content and activities in which they must demonstrate their ability to deal with abstractions, complexities, and subtleties of thought and language, and to understand the aesthetic value of human creativity. Students will develop intellectual agility that allows for lifelong learning, adaptability, and appreciation of differences.
Complete one 3-credit course in each of any three different areas. One of the courses must be in literature or philosophy.
Art History - any course
Literature - any course
Foreign Language - any course (101 or above)
SIGN 101 Conversational American Sign Language I
SIGN 102 Conversational American Sign Language II
History
HIST 133 Foundations of Western Civilization
HIST 134 Modern Western Civilization II
Humanities - any course
Music
MUSI 108 Music Appreciation
MUSI 116 Evolution of Jazz
MUSI 160 Music of the World's Cultures
Philosophy - any course
Speech and Drama
SPDR 103 Interpersonal Communication
SPDR 104 Discussion and Group Leadership
SPDR 106 Theater Appreciation
SPDR 110 Argumentation and Debate
SPDR 112 Oral Interpretation of Literature
SPDR 114 Theater and Western World
SPDR 128 Introduction to Film
SPDR 133 Intercultural Communication
SPDR 228 African Film
Mass Communications
MSCM 112 Introduction to Modern Communications
Mathematics - 3 credits
Rationale: The Mathematics requirement will enhance the students' ability to think critically; use mathematics to solve problems; use quantitative processes to analyze, evaluate, and interpret solutions; and communicate ideas using mathematical language and symbols.
Complete the following: MATH 119 College Mathematics or higher-numbered MATH course
Natural Sciences - 9 credits
Rationale: The Natural Sciences requirement will enable students to demonstrate understanding of natural environments and methods for gaining such knowledge including the scientific method and empirical methods of scientific inquiry.
Complete two laboratory sciences - one in biological science and one in physical science. The physical sciences include the following disciplines: chemistry, geology, physical geography, meteorology and physics.
Social Sciences - 6 credits
Rationale: The Social Sciences requirement will help students develop a more complete understanding of the social environment and broaden social and historical knowledge bases. Completion of this requirement will enhance students' skills in critical thinking, problem solving and communication.
Complete one course from two different areas. Courses selected for the American Institutions or Humanities requirement will not fulfill the Social Science requirement.
Anthropology - any course
Economics - any course
Geography
GEOG 105 World Geography
GEOG 111 Geography of the Western World
GEOG 112 Geography of the Eastern World
GEOG 113 Cultural Geography
GEOG 114 Introduction to Geography
GEOG 207 Geography of the U.S. and Canada
History - any course
Social Sciences - any course
Political Science - any course
Psychology - any course
Sociology - any course
The above requirements constitute the 42-credit hour block that upon completion will transfer by state policy in its entirety to any public college or university in Missouri and to those private colleges or universities that are signatories to the Missouri Credit Transfer Agreement.
Other Associate in Arts Degree Requirements
Learning Enhancement Requirements
Rationale: Learning enhancement requirements provide special opportunities for pursuit of individual learning objectives and to achieve interdisciplinary, human diversity, or integrative study objectives. The courses may fulfill any other requirement for the Associate in Arts degree.
Complete a Writing Intensive course:
- A course designated Writing Intensive will allow the student to develop greater, deeper, and more permanent command of the content material and to produce gains in problem solving abilities and critical thinking skills. Writing Intensive courses will contribute to the clarity of thought and ability to express ideas more precisely. This course may be used to meet the requirements of any other area. English 101 will be a prerequisite for any writing intensive course.
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Complete one of the following:
- An Interdisciplinary Learning Community structured around a single theme of two or more linked courses.
- At least one of the courses included will be numbered 100 or above. Learning communities provide students with a learning environment that encourages integration of content and skills from different disciplines and provides a more structured socialization process to enhance adaptation to a collegiate/academic environment. This option will enhance retention from semester to semester and will promote more successful learning in future semesters.
~ or ~
- A designated Human Diversity course to expose students to content intended to help them learn about behavior generated and reflected by the ideals, values and beliefs of diverse groups of people. Students will examine the sources of emotions, community, commonality and conflict associated with diversity and will gain cognitive awareness of their own perspectives as they relate to other groups and to other societies in the world. These courses will allow students to develop a deeper awareness and a greater understanding of issues related to race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and political ideology within their own society or other societies.
Computer - 3 credits
Rationale: The Computer Science requirement will enable students to better understand the effect of computer-related technologies on society; to recognize responsible uses of computer-related technology; to apply these technologies in communication, solving problems, managing information, and thinking critically; to enhance general academic studies and business productivity; and to support life-long learning.
Complete the following:
CSIS 110 Technology and Information Management or higher-numbered CSIS course
Electives - 17 credits
Rationale: Electives will prepare students for a life of learning by expanding choices and enriching possibilities. These electives encourage a wide range of courses that explore insights into several fields of inquiry, develop an active understanding of the natural world, and allow an opportunity to apply communication skills.
Complete 17 credits of electives to total a minimum of 62 hours.
- Courses numbered 100 or above may be applied to bring the total number of credit hours to the minimum of 62 credit hours required for the degree. The student may apply up to four hours of credit selected from music performance and up to four hours of credit from physical education activity courses.