EDUCATIONAL PLANNING

(Don’t Take Anything You Don’t Need)

Part III: Structure of a College Degree

(Associate’s and Bachelor’s)

Be sure to read Mini-Lecture I: Introduction before reading this mini-lecture.

IMPORTANT! You will be filling out Part I of the Ed Plan Form while you read this mini-lecture.

There are two versions of the form in a link in this unit, “Ed Plan Forms (Fill-In & PDF). Select ONE to complete.

What Are the Requirements for ANYCollege Degree?

There are FOUR categories of requirements to keep in mind:

  • Units
  • Major courses
  • General Education
  • Electives.

We will cover each category in detail. Pay close attention to what each category means:

“Units”

The degree that you select will require a certain number of units. If you don’t complete that number of units, you won’t be awarded the degree.

  • For an Associate’s Degree at SMC, you will need a minimum of 60.
  • For a Bachelor’s degree, you typically need a minimum of 120 semester units. The actual total depends on your major and the school that you attend.
  • You can see that the Associate’s Degree is about HALF the requirements of a Bachelor’s degree.
  • For the Associate’s Degree, you take “lower division” classes—freshman and sophomore level classes.
  • For the Bachelor’s Degree, you take “lower division” (freshman and sophomore level) AND “upper division” (junior and senior level) classes.

“Major”

The major that you select will become your area of specialization. You will take the most courses in this subject area, so you will become an expert in it.

An Associate’s Degree AND Bachelor’s degree will BOTH have major requirements.

“General Education”

General Education is a variety ofrequired courses meant to “round out” your education and make you the “truly educated” college graduate.

So, even though you’re a History major, you will still take science, English and maybe even art history courses as an example.

Some students think that GE is busy work. However, I hope you find that GE courses can open your mind and teach you about many ways to view and understand the world.

As an example, when an earthquake happens, from general education, youwill understand what happened inside the earth (Geology); what people might be feeling in a crisis (Psychology); the behavior of people together (Sociology); or the economic or political implications of a crisis (Economics, Political Science).

After you finish your degree, chances are you’ll surprise yourself when you say every so often, “Hey! I learned about that in college!” I know I certainly do!

“Electives”

Electives can be VERY important!

Electives are courses that you take for units that are NOT major or GE requirements.

However, students often need electives to complete the unit requirement if the major and GE don’t add up to the required number of units for the degree.

Example:

  • Maria is working on her AA degree, which requires 60 units.
  • She has 42 units completed with her major AND GE
  • She still needs 18 units of electives—otherwise she won’t get her degree!
  • So, she can take ANYTHING for elective units, as long as they are considered AA-level courses.

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Next:

In the next lectures, you will be learning more specifics about either the Associate’s Degree or Bachelor’s degree, and also how to complete the Ed Plan Assignment:

  • For the AA degree: Go to Min-Lecture IV: The SMC Associate's Degree
  • To Transfer to a Bachelor’s Degree Program: Go to Mini-Lecture V: Interesting Transfer Options to Consider