What is an Associate’s Degree?
This degree is given by community colleges, junior colleges, and online graphic design schools. Some universities offer an associate’s after completing the first two years of study towards a bachelor’s degree.
An associate’s degree is equal to the first two-years of a four-year college or university bachelor’s degree.
What Types of Associates Degrees Are There?
What most people are familiar with is the A.A. degree or Associates of Arts.
But there are other associates degrees such as:
* AA (Associate of Arts)
* AE (Associate of Engineering)
* AN (Associate of Nursing)
* AS (Associate of Science)
* AT (Associate of Technology)
* AAA (Associate of Applied Arts)
* AAB (Associate of Applied Business)
* AAS (Associate of Applied Science)
* AAT (Associate of Arts in Teaching)
* ABA (Associate of Business Administration)
* ABS (Associate of Baccalaureate Studies)
* ADN (Associate Degree in Nursing)
* AES (Associate of Engineering Science)
* AET (Associate in Engineering Technology)
* AFA (Associate of Fine Arts)
* AOS (Associate of Occupational Studies)
* ASPT-APT (Associate in Physical Therapy)
* ASD (Associate of Software Development)
What Can an Associate’s Degree Be Used For?
Some associate’s degrees such as A.A and A.S are seen as transfer degrees. Course study credits can be transferred to four-year colleges.
Associate career degrees prepare individuals for certain entry level jobs such as the Associate in Physical Therapy, or the Associate’s Degree in Nursing.
An associate’s degree can be used as a stepping stone to continued education when the time is more convenient; some students cannot transfer immediately to a four-year college to finish their bachelor’s.
The Benefits of an Associate’s Degree
Since earning an associate’s degree is the equivalent of the first two-years of general study at a four-year college or university, junior college courses are a substantial savings when compared to the same ones at a university.
Class sizes are generally smaller at community colleges and junior colleges so there is a better teacher-to-student ration.
Graphic Design Schools
A number of graphic design colleges offer associate’s degrees in a variety of subjects and majors. Your schedule may not allow you to go to school full-time, but there are online education courses available to individuals who need more flexibility in scheduling their classes.
Bryan
My advice: take your undergrad classes at a community college. The education you receive won’t be that much different when it comes to lower level classes; but the money you save from a community college to a university is substantial. Plus having a network of professors from two different colleges is always a plus.
no. 2 pencil
Hi Bryan,
Sometimes, there is a stigma of going to a community college. Some individuals feel that they aren’t getting the status by going there first. While this may or may not be true, the bottom line is that the economics of taking the first two years of courses at a community college can save a good deal of money. Then you can transfer those credits to a four-year college to finish a bachelors. :D