General Education Pathway Guide
Associate in Arts or Associate in Science
Overview
The dual credit general education pathway is designed to help you earn credits toward the 33 credit hours of KCTCS General Education Core courses required for an Associate in Arts (AA) or Associate in Science (AS) transfer degree. These core courses are accepted directly toward the first two years of a bachelor’s degree (60 total credit hours in the AA/AS) and will be accepted by any public Kentucky university per Kentucky’s General Education Transfer Policy. Most universities located in contiguous states also accept these courses.
If you are in an Early or Middle College program or another limited access program, consult with your college-assigned advisor.
If you plan to pursue an AA or AS at a KCTCS college and/or transfer to a university, you should complete the 33 credit hours of the General Education Core through dual credit courses before taking any other general education courses. Completing all courses in Category 1 will give you the General Education Certification, which will be accepted by all public Kentucky institutions, even if their requirements are different. Individual general education courses will also transfer but you will need to fulfill that institutions General Education Core requirement if not completed through a KCTCS college. You may take additional general education courses for dual credit that meet the KCTCS AA/AS requirements once you have completed the initial 33 credit hours listed below. Work with your college advisor or a transfer university advisor to make sure that your dual credit courses will transfer to the college you plan to attend.
Whenever possible, chose courses that will satisfy pre-major requirements at the institution you plan to transfer to, especially in Categories 2 and 3.
General Transfer Requirements
See our system transfer guides to see how your dual credit course work can apply to a four-year degree.
Scholarship Information
You can use the two dual credit scholarship for any course in this pathway. The Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship can be used for the Digital Literacy Course.
KCTCS ASSOCIATE IN ARTS CHECKLIST
Category 1: KCTCS General Education Core Requirements (33 hours)
KCTCS Course | Course or Category | Credits |
Dual Credit Course Completed |
---|---|---|---|
ENG 101 | Writing 1 | 3 | |
ENG 102 | Writing 2 | 3 | |
COM 181 or COM 252 | Basic Public Speaking orIntroduction to Interpersonal Communication | 3 | |
HIS XXX | Heritage Course | 3 | |
TBD XXX | Humanities Course | 3 | |
TBD XXX | Natural Science Course with Lab | 3-4 | |
MAT XXX or STA XXX | Quantitative Reasoning Course | 3 | |
TBD XXX | Quantitative Reasoning or Natural Science Course | 3 | |
TBD XXX | Social & Behavioral Sciences Course* | 3 | |
TBD XXX | Social & Behavioral Sciences Course* | 3 | |
TBD XXX | Social & Behavioral Sciences Course* | 3 | |
Subtotal General Education Courses | 33-34 |
TBD XXX means to be determined based on what is offered for dual credit by the high school or college.
*Two disciplines must be represented and different from those in the Arts and Humanities category
Category 2: KCTCS AA Requirements (6 hours)
KCTCS Course | Course or Category | Credits | Dual Credit Course Completed |
---|---|---|---|
TBD XXX | Arts & Humanities, Social & Behavioral Sciences or Foreign Language Course | 3 | |
TBD XXX | Arts & Humanities, Social & Behavioral Sciences or Foreign Language Course | 3 | |
Subtotal AA Requirement Courses | 6 |
Category 3: KCTCS Electives (21 hours)
KCTCS Course | Course or Category | Credits | Dual Credit Course Completed |
---|---|---|---|
Digital Literacy | 0-3 | ||
First-Year College Success Course/Experience* | 0-3 | ||
Subtotal Elective Courses | 21 | ||
TOTAL Associate Degree Hours | 61 |
Degree Requirements:
One courses must be selected from the identified Cultural Studies course list in the KCTCS catalog.
*Note, this course does not qualify for dual credit status per the Council on Postsecondary Education
KCTCS ASSOCIATE IN SCIENCE CHECKLIST
Category 1: KCTCS General Education Core Requirements (33 hours)
KCTCS Course | Credits |
Dual Credit Course Completed |
---|---|---|
ENG 101 | 3 | |
ENG 102 | 3 | |
COM 181 or COM 252 | 3 | |
HIS XXX | 3 | |
TBD XXX | 3 | |
TBD XXX | 3-4 | |
TBD XXX | 3 | |
MAT XXX or STA XXX | 3 | |
MAT XXX or STA XXX | 3 | |
TBD XXX | 3 | |
TBD XXX | 3 | |
TBD XXX | 3 | |
33-34 |
TBD XXX means to be determined based on what is offered for dual credit by the high school or college.
*Two disciplines must be represented and different from those in the Arts and Humanities category
Category 2: KCTCS AS Requirements (6 hours)
KCTCS Course | Course or Category | Credits | Dual Credit Course Completed |
---|---|---|---|
TBD XXX | Quantitative Reasoning or Natural Sciences Course | 3 | |
TBD XXX | Quantitative Reasoning or Natural Sciences Course | 3 | |
Subtotal AS Requirement Courses | 6 |
Category 3: KCTCS Electives (21 hours)
KCTCS Course | Course or Category | Credits | Dual Credit Course Completed |
---|---|---|---|
Digital Literacy | 0-3 | ||
First-Year College Success Course/Experience* | 0-3 | ||
Subtotal Elective Courses | 21 | ||
TOTAL Associate Degree Hours | 61 |
Degree Requirements:
One courses must be selected from the identified Cultural Studies course list in the KCTCS catalog.
*Note, this course does not qualify for dual credit status per the Council on Postsecondary Education