Associate in Arts

Location(s): Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus, Black Hawk College East Campus

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Associate in Arts Code: 1145
Total minimum credits required: 60

The Associate in Arts degree program is the first two years of study for those students who plan to pursue a baccalaureate degree. Students pursuing this degree and planning to transfer to a senior institution should read Transfer of Graduates.

Students pursuing the AA degree entirely online may do so through Black Hawk College. For up-to-date information regarding online AA degree including available courses, or support services, please review information here: www.bhc.edu/onlinelearning.

Students seeking an Associate in Arts degree should follow the curricula below. Students with a specific transfer institution in mind should contact that school for specific course recommendation, refer to available transfer guides at www.bhc.edu/transfer and work closely with advisors at Black Hawk and the transfer institution.

Only one Associate in Arts degree or one Associate in Science degree may be earned from Black Hawk College. If a student has received an associate’s degree from another college, the student may receive an additional associate’s degree from Black Hawk College if all program requirements for the degree are met.

Note: Students may graduate under the current degree requirements or under degree requirements in effect at their first enrollment. Students whose enrollment has been interrupted for two or more years must follow the graduation requirements of the catalog current at the time of re-entry or any catalog published after re-entry.

Each student who is awarded an Associate in Arts degree by the College shall have successfully completed a minimum of thirty-seven (37) credit hours of general education in the following categories:

Communication

3 courses (9 semester credits), including a two-course sequence in writing (6 semester credits) and one course (3 semester credits) in oral communication. A grade of “C” or better in ENG 101 /ENG 101C and ENG 102 is required for those courses to be eligible for inclusion in the IAI General Education Core Curriculum.

ENG 101 - Composition I Credits: 3
ENG 101C - Composition I Credits: 3
ENG 102 - Composition II Credits: 3
SPEC 101 - Principles of Speech Communica Credits: 3

Mathematics

1 course (3 semester credits) in mathematics.

MATH 108 - Statistics for General Ed Credits: 3
MATH 108C - Statistics for General Ed Credits: 3
MATH 110 - Math for General Education Credits: 3
MATH 110C - Math for General Education Credits: 3
MATH 124 - Calculus I with Analytic Geo Credits: 4
MATH 131 - Finite Mathematics Credits: 3
MATH 132 - Calculus for Bus/Soc Sciences Credits: 4
MATH 161 - Discrete Mathematics Credits: 3
MATH 200 - Math for Elem Teachers II Credits: 4 (for students seeking Illinos state certification for elementary or special education teachers only)
MATH 225 - Calculus II with Analytic Geo Credits: 4
MATH 226 - Calculus III with Analytic Geo Credits: 5
MATH 228 - Probability and Statistics Credits: 3

Physical & Life Sciences

2 courses (7-8 semester credits) are required. One course selected from Group 1 (Physical Sciences) and one course selected from Group 2 (Life Sciences) and including at least one laboratory course, or both NSCI 101 and NSCI 102 .

Humanities and Fine Arts

3 courses (9 semester credits), with at least one course selected from humanities and at least one course from the fine arts.

Humanities

Consult transfer institution to determine if foreign language is required.

ENG 190 - Introduction to Literature Credits: 3
ENG 206 - Ethnic American Literature Credits: 3
ENG 207 - Introduction to Women Writers Credits: 3
ENG 210 - Introduction to Fiction Credits: 3
ENG 214 - Modern American Literature Credits: 3
ENG 217 - African & Caribbean Literature Credits: 3 ♦
ENG 218 - Latin American Lit-Translation Credits: 3 ♦
ENG 219 - Asian Literature Credits: 3 ♦
ENG 221 - Survey of British Literature Credits: 3
ENG 223 - Introduction to Shakespeare Credits: 3
ENG 240 - Children’s Literature Credits: 3
HIST 125 - Western Civilization I Credits: 3
HIST 127 - Western Civilization II Credits: 3
HIST 222 - Comparative Religions Credits: 3 ♦
HUM 101 - Western Arts & Cultures Credits: 3
HUM 102 - Non-Western Arts & Cultures Credits: 3 ♦
PHIL 100 - Logic Credits: 3
PHIL 101 - Introduction to Philosophy Credits: 3
PHIL 103 - Ethics Credits: 3
PHIL 206 - Philosophy of Religion Credits: 3
POLS 200 - Intro to Political Thought Credits: 3
SPAN 202 - Intermediate Spanish II Credits: 4

Fine Arts

ART 100 - Art Appreciation Credits: 3
ART 281 - History of Western Art I Credits: 3
ART 282 - History of Western Art II Credits: 3
ART 285 - Survey of Asian Art Credits: 3 ♦
ART 286 - Survey of Non-Western Art Credits: ♦
ENG 255 - Introduction to Film Credits: 3
HUM 101 - Western Arts & Cultures Credits: 3
HUM 102 - Non-Western Arts & Cultures Credits: 3 ♦
MUSC 154 - Music Appreciation Credits: 3
MUSC 158 - Intro to Non-Western Music Credits: 3 ♦
MUSC 160 - Jazz, Blues and Rock & Roll Credits: 3
THEA 111 - Introduction to Theatre Arts Credits: 3
TV 212 - Hist & Apprec of Motion Pictur Credits: 3

Social and Behavioral Sciences

3 courses (9 semester credits), with courses selected from at least two disciplines.

ANTH 100 - Intro to Anthropology Credits: 3 ♦
ANTH 101 - Intro to Physical Anthropology Credits: 3
ANTH 102 - Intro to Cultural Anthropology Credits: 3 ♦
ANTH 103 - Intro to Archaeology Credits: 3
ECON 221 - Principles of Macroeconomics Credits: 3
ECON 222 - Principles of Microeconomics Credits: 3
HIST 105 - US History To 1877 Credits: 3
HIST 106 - US History Since 1877 Credits: 3
HIST 115 - World History to 1500 Credits: 3 ♦
HIST 116 - World History Since 1500 Credits: 3 ♦
HIST 141 - History of Asia to 1500 Credits: 3 ♦
HIST 142 - History of Asia Since 1500 Credits: 3 ♦
HIST 151 - Hist Middle East Since 1700 Credits: 3 ♦
HIST 200 - African-American History Credits: 3
IS 200 - Global Issues Credits: 3 ♦
POLS 122 - American National Government Credits: 3
PSYC 101 - Intro to Psychology Credits: 3
PSYC 200 - Human Growth & Development Credits: 3
PSYC 262 - Child Psychology Credits: 3
SOC 101 - Principles of Sociology Credits: 3
SOC 102 - Contemporary Social Problems Credits: 3
SOC 250 - Social Inequality Credits: 3
SOC 251 - Sociology of Families Credits: 3
SOC 264 - Social Psychology of Aging Credits: 3

In Addition to Meeting General Education Requirements, Students Must Also Meet the Following:

♦ Non-Western Studies requirement.

One course (3 semester credits)
Courses that focus on non-Western cultures are identified in both the Humanities and Fine Arts and the Social and Behavioral Sciences sections with an ♦ indicator next to the course. Students must select at least one non-Western studies course, which may simultaneously fulfill a general education or elective category requirement.

Education majors only: Students should check with an advisor to be sure that their Non-Western course selection meets the State Teacher Certification Board’s definition of “Non-Western and third world cultures” as interpreted by the senior institution where they intend to transfer.

A grade of “C” or better ENG 101 and ENG 102 is required for graduation. Students transferring courses equivalent to English 101 and 102 to Black Hawk College must have a grade of “C” or better in those courses in order to obtain transfer credit.
Students may not receive graduation credit twice for the following combinations of completed coursework:

a. ENG 101   and ENG 101C

b. MATH 108   and MATH 108C

c. MATH 110   and MATH 110C

d. MATH 112   and MATH 112C

e. *Additionally, if taking MATH 108   or MATH 108C  , and MATH 228  , one course can count as general education and the other course as an elective toward graduation.
Effective Fall 2025, credit toward graduation may be allowed for the following combinations of successfully completed courses.

a. PHYS 101   taken first, followed by PHYS 201 **

i. If, PHYS 201  1 is taken first, PHYS 101   enrollment is not allowed.

b. PHYS 102   taken first, followed by PHYS 202  **

i. If PHYS 202   is taken first, enrollment in PHYS 102   is not allowed.

c. CHEM 110   taken first, followed by CHEM 101  **

i. If CHEM 101   is taken first, CHEM 110   enrollment is not allowed.

**Both courses in the combination can receive credit toward graduation
A total of sixty (60) credit hours with a “C” (2.0) grade point average or above for all work completed at Black Hawk College.
Electives. Students should work with an advisor to select only articulated transfer or career courses as electives to satisfy the 60-credit hour requirement. Because requirements vary among institutions and from state to state, students should request assistance in determining course transferability from their academic advisor, the Advising Center on the Quad-Cities campus, or Enrollment Services Office on the East Campus.
Students must earn at least 24 credit hours, excluding non-traditional credit options, at Black Hawk College.
There is an overall limit of 20 credit hours of Non-Traditional credit allowed for this degree (CLEP, AP, Military).
Up to four credits of physical education activity courses will count as electives toward graduation.
Up to 12 credits of applied music lessons will count as electives toward graduation.
No courses numbered below 100 will apply towards satisfying any AA degree requirements.
The human relations requirement is met for all Black Hawk College degree candidates within the required General Education Core Curriculum through such courses as PSYC 101 ; SOC 101 , SOC 250 , SOC 251 ; SPEC 101 .
Students pursuing Associate in Arts at Black Hawk College have the option of earning the GECC credential. Please see Academic Information and Regulations , General Education Core Curriculum, for further information.