Associate degree

An Associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting two years. It is considered to be greater level of education than a high school
diploma or GED but less than a Bachelors degree.

and enable the student to enter the work force directly after obtaining their diploma.
Associate degrees are oered at some universities and
colleges in British Columbia.

The Foundation degree in the United Kingdom[1]

Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) in Scotland and 2 France
the Higher Certicate in the Republic of Ireland[2] can
be considered European equivalents of associate degrees.
The two-year General Academic Studies Degree has been
These programs are mainly provided through aliated
oered since 1973.
colleges at universities.
The Diplme Universitaire de Technologie (DUT) and the
In 2004, Australia added associate degree to the
Brevet de Technicien Suprieur (BTS) are two-year proAustralian Qualications Framework. This title was
grams oered in IUT (University Institutes of Technolgiven to more academically focused advanced diploma
ogy) and lyces respectively.[6]
courses. However, very few courses yet use the new title.
In the Netherlands, there were four pilots between 2005
3 Hong Kong
and 2011 to assess the added value of the associate
degree.[3] In 2011 the associate degree has been added
to the Dutch system of higher education as a means to In Hong Kong, associate degrees, rst introduced into the
territory in 2000 with the aim to increase the number of
close the gap with the vocational education system.[4]
students with post-secondary qualications, are generally
regarded as an inferior substitute to bachelors degrees.
The quality of teaching and graduates have been under
1 Canada
doubt since it was introduced. Many degree-awarding
and non-degree-awarding institutions start to oer assoIn the province of Ontario, a college is an educa- ciate degree courses following the governments encourtional institution which awards a 1-year certicate, 2- agement; some of them are accused of over-admission for
year diploma or a 3-year advanced diploma in tech- prots. Students who do not do well enough for univernical or career programs. Universities oer 3 or 4- sity admission in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary
year bachelors degrees, and at times partner with ca- Education Examination (HKDSE), the public examinareer colleges to oer joint diploma-degree programs. tion sat by the territorys students in the nal year of their
For example, the University of Toronto Scarborough and secondary education, enroll in associate degree courses
Centennial College oer a joint Diploma-Degree pro- with the hope to obtain a place for government-funded
gram in paramedicine. Students are eligible to enter bachelors degree courses. As the number of university
these programs once they have completed an Ontario graduates continues to increase, more and more associate
Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) program at a high degree holders are nding it dicult to get employed and
school, focusing their studies on college preparation. Stu- receive the salaries that were advertised by the governdents who wish to attend university must study a dierent ment or the institutions. Although the recognition of associate degrees gradually improved in recent years, it was
stream of academics while obtaining their OSSD. [5]
generally regarded as one of the worst aws of the Hong
In the province of Quebec, an associate degree is roughly
Kong education system.
equivalent to a college diploma, which is delivered by a
college-level institution. Students can take two dierent paths to obtain a college diploma. One way consists
of completing a pre-university program, which normally 4 United States
has a duration of two years and prepares the applicant for
university-level studies. The other way consists of com- In the United States, associate degrees are usually earned
pleting a technical or career program in a college. Nor- in two years or more and can be attained at community
mally, courses of this nature have a duration of three years colleges, technical colleges, vocational schools, and some
1

colleges. A student who completes a two-year program

can earn an Associate of Arts (A.A.) or an Associate of
Science (A.S.) degree. A.A. degrees are usually earned
in humanities, business, and social science elds. A.S. degrees are awarded to those studying in scientic and technical elds. Students who complete a two-year technical
or vocational program can earn an Associate of Applied
Science (A.A.S., easily confused with the Associate of
Arts and Science). They may also have the option to use
the credits from the associate degree toward a bachelors
degree via articulation agreements.[7]

See also

Notes

[1] http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/
InformationAndGuidance/Documents/FHEQ08.pdf
[2] Recognition Ireland Statement on US associate degree.
Qualicationsrecognition.ie. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
[3] Archived March 5, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
[4] overview of Dutch associate degrees and their classication. Alleassociatedegrees.nl. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
[5] Diploma Programs at Ontario Colleges. ontariocolleges.ca. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
[6] EQUIVALENCE DE DIPLOME (Degree equivalence)". voilanewyork.com. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
[7] Student Zone College Finding/Applying. College
Zone. Retrieved 2013-07-25.

References
Bragg, A. K. Fall 1979 Transfer Study. Report 3:
Second Year Persistence And Achievement. Springeld: Illinois Community College Board, 1982. ED
230 228.
Koltai, L. Redening The Associate Degree. Washington, D.C.: American Association of Community
and Junior Colleges, 1984. ED 242 378.
Wittstruck, J. R. Requirements For Certicates,
Diplomas And Associate Degrees: A Survey Of The
States. Denver, CO: State Higher Education Executive Ocers Association, 1985.
I. Elaine Allen and Je Seaman. Making the Grade:
Online Education in the United States, 2006. The
Sloan Consortium, 2006.

EXTERNAL LINKS

8 External links
Associate degree: Two years to a career or a jump
start to a bachelors degree More information on
associate degrees provided by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.

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