The general education portion of the AA degree provides a diverse course of study that helps prepare students for participating in society as independent, educated adults. It directs them to compose a program of courses to develop a variety of important skills. These skills encompass knowledge of the diverse elements of their external and internal realities, and some understanding of their own and other cultural heritages.
Essential skills include writing and speaking for self-expression and effective communication, arithmetic skills as needed for solving the problems of everyday living, and critical thinking.
In addition to these skills, students gain knowledge of both the natural and social sciences, and of the methods of inquiry appropriate to each. Included in this knowledge is an understanding of political organization and of historical perspective; a clearer concept of themselves as physical, emotional, and social beings, and an acquaintance with the effects of technology. Also, students learn to form aesthetic judgments about the artistic achievements of civilization.
To fulfill the Global Citizenship requirement for the AA degree from Santa Monica College, students must complete one of the 3-unit courses listed below with a passing grade. These courses fall into three categories: American Cultures, Ecological Literacy, and Global Studies. These courses aim to provide an awareness of the diversity of cultures within the United States and/or an appreciation for the interconnectedness of cultural, ecological, economic, political, social, and technological systems of the contemporary world. This prepares students to make a responsible contribution to a rapidly changing global society. The Global Citizenship requirement can also be fulfilled by completing 3 units of Santa Monica College Service Learning or Santa Monica College Study Abroad Experience.
Please see the current Schedule of Classes for additional courses that may fulfill this requirement.
The “American Cultures” courses use a comparative framework to explore how the American identity and experience have been shaped—and will continue to be shaped—by a diverse array of cultural influences and traditions. Each course compares and contrasts a least three American Cultures from a selection that includes Latino American, African American, Asian American, Native American, and European American.
• ART 72, American Art History
• BUSINESS 51, Intercultural Communications (if completed Fall 2007 or later)
• CINEMA 7 (see Film Studies)
• *COMMUNICATION 10, Journalism, Gender, and Race
• DANCE 2, Dance in American Culture
• EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 18, Childhood: Culture and Personality (formerly Child Development 18) (same as Psychology 18)
• EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 60, Child Observation on Assessment
• ENGLISH 9, Literature of California
• ENGLISH 10, Ethnic Literature of the US
• FILM STUDIES 7, American Cinema: Crossing Cultures (formerly Cinema 7)
• GEOGRAPHY 14, Geography of California
• *HISTORY 10, Ethnicity & American Culture
• *MUSIC 33, Jazz in American Culture (if completed Fall 2005 or later)
• MUSIC 37, Music in American Culture
• NUTRITION 7, Food and Culture in America
• POLITICAL SCIENCE 21, Race, Ethnicity, and the Politics of Difference
• PSYCHOLOGY 18, Childhood: Culture and Personality (same as Early Childhood Education 18)
• SOCIOLOGY 34, Racial and Ethnic Relations in American Society
• SPEECH 4, Oral Interpretation: Performing Literature Across Cultures
* COMMUNICATION 10 (Journalism, Gender, and Race), HISTORY 10 (Ethnicity & American Culture), and MUSIC 33 (Jazz in American Culture) meet the UC Berkeley American Cultures graduation requirement.
The “Ecological Literacy” courses develop an interdisciplinary understanding of both nature and humanity. One component of ecological literacy is the scientific examination of the interactions between—and within—the systems and cycles of the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere, which together provide the basis for life on Earth. Other components include the awareness and understanding of the many continuing impacts that human beings have had on natural environments—at scales ranging from local to global—and how those impacts are linked to the sustainability of social, cultural, and political-economic systems. An ecologically literate citizen strives to preserve and enhance the quality of life on Earth for the benefit of not only local, nearby, and even distant neighbor communities, but also future generations.
• BIOLOGY 9, Environmental Biology
The “Global Studies” courses explore the factors that have shaped our global community, and provide students with an understanding of their roles in relationship to other peoples and systems on a global level. The courses use a comparative and/or analytical framework to explore at least two cultures outside
the United States. The interconnections between cultural, ecological, economic, political and/or technological systems are emphasized using material with a contemporary significance.
• SPEECH 7, Intercultural Communication
Students planning to apply for graduation should first make an appointment with a counselor to verify that they are eligible for graduation. A student may complete EITHER the major requirements in effect at the time of the student’s initial enrollment if the student has maintained continuous enrollment since then, OR the major requirements in effect at the time the student begins to maintain continuous enrollment, OR the major requirements in effect at the time of the student’s graduation. See the Major Requirements section (included online in the Part 2 .pdf) of this catalog.
A Petition for Graduation must be submitted to the Admissions Office for approval during the semester in which the student expects to complete the requirements for graduation. DEADLINES FOR FILING PETITIONS FOR GRADUATION (and for Certificates of Achievement) are:
• For Fall: from the start of the Fall semester through December 1;
• For Spring: from the start of the Spring semester through April 30; and
• For Summer: from the start of the Summer session through July 31.
Petitions are available on these dates online at www.smc.edu/admissions/forms.htm and in the Admissions Office. Please note that petitions will be processed ONLY during the designated periods.
A student must file for IGETC or CSU GE Breadth Certification. DEADLINES FOR FILING PETITIONS FOR CERTIFICATION are October 1 to December 1 for the Fall semester and January 1 to July 31 for Spring. Petitions are available on these dates at www.smc.edu/admissions/forms.htm and in the Admissions Office.
PLEASE NOTE: Students may receive EITHER a Transfer Studies Associate in Arts* degree OR an Associate in Arts degree in Liberal Studies, BUT NOT BOTH. Students may petition to graduate with a maximum of 2 AA degrees as long as they are in different academic areas.
*The Transfer Studies Associate in Arts degree is only available to students who enrolled at Santa Monica College Spring 2008 or before and who have maintained continuous enrollment each Fall and Spring semester until graduation.
A C (2.0) grade point average, based on all units attempted, is required for the Associate in Arts degree. Please see the Academic & Progress Renewal policies and the Course Repetition & Re-Enrollment policies (included online in the Part 4 .pdf of this catalog) for information on possible improvement of grade point average (GPA).
A student’s transcript will be annotated with the designation “Dean’s Honor List” if the student completes 12 or more graded units in a Fall or Spring semester at SMC with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Students who have consistently demonstrated outstanding academic excellence while attending Santa Monica College will be recognized at graduation and their transcripts annotated with the appropriate honors recognition, provided the students have met the applicable criteria and are in good academic standing (i.e., not on academic or progress probation) at the time of graduation. Students who have been suspended from the College are ineligible to receive honors at graduation, regardless of GPA attained.
A student’s cumulative grade point average must match the narrow range specified below for the student to be awarded one of the following honors with the Associate in Arts degree:
a. Graduation with Highest Honors
i. Attainment of a cumulative GPA of 4.0 (including coursework from other colleges);
ii. Completion of a minimum of 12 units of coursework while attending Santa Monica College;
b. Graduation with High Honors
i. Attainment of a cumulative GPA of 3.70-3.99 (including coursework from other colleges);
ii. Completion of a minimum of 12 units of coursework while attending Santa Monica College;
c. Graduation with Honors
i. Attainment of a cumulative GPA of 3.0-3.69 (including coursework from other colleges);
ii. Completion of a minimum of 12 units of coursework while attending Santa Monica College.
Students are granted units and subject credit for the Santa Monica College Associate in Arts degree for College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) Advanced Placement Tests with scores of 3, 4, or 5. Students must have the College Board send AP exam results to the SMC Admissions Office (hand carried copies will not be accepted). AP credit can be used to meet IGETC and GE requirements (please see IGETC and CSU GE sheets for details on how to apply credit). Units granted at SMC do NOT reflect units granted by a transfer institution.
SMC allows credit for the following AP tests:
|
AP EXAM
|
SMC COURSE EQUIVALENT
FOR SMC AA |
UNITS FOR SMC AA
|
| Art History | ART 1 | 3 units |
| Biology | BIOL 3 | 4 units (no lab credit) |
| Chemistry | CHEM 10 | 5 units (no lab credit) |
| Comparative Government and Politics | POL SC 2 | 3 units |
| Calculus AB (score of 3) | MATH 2 | 5 units |
| Calculus AB (score of 4 or 5) | MATH 7 | 5 units |
| Calculus BC (score of 3) | MATH 7 | 5 units |
| Calculus BC (score of 4 or 5) | MATH 8 | 5 units |
|
*English: Language and Composition OR
*English: Literature and Composition |
ENGL 1 | 3 units |
| Foreign Language: | Modern Language: | |
| Chinese | CHINESE 3 | 5 units |
| French | FRENCH 3 | 5 units |
| German | GERMAN 3 | 5 units |
| Hebrew | HEBREW 2 | 5 units |
| Italian | ITALIAN 3 | 5 units |
| Japanese | JAPANESE 3 | 5 units |
| Korean | KOREAN 2 | 5 units |
| Persian | PERSIAN 2 | 5 units |
| Russian | RUSSIAN 2 | 5 units |
| Spanish | SPANISH 3 | 5 units |
| History-American | HIST 11 | 3 units |
| History-European | HIST 2 | 3 units |
| History-World | HIST 34 | 3 units |
| Microeconomics | ECON 1 | 3 units |
| Macroeconomics | ECON 2 | 3 units |
| Physics B | PHYSCS 12 | 3 units |
| Physics C |
PHYSCS 6
and PHYSCS 7 |
4 units (no lab credit)
and 4 units (no lab credit) |
| Psychology | PSYCH 1 | 3 units |
| Statistics | MATH 52 | 3 units |
| U.S. Government and Politics | POL SC 1 | 3 units |
| * Credit will be awarded for only one of these exams. Units and subject credit granted at Santa Monica College do NOT reflect units or subject credit granted by a transfer insrtitution. | ||
Students interested in petitioning for Advanced Placement credit should contact the Admissions Office for further information. Students should be aware that AP test credit is evaluated by corresponding it to an equivalent SMC course, e.g., History 11. A student who receives AP credit and then takes the equivalent SMC course will have the unit credit for the duplication deducted prior to graduation. Credit by Advanced Placement exam is noted and listed first on a student’s transcript.
Use of AP credit varies at each transfer institution. Please check the transfer institution’s catalog for details.
Advanced Placement credit may be applied to the IGETC and CSU GE requirements. The IGETC and CSU GE sheets are available online at www.smc.edu/articulation and in the Transfer/Counseling Center.
Warning: UCLA will not grant credit for Advanced Placement if the AP exam is taken after the student has completed 24 semester units of college coursework.
PLEASE NOTE: CLEP exams cannot be used to meet the IGETC and CSU GE requirements. UC does not accept CLEP exams. Check with prospective transfer institutions regarding acceptance of CLEP scores.
In addition to granting credit for Advanced Placement, Santa Monica College will give CLEP credit in selected areas. Course credit will not be granted, however, when it duplicates previous college work. A student must be actively enrolled at SMC when applying for credit by CLEP exam. CLEP credit may not be used to meet any residency requirement. Official CLEP scores must be sent to the Admissions Office directly from the College Board. Hand-delivered copies will not be accepted.
SMC accepts the CLEP exams and scores listed below.
Natural Science: A score of 50 or higher will satisfy the AA GE Area I, Natural Science and the Liberal Arts AA Group A, Mathematics-Science requirements. PLEASE NOTE: Only 6 units in total will be granted toward the AA degree.
Humanities: A score of 50 or higher will satisfy the AA GE Area III, Humanities, and the Liberal Arts AA Group B, Humanities requirements. PLEASE NOTE: Only 6 units in total will be granted toward the AA degree.
Social Science and History: A score of 50 or higher will satisfy the AA GE Area II, Social Science, Group B, and the Liberal Arts AA Group C, Social Science requirements. PLEASE NOTE: Only 6 units in total will be granted toward the AA degree.
Math: A score of 50 or higher in Calculus, College Algebra, College Algebra-Trigonometry, or Trigonometry will satisfy the math requirement for AA GE Area IV, Language and Rationality, Group B; and will satisfy one course for the General Science AA Group A, Mathematics, and one course for the Liberal Arts AA Group A, Mathematics-Science requirements. However, students who have not taken a math course at Santa Monica College, but wish to enroll in one, must complete the SMC math assessment to determine which course best serves their needs. PLEASE NOTE: Only 5 units in total will be granted toward the AA degree, even though the exam will clear more than one area.
English: A score of 50 or higher in either English Composition or English Composition with Essay will satisfy the English composition requirement for AA GE Area IV, Language and Rationality, Group A; however, course credit will not be granted if student completes SMC English 1 or a comparable course at another institution. A score of 50 or higher in English Literature will satisfy one course for AA GE Area III, Humanities, and satisfy one course in the Liberal Arts AA Group B, Humanities requirements; however, course credit will not be granted if student completes SMC English 5 or 6 or a comparable course at another institution. PLEASE NOTE: Only 3 units in total will be granted toward the AA degree, even though the exam will clear two areas.
Principles of Accounting: A score of 70 or higher will substitute for Accounting 1 (5 units)
Principles of Marketing: A score of 70 or higher will substitute for Business 20, Marketing (3 units)
Principles of Management: A score of 70 or higher will substitute for Business 65, Management Principles (3 units)
Please note: CLEP exams cannot be used to meet requirements for the IGETC or CSU GE patterns. UC does not accept CLEP exams. Check with prospective transfer institutions regarding acceptance of CLEP scores.
All college-level courses (except some religion courses) taken in accredited two-year colleges and the lower division of accredited four-year colleges will be counted toward the Associate in Arts degree. Consult a counselor for information regarding credit for coursework taken after leaving SMC. A maximum of eight units is granted for Cooperative Work Experience/Internship.
A US veteran may request credit for military service. Two units of elective credit may be granted for each of the first two years of military service and four units of elective credit may be granted for basic training. These units may NOT be used to meet GPA or subject requirements.
Additional credit may be allowed for specific programs of military training. For details, please consult with the Veterans’ Counselor.
In addition to other requirements, in order to graduate from Santa Monica College, students who have studied elsewhere must enroll in and successfully complete a minimum of twelve (12) degree-applicable units at SMC, and have official transcripts on file at SMC from all other institutions attended.
Students are cautioned to check transfer school catalogs often, because course changes are frequently made by universities and colleges, and certain combinations of courses can result in a reduction of unit credit upon transfer.
Basic Skills courses may NOT be applied toward the AA degree. The following courses are identified as Basic Skills courses:
English 21A, 23, 24, 80, 81A, 81B, 81S, 82, (83), 83A, 83B, (84), 84W (formerly 81C), 84R (formerly 83C); ESL 10, 11A, (12), (13), 14A, 14B, 15, 16A, 16B, 16C, 17; Biology 81; Counseling (formerly Human Development) 21H, 22H, 25H, 41H; Mathematics 31, 31T, 81, 81T, 84; Psychology 81A. No more than eight units in Cooperative Work Experience/Internship may be applied toward the AA degree. Counseling 23 (formerly Human Development 23) is a noncredit course and cannot be applied toward the AA degree.
( ) Course no longer offered.
Students who have satisfactorily completed courses from a foreign nation’s appropriately accredited university may be able to apply the course credits toward an Associate in Arts degree at SMC. Students should consult a counselor BEFORE requesting to have credits evaluated, because the time it takes to evaluate a large number of units can delay enrollment. Courses must first be evaluated by an approved credential evaluation agency, and then reviewed by the SMC Admissions Office. Some courses may also require approval by the department chair. Once courses are approved, their credit(s) may be transferred to SMC.
To have foreign coursework credits evaluated, students should contact one of the approved credential evaluation agencies listed below and request a detailed equivalency report that indicates—for each course—whether it is an upper- or lower-division course, its US semester equivalency, and the grade the student earned:
• ACEI (Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc.) (310) 275-3530, www.acei1.com
• AERC (American Education Research Corporation) (626) 339-4404, www.aerc-eval.com
• APIE (Academic & Professional International Evaluations, Inc.) (562) 594-6498, www.apie.org
• IERF (International Education Research Foundation) (310) 258-9451, www.ierf.org
Please note: Foreign coursework will NOT satisfy general education requirements for Area II, Social Science, Group A (American History/Government) or for Area IV, Language and Rationality, Group A (English Composition).
Graduation from Santa Monica College with the Associate in Arts degree is granted upon successful completion of a program of studies of 60 units with a
grade point average of C (2.0) or higher. Each program of study is composed of State and local requirements listed below in sections I-IV of the General Education Requirements. The requirements for the majors are listed on separate sheets available in the Transfer/Counseling Center and online at www.smc.edu/articulation.
All students must complete the following general education requirements for an AA degree.
PLEASE NOTE: Courses that fulfill the Global Citizenship requirement are designated by bold underlined text in the lists below.
I. Natural Science – At least 3 semester units selected from:
Anatomy 1, 2, (3A), (3B); Anthropology 1, 5, 8, 9; Astronomy 1 (formerly 1A), 2 (formerly 1B), 3, 4, 5; Biology 2 (formerly 25) 3, 4, (6), 9, 15, 15N, 21 (formerly 6A), 22 (formerly 6B), 23 (formerly 7), (75N); Botany 1, 3; Chemistry 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, 22, 24, 31; Geography 1, 3, 5; Geology 1, 4, 5, 31; (Home Economics 11); Microbiology 1; Nutrition 1, 4; Physics 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 21 (formerly 1), 22 (formerly 3), 23 (formerly 2), 24; Physiology 3; Psychology 2; Zoology 5, 17, 20
Please Note: Students may take any courses within a discipline where course numbers are not designated.
( ) Course no longer offered.
II. Social Science – 6 semester units, with at least 3 units selected from each group:
Group A: (at least 3 semester units)
History 10, 11, 12, 15 (same as Economics 15), 45, 46; Political Science 1
Group B: (at least 3 semester units)
Anthropology 2, 3, 4, 7, 14, 20, 22; Bilingual Studies 1; Business 1; Communication 1, 10; Early Childhood Education 18 (same as Psychology 18); Economics 1, 2, 5 (same as Political Science 5), 6, 15 (same as History 15); Geography 2, 7 (same as Environmental Studies 7), 8 (same as Urban Studies 8), 11, 14; History 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 (same as Economics 15), 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, (28), 29, 30, 33, 34, (35), (36), 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48 (same as Philosophy 48), 52, 55, 62; Nutrition 7; (Human Development 12); Nutrition 7; Philosophy 48 (same as History 48), 51 (same as Political Science 51), 52 (same as Political Science 52); Political Science 1, 2, 5 (same as Economics 5), 7, 8, 11, 14, 21, 22, 23, (28), 47, 51 (same as Philosophy 51), 52 (same as Philosophy 52); Psychology 1, 3, 5, 6 (formerly Home Economics 6), 11 (same as Child Development 1), 12, 13, 14, 18 (same as Early Childhood Education 18), 19, 25; Sociology 1, 2, 4, 12, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34; Speech 7; Women’s Studies 10, 20
( ) Course no longer offered.
III. Humanities – At least 3 semester units selected from:
American Sign Language 1, 2; Architecture (50) (same as Art 6), (51) (same as Art 7); Art 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (same as Architecture 50), 7 (same as Architecture 51), 8, 9, (9A), 10A*, 10B*, 13, 20A*, 20B*, 40A*, 40B, 43A, 43B, 71, 72, 73 (same as Photography 52), 79; Chinese 1, 2, 3, 4, 8; Cinema (see Film Studies); Dance 2, 5; English 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (same as Film Studies 11), (12*), 14, 15, 17, 18, (25*), 26 (same as Humanities 26), (27A-Z*), 30A, 30B, (30C), (30D), 31, 32 (same as History 30), 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 45, 50, 51 (same as Religious Studies 51), 52 (same as Religious Studies 52), 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59; Entertainment Technology 61 (same as Graphic Design 74); Film Studies 1 (formerly Cinema 9), 2 (formerly Cinema 1), 5 (formerly Cinema 5), 6 (formerly Cinema 8), 7 (formerly Cinema 7), 8 (formerly Cinema 2), 9 (formerly Cinema 4), 10 (formerly Cinema 10), 11 (same as English 11); French 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, (12); German 1, 2, 3, 4, 8; Graphic Design 74 (same as Entertainment Technology 61); Hebrew 1, 2, 3, 4, 8; History 30 (same as English 32), 48 (same as Philosophy 48), 53, 55; Humanities 26 (same as English 26); Interior Architectural Design 30, 34, 41, 42, 60, 66; Italian 1, 2, 3, (4), 8; Japanese 1, 2, 3, 4, 8; Korean 1, 2, 3; Music 1, 30, 31, 32, 33 (satisfies Global Citizenship requirement if completed Fall 2005 or later), 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 60A*, 60B*, 66; Persian 1, 2; Philosophy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 22 (same as Religious Studies 22), 23 (same as Religious Studies 23), 24, 41, 48 (same as History 48), 51 (same as Political Science 51), 52 (same as Political Science 52); Photography 52 (same as Art 73); Political Science 51 (same as Philosophy 51), 52 (same as Philosophy 52); Religious Studies (22) (same as Philosophy 22), (23) (same as Philosophy 23), 51 (same as English 51), 52 (same as English 52); Russian 1, 2, (3), (4), 8; Spanish 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 20; Speech 2, 4; Theatre Arts 2, 5, 7, 41.
* May be 1.5 or 2.0 unit courses; additional course may be required to meet 3 unit HUMANITIES requirement.
IV. Language and rationality – 6 semester units, with at least 3 units selected from each group:
Group A: (at least 3 semester units)
Choose one option:
OPTION 1:
1. English 1 (required for students who enroll at SMC in Fall 2008 and who have maintained continuous enrollment*) or
2. Business 31 with a grade of C (2.0) or higher* or
OPTION 2: Students who started SMC prior to Fall 2008 and who have maintained continuous enrollment* may fulfill this requirement with:
1. English 21B or English 22 with a grade of C (2.0) or higher or
2. ESL 21B with a grade of C (2.0) or higher*
Students earning a grade of D (1.0) in English 21B, 22, or ESL 21B may satisfy this requirement by passing the English Proficiency Exam, a timed expository writing examination, which can be arranged only after the evaluation of the AA Petition for Graduation. Note that this exam may only be taken once. This option is only available to students who started at Santa Monica College prior to Fall 2008 and who have maintained continuous enrollment.*
* Continuous enrollment is defined as enrollment in each Fall and Spring semester until graduation.
Group B: (at least 3 semester units)
Choose one option from the following four:
1. Math 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 20, 21, (22), 26, 28 (formerly 23), 29 ((formerly 24), 32 (if completed Fall 2006 or later), 41, 52; CS 10 (same as Math 10);
2. Students who enroll at SMC Summer 2007 or later or who have not maintained continuous enrollment*: Pass Math Proficiency Test** and complete one of the following: Accounting 1, 2; Computer Science; Philosophy 7, 9; Sociology 4; Speech 11;
3. Students who enrolled at SMC prior to Summer 2007 and who have maintained continuous enrollment*: Pass Math Proficiency Test** and complete one of the following: Accounting 1, 2, 21; Business 32; Computer Information Systems/Computer Science; English 2, 23, 48; ESL 23;
Journalism 1; Philosophy 7, 9; Psychology 5; Sociology 4; Speech 1, 2, 5, 11;
4. Complete the SMC math assessment, place into Intermediate Algebra or higher, and complete one of the courses listed above in 2 (for students who enroll Fall 2007 or later or who have NOT maintained continuous enrollment*) or in 3 (for students who enrolled prior to Fall 2007 and who have maintained continuous enrollment*).
* Continuous enrollment is defined as enrollment in each Fall and Spring semester until graduation.
** Students may complete this exam any time within one year of their anticipated graduation date. Note that students may retest only once, after an 8-week wait.
V. GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP – (Students who entered SMC prior to Fall 1998 are exempt from this requirement only if they have maintained continuous enrollment in each Fall and Spring semester until graduation.)
At least 3 semester units selected from: Art 72; Biology 9; Business 51 (if completed Fall 2007 or later); Cinema 7 (see Film Studies); Communication 10; Dance 2; Early Childhood Education 18 (formerly Child Development) (same as Psychology 18), 60; English 9, 10; Film Studies 7 (formerly Cinema 7); Geography 14; History 10; Music 33 (meets Global Citizenship requirement if completed Fall 2005 or later), 37; Nutrition 7; Political Science 21; Psychology 18 (same as Early Childhood Education 18); Santa Monica College Service Learning (if completed Spring 2008 or later); Santa Monica Study Abroad (if completed Spring 2008 or later); Sociology 34; Speech 4, 7.
(Some of these courses will also satisfy GE areas I, IIB, and III.) Global Citizenship courses are marked in other parts of the Academics chapter as bold underlined text.
VI. Major – Complete a major as required (minimum of 20 semester units)
Students may graduate under the general education and major requirements in effect at the time of their initial enrollment if continuous enrollment is maintained, or at the time their continuous enrollment commences, or under the requirements in effect at the time of graduation. Continuous enrollment is defined as enrollment in each Fall and Spring semester until graduation.
At least 50% of the units required for the AA major requirements, Certificates of Achievement (formerly Career Certificates), and Department Certificates must be completed at Santa Monica College.
Basic Skills courses may not be applied toward the AA degree. See the Basic Skills Preparation Courses section for details.
Students who have satisfactorily completed courses from a foreign nation’s appropriately accredited universities may apply such credit toward an Associate in Arts degree at SMC. See the Foreign Coursework section for details.
1. Courses that are repeated do not count as part of the minimum 60 units UNLESS they are specifically designated as courses students are permitted to take more than once. For example: Dance 31, Ballet I (1, 1).
2. Units from unaccredited educational institutions are not generally accepted.
3. Units earned at another college must be completed before petitioning for graduation.
4. “Course Repetition” and “Academic Renewal” forms must be processed through the Transfer/Counseling Center before applying for graduation.
5. No more than 8 semester units in Cooperative Work Experience/Internship may be applied toward the AA degree.
6. Veterans may be eligible to receive elective credit for military service. DD214 and verification of service school attendance should be submitted to the Admissions Office.
Requests for IGETC and CSU General Education certification may be filed in the Admissions Office from January 1 to July 31 for the Spring semester and October 1 to December 1 for the Fall semester.