Mar 19, 2024  
2018-2019 Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Liberal Arts, Associate of Arts


The Liberal Arts degree program offers students a wide variety of courses to choose from and, at the same time, prepares the student to transfer into the junior year of study at a four-year college. The program is similar to other general Liberal Arts programs in the first two years at such colleges.

Liberal Arts is the study of basic knowledge and the development of one’s ability to think clearly. Thus, Liberal Arts students take courses in English, their own and foreign cultures, mathematics and science, the arts, the study of society, past and present, the study of ideas and a foreign language. 

Although Liberal Arts is not career training in a direct way, many employers in corporations, government and in such professions as law and medicine believe that the best preparation for work in their fields is a Liberal Arts education. Liberal Arts teaches the student how to use and think about information, no matter what the job is or how jobs change.

Graduates are able to:

  • apply critical thinking strategies across the disciplines
  • write research-based essays that analyze and synthesize sources to support a thesis
  • organize and deliver effective oral presentations
  • forge a practical linkage between learning in the classroom and applying that learning to real-world problems
  • demonstrate cultural competence by communicating effectively and efficiently in cross-cultural and multicultural situations

Students enrolled in Associate of Arts degree programs who intend to transfer to four-year colleges or universities are strongly advised to discuss the General Education Foundation Courses with a counselor. Selection of these courses will facilitate full transfer of general education credits completed toward the degree.

Raritan Valley Community College Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS) degree programs are designed to comply with the New Jersey Community Colleges General Education Foundation which supports transfer of courses to NJ Public four-year colleges and universities.  Students who intend to transfer to a NJ college or university can further improve the transfer of courses by using the Recommended Transfer Program (RTP) feature in NJTransfer.org.

NOTE: Students considering transfer to Rutgers University should choose a Global & Cultural Awareness (GCA) General Education course not replicated elsewhere in their curriculum.  Students who have already fulfilled the GCA requirement for their Associates of Arts (AA) degree should select an additional Social Sciences or Humanities General Education course.

Curriculum – A.A. Degree


First Semester


Second Semester


Third Semester


  • Science (lab) 4 Credits 2
  • History 3 Credits 2
  • English Literature 3 Credits 2
  • Global & Cultural Awareness 3 Credits 5
  • Free Elective 3 Credits 6

Fourth Semester


  • Mathematics or Science 0-4 Credits 2,7
  • History 3 Credits 2
  • English Literature 3 Credits 2
  • Free Elective 3 Credits 6
  • Free Elective 3 Credits 6

Total Credits 61 - 65


1 Mathematics by official placement test. Students may not take courses below placement level. Exceptions by permission of department chairperson.

2 Select a course from the appropriate category of the General Education  list. For the Math, Science and Technological Competency General Education requirements, students must take a minimum of 12 credits. This must include one lab science course, one math course, and satisfaction of the technological competency requirement by either passing the technological competency test (no credit) or taking a technological competency general education course. If a student passes the technological competency test, another course must be selected from Math, Science or Technological Competency General Education, so that the student has earned at least 12 credits in those categories.

3 A two-semester sequence is required. Placement by examination is required for students who wish to continue studying a language previously studied. Students may not take courses below their placement level. For more information, see Foreign Language Placement Testing and Degree Requirements .

4 FITN 142 Elements of Physical Fitness  or FITN 204 Exercise Physiology & Body Mechanics  may be substituted.

5 Any General Education course that is listed as a Global and Cultural Awareness (GCA) course. If a course satisfies both the Global and Cultural Awareness Requirement and another General Education requirement in Social Science or Humanities, the student may select any course from the General Education  list. However, Students planning to transfer to Rutgers University should choose a Global & Cultural Awareness General Education course, or an additional Social Sciences or Humanities General Education course with the GCA designation.

6 Any college-level course.

7 If the student has already completed 12 credits in the Math, Science and Technological Competency categories, the student does not need to take a course here.