Social Sciences, Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

Social Sciences, an option of the Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts degree program, is primarily designed to prepare students to transfer into the junior year of a baccalaureate degree program in anthropology, criminology, political science, psychology or sociology. In addition, students seeking admission into pre-law, social work, or public administration programs would receive a solid academic foundation on which to build.

The social sciences faculty is strongly committed to providing students with an introduction to a variety of disciplines within the social sciences. This broader perspective is desirable because it provides students with a better understanding of human behavior and social groups than can be provided by simply focusing on one academic discipline. Students who wish to major in a particular discipline (e.g. psychology) after transferring can still graduate with a total of 12 credits in that discipline; however, transfer institutions which grant the bachelor of arts degree prefer students to take most of the coursework in the major at their institution. Students seeking employment immediately after graduation also benefit from the program, in view of the increasing emphasis many employers place on a liberal arts education.

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 of Courses with a counselor. Selection of these courses will facilitate full transfer of general education credits completed toward the degree.

Graduates are able to:

use discipline-specific schools of thought to analyze social events
understand and interpret research in the social science discipline
apply professional codes of ethics used to address issues raised in social science research

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

ENGL 111 - English Composition I 3 Credits
Social Science Core 3 Credits ¹
History 3 Credits ²
Mathematics 3 Credits ³
Humanities Track Course 3 Credits ⁴

Second Semester

ENGL 112 - English Composition II 3 Credits
Social Science Core 3 Credits ¹
History 3 Credits ²
Humanities Track Course 3 Credits ⁴
Science (lab) 4 Credits ^2,⁵

Third Semester

Social Science Core 3 Credits ¹
Communication 3 Credits ²
Humanities Track Course 3 Credits ⁴
Social Science Elective 3 Credits ⁶

SSCI 101 - Technological Literacy Across Social Sciences 2 Credits

Fourth Semester

Social Science Core 3 Credits ¹
Mathematics or Science 3 Credits ^2,3
Social Science Elective 3 Credits ⁶
Global and Cultural Awareness 3 Credits ⁷
Free Elective 3 Credits ⁸

Total Credits 60

¹ Social Science majors must take the following courses: SOCI 101 Introduction to Sociology , POLI 101 Introduction to Political Science , PSYC 103 Introduction to Psychology , and either ANTH 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology or ANTH 102 Human Origins . Courses may be taken in any order.

² Select a course from the appropriate category of the General Education list.

³ Mathematics by official placement. Students may not take courses below placement level except by permission of department chairperson.

⁴ Humanities Track 1:

First Semester

I.Select one of the following courses: PHIL 101 Introduction to Philosophy , PHIL 105 World Religions , PHIL 106 Current Moral and Social Issues , or PHIL 114 Ethics .

Second Semester

II. Select one course from the General Education list with an ARTH or FILM prefix.

Third Semester

III. Select one of the following courses: HIST 191 African-American History , HIST 239 Modern Latin American History , or HIST 250 History of Women in the United States .

Humanities Track 2:

First and Second Semesters

I. Select a two-semester sequence of a Foreign Language. 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 & Degree Requirements .

Third Semester

III. Select one of the following courses: PHIL 105 World Religions or PHIL 106 Current Moral and Social Issues .

⁵ Students are advised to select from the following one-semester lab Science courses: BIOL 111 Principles of Biology , BIOL 120 Human Biology , BIOL 150 Plants, Humans & the Environment , CHEM 102 Introduction to Chemistry , GEOL 157 Introduction to Geology , PHYS 112 Concepts of Physics , or PHYS 130 Astronomy .

⁶ Any course from ANTH, POLI, PSYC, or SOCI.

⁷ 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 Associate of Arts (AA) degree may select an additional Social Science or Humanities General education course instead.

⁸ Any college-level course.