Associate Degree

Associate degrees are awarded only on Kent State’s regional campuses and are designed to permit a student to complete the freshman and sophomore years of a baccalaureate program and/or to prepare students for immediate employment in a technology-related field. The degree requires a minimum of 60 semester credit hours and should not exceed 65 hours unless it can be shown that the additional coursework is required to meet professional accreditation or licensing requirements.

Associate degree programs requiring hours beyond 65 hours in order to meet accreditation or licensing requirements are expected to align similarly to like programs at other Ohio public institutions and shall not exceed 73 semester credit hours. The degree should not exceed four semesters of full-time study.

The Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Associate of Science (A.S.) degrees provide a planned program of study that is generally equivalent to the first two years of a baccalaureate. The program may also be used for students desiring two years of a general education with emphasis in the arts, social sciences or humanities (for the A.A. degree) or in the natural sciences and mathematics (for the A.S. degree).

The curriculum structure of the A.A. and A.S. degrees at Kent State University:

1. Electives are chosen in the students’ area of interest and/or to meet the requirements of the bachelor’s degree they are wishing to pursue.

Ohio Administrative Code 3333.1.04 Standards for Approval of Associate Degree Programs states the Associate of Applied Business (A.A.B.) and the Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees are “awarded for the successful completion of a planned program of instruction in a technology, the primary objective of which is the preparation of individuals for paid and unpaid employment in that technology, or for additional preparation for a career requiring other than a baccalaureate or advanced degree.”

The curriculum structure of A.A.B. and A.A.S. degrees at Kent State:

1. A technical major constitutes an area of specialization and may include concentration requirements.
2. Non-technical requirements (including Kent Core, orientation and courses related to the technical field) should comprise approximately 50+ percent (i.e., minimum 30 credit hours) of total program.
3. One course from each of the following five categories: (1) Composition, (2) Mathematics and Critical Reasoning, (3) Humanities or Fine Arts, (4) Social Sciences and (5) Basic Sciences.

The Associate of Technical Study (A.T.S.) degree is an individually planned program of study designed to respond to the need for specialized technical education and clearly identifiable career objectives. The Ohio Department of Higher Education divides the ATS degree into two types:

• Type A allows students to develop, in consultation with a faculty advisor, a coherent combination of technical courses selectively drawn from two or more technical programs offered at Kent State to serve a career objective that is not adequately addressed by one of the existing programs alone. Students in the A.T.S. degree type A declare the Individualized Program major at Kent State.
• Type B provides associate degree completion based on a technical certificate or other formal technical training programs. Students are awarded a maximum of 30 credit hours toward the degree for college-level courses completed or training received from other institutions of higher education, career centers or other educational enterprises judged by Kent State to be of college level and for which Kent State awards degree credit. Students in the A.T.S. degree type B declare the appropriate university-approved major in their field.

The curriculum structure of the A.T.S. degree at Kent State University is the following:

1. The major should comprise a minimum 30 credit hours of technical coursework, which may include maximum 30 credit hours of articulated credit.
2. Non-technical requirements include courses closely related to the technical field.
3. One course from each of the following five categories: (1) Composition, (2) Mathematics and Critical Reasoning, (3) Humanities or Fine Arts, (4) Social Sciences and (5) Basic Sciences.