Associate degree


An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two or three years. It is a level of qualification between a high school diploma or GED and a bachelor's degree.
The first associate degrees were awarded in the UK in 1873 before spreading to the US in 1898. In the United States, the associate degree may allow transfer into the third year of a bachelor's degree. Associate degrees have since been introduced in a small number of other countries.

Australia

In 2004, Australia added "associate degree" to the Australian Qualifications Framework. This title was given to courses more academically focused than advanced diploma courses, and typically designed to articulate to bachelor's degree courses.

Brazil

In Brazil, undergraduate degrees are known as graduação. Brazil follows the major traits of the continental European system; free public schools are available from kindergarten up to postgraduate degrees, both as a right established in Article 6, caput of the Brazilian Constitution and as a duty of the State in Article 208, Items I, IV and V, of the Brazilian Constitution. In 2001, Brazil added "Technology" as a undergraduate degree. Technology's degree varies between 2 to 3 years of full time studies to complete. This degree takes a shorter time period to obtain, with specific professional courses aimed at providing highly specialized knowledge.

Canada

Due to the decentralized nature of Canada, each province is responsible for education, and the education system across Canada is not standardized. British Columbia is the only Canadian province offering American-style associate degrees. These are similar to the US associate degree, consisting of a two-year program and allowing for articulation onto the third year of a bachelor's degree program.
The other provinces of Canada do not offer associate degrees as such, but do offer similar higher education qualifications below the level of a bachelor's degree. These are mostly two-year courses, although Ontario also offers three-year advanced diplomas.
In Quebec, the Diplôme d'études collégiales, taught at post-secondary collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel can be a two-year pre-university qualification that is a pre-requisite for entry onto bachelor's degree courses, or a three-year technical programme preparing students for employment.

Europe

Qualifications on the short cycle of the Bologna Process/level 5 on the European Qualifications Framework sit between secondary education and bachelor's degree level and are thus approximately equivalent to an associate degree. Such qualifications include the Foundation degree, Certificate of Higher Education and Diploma of Higher Education in the United Kingdom, the Higher Certificate in the Republic of Ireland, and the French Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie and Brevet de Technicien Supérieur.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, there were four pilots between 2005 and 2011 to assess the added value of the associate degree. In 2007 the associate degree was added to the Dutch system of higher education within the Higher Professional Education stream taught at universities of applied sciences. Associate degree courses form part of HBO bachelor's degree courses, and advising requirements are the same for the two-year associate degree and the related four-year bachelor's degree. Those gaining the associate degree may proceed to an HBO bachelor's degree in only two years, but it does not articulate to bachelor's degrees in the research oriented stream.

[|United Kingdom]

The title of Associate in Physical Science was introduced in 1865 by the University of Durham College of Physical Sciences and awarded from 1873.
It required passes in three of mathematics, physics, chemistry and geology, and allowed students to go on to take the examination for the Bachelor of Science. As a university-level qualification lying below the bachelor's degree, this is considered to be the world's first associate degree in the modern sense, having been first awarded 25 years prior to the introduction of associate degrees into the US by the University of Chicago. The ASc was withdrawn in 1904. Durham also introduced an Associate in Theology in 1901, which was only offered in 1901 and 1902. Yorkshire College.
British equivalents to associate degrees vary depending on the national system which issued them. Based on assessment by the UK NARIC, American and Canadian associate degrees are considered equivalent to one year higher education courses such as the Higher National Certificate at level 4 of the British Framework for Higher Education Qualifications. Australian associate degrees, however, are considered equivalent to two year higher education courses such as the Higher National Diploma at level 5 on the framework.

Denmark

A 2-2.5 year education on BA-level is called "Erhvervsakademiuddannelse". This is called an AP-Degree in English.

Norway

A two-year education on BA-level is called Høgskolekandidat, translated "university college graduate". Only a few professions require 120 ECTS, e.g. piano tuner, driving instructor.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, associate degrees were first introduced into the territory in 2000 with the aim of increasing the number of students with post-secondary qualifications. As originally introduced, the qualification took two or three years, but this was reformed in 2012 to a two-year course. The associate degree is designed as a general academic education qualification, compared to the more vocational Diploma/Higher/Advanced Diploma, and allows articulation onto the third year of a four-year bachelor's degree or the second year of a three-year bachelor's degree. A survey in 2016 showed that most students believe associate degrees will help them to get onto bachelor's degree courses, but not in gaining a career; however only 30% of associate degree graduates gained places for further study, leading to accusations that the degree is "a waste of time and money" and calls for the government to address this by making more bachelor's degree places available. This has been criticized, with others saying that education had benefits beyond income, which is only a short-term measure.

Mexico

An associate degree is called a carrera técnica or Técnico Superior Universitario in Mexico, while a bachelor's degree would be known as a licenciatura or Ingenieria.

United States

In the United States, associate degrees are usually earned in two years or more and can be attained at community colleges, technical colleges, vocational schools, and some colleges, as well as at some universities. A student who completes a two-year program can earn an Associate of Arts/Associate in Arts or an Associate of Science/Associate in Science degree. AA degrees are usually earned in the liberal arts and sciences such as humanities and social science fields; AS degrees are awarded to those studying in applied scientific and technical fields and professional fields of study. Generally, one year of study is focused on college level general education and the second year is focused on the area of discipline.
Students who complete a two-year technical or vocational program can often earn an Associate of Applied Science/Associate in Applied Science, although sometimes the degree name will include the subject.
Transfer admissions in the United States sometimes allows courses taken and credits earned on an AA, AS, or AAS course to be counted toward a bachelor's degree via articulation agreements or recognition of prior learning, depending on the courses taken, applicable state laws/regulations, and the transfer requirements of the university.
Common associate degree titles include:
The Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act was signed into legislation on September 29, 2010, which is a legislation that grants any California Community College student who has earned the Associate in Arts degree for Transfer or the Associate in Science degree for Transfer will be granted priority admission to the CSU into a similar baccalaureate degree program with a guarantee of junior standing.

Historical development

The University of Chicago was established in 1891 with four groups of colleges – liberal arts, literature, science, and practical arts. These were subdivided into 'junior' and 'senior' colleges. Bachelor's degrees were awarded by the senior colleges, and certificates were initially awarded by the junior colleges. In 1899 the board of trustees voted to replace these certificates with associate degrees, which were first awarded in 1900. Eells concludes that it is "not unlikely" that people at Chicago knew of the associate degrees being awarded in the United Kingdom, but there is no direct evidence of this. Chicago discontinued its associate degrees in 1918.
The associate degree spread across the US, with California College in Oakland introducing Associate in Arts and Associate in Letters degrees in 1900, and the Lewis Institute in Chicago introducing Associate in Literature and Associate in Science degrees in 1901 followed by the Associate in Domestic Economy degree in 1908. Associate degrees were not always two-year sub-bachelor's awards in the early 20th century: Harvard University and associated colleges awarded Associate in Arts degrees to students who had passed university extension courses "equal in number and standard to the courses required of a resident student for the degree of Bachelor of Arts" from 1910 to 1933.
By 1918, 23% of junior colleges were awarding Associate in Arts degrees. By 1941–42, 40% of junior colleges awarded some form of associate degree, and by 1960 this had grown to 75%, with 137 different associate degrees in use. Over a third of associate degrees awarded in the US in 1958–59 were granted by Californian junior colleges.

West Indies

Two year associate degrees are found throughout the West Indies. They are offered by regional organisations such as the Caribbean Examinations Council and the University of the West Indies, and at institutions of higher education in Barbados, Jamaica, and St. Kitts and Nevis, among others.

Citations