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DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
 

Degrees A.A. A.S. A.A.A. A.A.S. 1 Written & Oral Communication 9 9 6 6 2 Humanities 6 6 3 3 3 Foreign Language 6 - - - 4 Social Sciences 12 94 6 6 5 Mathematics 6 6 0-3 0-3 6 Natural Sciences 8 8 0-3 0-3 7 STD Elective 1 1 1 1 8 Physical Education/Wellness 2 2 2 2 9 Computer Usage 0-3 0-3 0-3 0-3 10 Elective & Major Area Requirements 7-16 16-22 41-48 44-48 Total Credits * 60-63 60-63 65-69 65-6911 *Minimum credits required for each degree program as specified by the Virginia Community College System. 1Written and Oral Communication. For A.A. and A.S. degrees, ENG 111-ENG 112, College Composition I-II are required. A 3-credit speech course is also required.     For A.A.A. and A.A.S. degrees, 3 credits in English composition (ENG 111, College Composition, ENG 115, Technical Writing, or ENG 131, Technical Report Writing) and a speech course are required.     See the following "General Education Electives" section for a list of approved general education courses. 2Humanities. Humanities requirements may be met by courses in art (ART), 200-level literature (ENG), humanities (HUM), music (MUS), philosophy (PHI), religion (REL), sign communication (SCM), or foreign languages.     See the following "General Education Electives" section for a list of approved general education courses. 3Foreign Language. If you are in an A.A. program, you must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language through the intermediate (201-202) level, which is consistent with the lower division requirements for most B.A. degrees. Waivers or credit by exam (through CLEP) for previous experience may be available for some languages. 4Social Sciences. The social science requirement may be met by courses in economics (ECO), geography (GEO), history (HIS), political science (PLS), psychology (PSY), and sociology (SOC). Where the social science is listed as an elective in a curriculum, you may select from courses in any of these areas.     Only 6 semester hours of social/behavioral sciences are required for engineering majors who plan to transfer to a baccalaureate degree engineering program that requires 6 or fewer hours in this category, provided that the college/university publishes such requirements in its transfer guide.     See the following "General Education Electives" section for a list of approved general education courses. 5Mathematics. A.A. and A.S.: A minimum of 6 credits in mathematics at or above MTH 151 is required. The General Studies A.S. degree requires only 3 credits of mathematics.     A.A.A. and A.A.S: A minimum of 3 credits must be earned in mathematics/natural sciences. In degrees that have a science requirement, the mathematics course may be fewer than 3 credits.     See the following "General Education Electives" section for a list of approved general education courses. 6Natural Sciences. A.A. and A.S. degrees require 8 credits in courses in the natural sciences that include laboratories. Courses may be chosen from biology (BIO), chemistry (CHM), geology (GOL), natural science (NAS) (non-science majors only) or physics (PHY). Some four-year degree programs require a two-semester sequence in a single laboratory science.     A.A.A. and A.A.S. degrees may or may not require a natural science, depending on the curriculum.     See the following "General Education Electives" section for a list of approved general education courses. 7STD Elective. A one-credit Student Development course is required. All Student Development courses cover topics related to academic success, responsible decision making, and college information. Some sections address additional topics. First-time NVCC College students are required to take STD 100 or another STD course before enrolling for their 16th semester hour at the College. 8Physical Education/Wellness. The 2-credit physical education/wellness requirement may be met by one of the following options: . PED 116, 1 credit, and a PED activities course, 1 credit . PED 116, 2 credits . PED 116, 1 credit, and one of the following RPK activity courses: 205, 207, 208, 216, or 225. . PED 220, 2 credits 9Computer Usage. Students who entered NVCC in the fall 1999 semester or later and who wish to graduate from a degree program must demonstrate computer competency either by passing the NVCC Computer Competency Test or by taking an approved computer competency course. If your degree requires you to take a computer course, you may not substitute the computer competency test for the computer course. Most degree programs specify which computer competency course to take, but if no such course is designated, students may choose from among AST 232, AST 236, BUS 226, CSC 110, HIT 130, or IST 117 courses.     To meet the NVCC computer competency requirements, students completing programs of 45 or more credits must be able to perform the following computer skills: . Perform basic operating system tasks using the current operating system such as run a program, find a file, create a folder (directory), and copy a file from the hard drive to a floppy disk. . Identify, explain the purpose of, and use the hardware components of a computer, e.g., CPU, monitor, hard drive, floppy drive, keyboard, printer, keyboard, mouse. . Demonstrate keyboard skills ranging from basic familiarity with the keyboard to specific words-per-minute speed as determined appropriate by the discipline/program faculty. . Perform basic word processing operations including creating a new document, performing simple editing and formatting operations on the document, printing, saving, and retrieving. . Perform basic spreadsheet operations including creating a new worksheet, entering numeric values, labels, formulas, and simple functions, performing simple editing and formatting operations on the worksheet, printing, saving, and retrieving. . Perform minimal level database operations including creating a simple table, identifying fields and records, creating a simple report and query. . Demonstrate skills with presentation software ranging from knowing that such software exists to being able to create and present a slide show. . Connect to the Internet and the World Wide Web. . Access resources using the Internet, the World Wide Web, and subscription databases. . Judge the integrity of the identified resources. . Perform an effective search using multiple key words. . Send and receive electronic mail. The NVCC Computer Competency Test may be taken once every 30 days until passed and is valid for seven (7) years. 10General Elective and Major Area Requirements. Not all courses will transfer or meet the requirements of a four-year degree. You should see a counselor or faculty advisor prior to registering for general electives. If your primary goal is to transfer to a four-year degree program, you should become familiar with the requirements of your intended transfer institution and select electives that meet that institution's requirements. 11Total Credits. The total credits in A.A.S. degrees are between 65 and 69 credits, with the exception of the programs in Health Technology and Veterinary Technology that may have as many as 72 credits.