Associate degree

Anassociate degreeorassociate's degreeis anundergraduate degreeawarded after a course ofpost-secondary studylasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above ahigh school diplomaand below abachelor's degree.

The first associate degrees were awarded in the UK (where they are no longer awarded) 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.^[1]Associate degrees have since been introduced in a small number of other countries.

Americas

Argentina

In Argentina, tertiary colleges ( "institutos terciarios" ) offer associate degrees in a variety of areas, including elementary and high school teacher, and technical fields, upon completion of three or four years of study. Some of these degrees may be articulated with university programs, to obtain a bachelor degree after, usually, two additional years. Associate degrees are also offered by some universities, as a final degree or as an intermediate stage before a bachelor degree.

In Hispanic America, an associate degree is called acarrera técnica,tecnicaturaorTécnico Superior Universitario(TSU), while a bachelor's degree would be known as alicenciaturaoringeniería.

Brazil

InBrazil,undergraduate degrees are known asgraduação('graduate') while graduate degrees are known aspós-graduação('postgraduate'). 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 theBrazilian Constitutionand as a duty of the State in Article 208, Items I, IV, and V, of the Brazilian Constitution.^[2]

In 2001, Brazil addedtecnólogo('technologist') as a form of undergraduate degree (graduação). A technologist's degree varies between two and three years of full time studies to complete. This degree takes a shorter time period to obtain than a bachelor or teaching degree (some of which may take between four and six years to complete), and it aims to provide highly specialized knowledge (e.g.,agribusinesstechnical degree,tourism managementdegree,web developmenttechnical degree, etc.).^[3]

Canada

Education in Canadais a provincial power: eachprovince and territoryregulates tertiary education and degree system in their jurisdictions, with pan-Canadian co-ordination in aCouncil of Ministers of Education, Canada.British Columbia^[4]^[5]is the only Canadian province offering American-style associate degrees.^[6]Similar to the U.S., these consist of a two-year program and allow for articulation onto the third year of a bachelor's degree program. Other provinces do not offer associate degrees but do offer similarhigher educationqualifications below the bachelor's level: These are two-year courses resulting in a diploma in a broad range of technical, professional and academic subjects. Articulation into bachelor's programs are the norm but can differ by subject (with some specialties rarer among bachelor's).Ontarioalso offers three-yearadvanced diplomaswhich are not considered as associate degrees.^[7]The territories have fewer but similar diploma programs, some being particularly geared to Arctic environments, and northern Indigenous cultures and languages, with bachelor's programs being a mix oflocal provision,partnerships withinstitutionsbased elsewhere in Canada andinternational consortia.Indigenous nations in most provinces have education systems also provide First Nations-focused diplomas programs, withNorth American Aboriginal education bodies.InQuebec,theDiplôme d'études collégiales(diploma of college studies), taught at post-secondarycollèges d'enseignement général et professionnel(colleges of general and professional education;cégeps) can be a two-year pre-university qualification that is a pre-requisite for entry into the bachelor's degree. However, because a bachelor's degree in Quebec takes 3 years to complete instead of 4 years, it can be thought as an articulation onto the second year of a standard North American bachelor's degree program. Quebec also has a three-year Cégep technical programme preparing students for employment.^[8]

United States

In the United States, associate degrees are awarded after completion of sixty semester or ninety quarter college credits.

The two most commonly awarded associate degrees are theAssociate in/of Arts(AA) andAssociate in/of Science(AS) degrees.^[9]^[10]AA degrees are awarded in theliberal arts,humanities,andsocial sciencefields; AS degrees are awarded in thenatural science,applied science,andformal sciencefields.

Generally, one year of study is focused on college level general education in disciplines such asCommunications,English,History,Mathematics,Natural Science,andSocial Science,and the second year is focused on the area of a student's major.

Students who complete a vocational program can often earn aterminalassociate degree such as theAssociate of Applied Arts(AAA) or theAssociate of Applied Science(AAS).^[11]

Transfer admissions in the United Statessometimes allows courses taken and credits earned on an AA or AS to be counted toward a bachelor's degree more commonly througharticulationortransfer creditagreements but sometimes throughrecognition of prior learning,depending on the courses taken, applicable state laws/regulations, and the transfer requirements of the university.^[12]

Common associate-level degree titles include:^[11]

Associate of Arts (AA)
Associate of Applied Arts (AAA)
Associate of Applied Business (AAB)
Associate of Applied Science (AAS)
Associate of Forestry (AF)
Associate of Fine Arts (AFA)
Associate of Theology (ThA or ATh)
Associate of Science (AS)
Associate of Occupational Studies (AOS)

California

The Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act was signed into legislation on September 29, 2010, which is legislation that grants anyCalifornia Community Collegestudent who has earned the Associate in Arts degree for Transfer (AA-T) or the Associate in Science degree for Transfer (AS-T) priority admission to CSU (California State University) into a similar baccalaureate (BA) degree program with a guarantee of junior standing.^[13]

Historical development

TheUniversity of Chicagowas established in 1891 with four groups of colleges – liberal arts, literature, science, and practical arts (later commerce and administration). These were subdivided into 'junior' (or 'academic') and 'senior' (or 'university') 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 (Associate in Arts, Associate in Literature, and Associate in Science), 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 theUnited Kingdom,but there is no direct evidence of this. Chicago discontinued its associate degrees in 1918.^[14]

The associate degree spread across the US, with California College in Oakland (now theAmerican Baptist Seminary of the West) introducing Associate in Arts and Associate in Letters degrees in 1900, and the Lewis Institute in Chicago (now part of theIllinois Institute of Technology) introducing Associate in Literature and Associate in Science degrees in 1901 (both replaced by the Associate in Arts in 1904) 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 Universityand 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.^[15]

By 1918, 23% ofjunior collegeswere 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.^[16]

West Indies

Two year associate degrees are found throughout the West Indies. They are offered by regional organisations such as theCaribbean Examinations Council^[17]and theUniversity of the West Indies,^[18]and at institutions of higher education in particular, within The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,Barbados,^[19]Jamaica,^[20]andSt. Kitts and Nevis,^[21]among others.

Oceania

Australia

In 2004, Australia added "associate degree" to theAustralian Qualifications Framework.^[22]This title was given to courses more academically focused than advanced diploma courses, and typically designed to articulate to bachelor's degree courses.^[23]

Europe

Qualifications on the short cycle of theBologna Process/level 5 on theEuropean Qualifications Frameworksit between secondary education and bachelor's degree level and are thus approximately equivalent to an associate degree. Such qualifications include theFoundation degree(FdA, FdSc, FdEng),Certificate of Higher Education(CertHE) andDiploma of Higher Education(DipHE) in the United Kingdom,^[24]theHigher Certificatein theRepublic of Ireland,^[25]and the FrenchDiplôme universitaire de Technologie(DUT) andBrevet de Technicien supérieur(BTS).^[26]

Czech Republic

In Czech Republic one achieves the titleDiS."Diplomovaný specialista" (Certificated Specialist).

Denmark

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

France

For many decades, a diploma comparable to an associate degree was considered a very adequate degree for those willing to work as qualified technicians. Yet as the general population spends an increasing amount of time studying, they are no longer as attractive to students who wish to distinguish themselves.^[27]In 2021, theDiplôme Universitaire de Technologie(DUT) was reframed as an intermediate degree part of a three-year curriculum now referred to as BUT.^[28]Prior to the reform of 2006, universities awarded a two-year diploma called DEUG, the purpose of which was also to help the student pursue studies in a field that differed from what was initially intended. The degree was considered a 'stepping stone' ahead of the completion of a bachelor's degree. Aside from theBrevet de Technicien Supérieur(BTS) which remains relevant in many fields for which long academic studies are not deemed crucial^[29]and for which young professionals are in demand, degrees comparable to an associate degree are gradually being phased out, although their legitimacy remains in theory (but not always in practice^[30]) unchanged for those who were awarded one in the past.

Greece

See:IEK

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, there were four pilots between 2005 and 2011 to assess the added value of the associate degree.^[31]In 2007 the associate degree was added to the Dutch system of higher education within the Higher Professional Education (HBO) stream taught at universities of applied sciences (hogeschool). 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 (WO) stream.^[32]

Norway

A two-year education on BA-level is calledHøgskolekandidat,translated "university college graduate".^[33]Only a few professions require 120ECTS,e.g.piano tuner,driving instructor.

Sweden

A 2–2.5 year education on BA-level is called an AP-Degree (Academy Professional Degree). See also: List ofuniversitiesandcollegesinSweden. Business academies offer two-year academy profession programmes; some business academies also offer professional bachelor programmes, further adult education and diploma programmes.

United Kingdom

The title ofAssociate in Physical Science(Associate in Science(ASc) from 1879) was introduced in 1865 by theUniversity of Durham College of Physical Sciences(nowNewcastle University) and awarded from 1873.^[34]^[35] It required (in 1884) passes in three of mathematics, physics, chemistry and geology, and allowed students to go on to take the examination for the Bachelor of Science.^[36]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 theUniversity of Chicago.^[35]^[37]The ASc was withdrawn in 1904.^[38]Durham also introduced anAssociate in Theology(ATh) in 1901, which was only offered in 1901 and 1902.^[39]Yorkshire College (now theUniversity of Leeds) offeredAssociate in EngineeringandAssociate in Coal Miningdegrees from 1877 and there were thirteen different types of associate degrees offered in British universities in 1927.^[35]

The title ofAssociate in Arts,introduced by theUniversity of Oxfordin 1857 and sometimes referred to as the degree of Associate in Arts, predates the Durham degree. However, it was an examination for "those who are not members of the university" and who were under the age of 18; as such it was at the level of a high school qualification rather than a modern associate degree. Examinations were held in English, languages, mathematics, science, drawing and music, with the title being conferred on those students who passed any two (as long as the two were not drawing and music).^[40]

British equivalents to associate degrees vary depending on the national system which issued them. Based on assessment by the UKNARIC,American and Canadian associate degrees are considered equivalent to one year higher education courses such as theHigher National Certificateat level 4 of the BritishFramework for Higher Education Qualifications.Australian associate degrees, however, are considered equivalent to two-year higher education courses such as theHigher National Diplomaat level 5 on the framework.^[41]

Asia

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, associate degrees were first introduced in 2000 with the aim of increasing the number of students with post-secondary qualifications.^[42]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 (Qualifications Frameworks Level 4), and allows articulation onto the third year of a four-year (US-style) bachelor's degree or the second year of a three-year (British-style) bachelor's degree.^[43]A survey in 2016 showed that most students believe associate degrees will help them to get onto bachelor's degree courses, but not (by themselves) 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.^[44]^{[better source needed]}This has been criticized, with others saying that education had benefits beyond income, which is only a short-term measure.^[45]

Turkey

Associate degrees are calledönlisans derecesiin Turkey, while bachelor's degrees are known aslisans derecesi.^[46]

References

Citations

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