Associate of Arts in General Studies

Newlane University’s Associate of Arts in General Studies is an online degree program that offers a sustained investigation into diverse fields of study including Humanities, Science, Social Science, Math, Business, and the Arts.

In order to earn a Bachelor degree, a student must complete the Associate of Arts degree (or transfer the equivalent number of credits) in addition to any major-specific required courses.

60 Semester Credit Hours

Average Completion time: 2 years

Total cost: $1500

Program Outcomes:

  • Express self clearly, accurately, and succinctly in written and spoken work.
  • Be familiar with, and work effectively with different forms of inquiry and knowledge (e.g., scientific, mathematical, humanities, the arts, etc.)
  • Effectively conduct and interpret findings from scientific experiments.
  • Effectively conduct and interpret findings from social scientific studies.
  • Effectively read and interpret involved texts from a range of disciplines.
  • Demonstrate habits of successful college study.
  • Describe and develop intellectual and practical skills including clear communication, quantitative reasoning, qualitative reasoning (critical, analytical, and creative thinking), and information literacy.
  • Describe and develop habits of ethical reasoning and conduct, effective social responsibility, civic engagement, and global citizenship.

In order to enroll in the Associate of Arts in General Studies degree, prospective students must complete the Newlane Basic Orientation and Jumpstart course and a Newlane Introduction Sequence.

A Newlane Introduction Sequence is composed of any four courses from the following list:

GE101 KEYS OF COLLEGE SUCCESS
ENG102 ENGLISH COMPOSITION
MATH101 COLLEGE ALGEBRA
BIO102 INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY
HLTH101 INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH
PHIL101 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

Completing these sequences gives students an opportunity to experience online learning across a range of academic disciplines through the Newlane platform before committing to a degree program.


The Associate of Arts degree consists of 60 semester credit hours and by completing the Associate of Arts degree, students complete the general education requirement for our Bachelor’s degree, plus at least 21 elective credits. The credit requirements for different, distinct types of education and training for degrees at Newlane ensures that students engage in multiple forms of inquiry, and learn about a range of disciplines and content matter. The Associate of Arts degree is composed of 39 general education credits (see below for credit requirements across different categories) and 21 elective credits, that can be made up from any other courses in the Associate of Arts degree or any course in the Philosophy degree for which the student has met all prerequisites.

Newlane requires 39 credits in General education, including coursework in the following categories: University experience; Communication and Information literacy; Quantitative literacy; Scientific reasoning; Social and Behavioral Sciences; and Arts and Humanities. Our introduction sequence provides a course from each of these categories. See the following for more details on the courses that pertain to these different categories:


ASSOCIATE OF ARTS IN GENERAL STUDIES REQUIREMENTS BY CREDIT TYPE:

GENERAL EDUCATION CREDITS 39
ELECTIVE CREDITS (These credits are made up from any other courses in the Associate of Arts degree. Students may also take courses in the Philosophy major for which they have completed all prerequisites.) 21

GENERAL EDUCATION CREDIT REQUIREMENTS BY CATEGORIES:

UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE 3
COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION LITERACY 6
QUANTITATIVE LITERACY 6
SCIENTIFIC REASONING 6
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES 12
ARTS & HUMANITIES 6
TOTAL 39

ASSOCIATE OF ARTS COURSES ORGANIZED BY CATEGORIES

BOLD = Part of General Education Introduction Sequence


INITIATION SEQUENCE 0 credit hours

COURSE NUMBER COURSE NAME SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
NWLN100 NEWLANE BASIC ORIENTATION AND JUMPSTART 0

UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE 3 credit hours

COURSE NUMBER COURSE NAME SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
GE100 KEYS TO COLLEGE SUCCESS 3

COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION LITERACY minimum 6 credit hours

Take the following two courses:

COURSE NUMBER COURSE NAME SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
ENG102 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 3
COMM101 INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION 3

QUANTITATIVE LITERACY minimum 6 credit hours

Take two of the following courses:

COURSE NUMBER COURSE NAME SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
MATH101 COLLEGE ALGEBRA 3
MATH201 INTRODUCTION TO MATHEMATICAL REASONING 3
PHIL203 SYMBOLIC LOGIC 3

SCIENTIFIC REASONING minimum 6 credit hours

Take two of the following courses: 

COURSE NUMBER COURSE NAME SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
BIO102 INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY 3
BIO101 INTRODUCTION TO CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 3
PHYS101 INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL SCIENCE 3
ASTR101 INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY 3

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES minimum 12 credit hours

Take four of the following courses:

COURSE NUMBER COURSE NAME SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
HLTH101 INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH 3
PSYCH101 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 3
SOC101 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY 3
ANTH101 INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY 3
POLSCI101 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 3
HIST202 A HISTORY OF THE MODERN WORLD 3
HIST203 EUROPEAN HISTORY 3
BUS101 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS 3

ARTS & HUMANITIES minimum 6 credit hours

Take two of the following courses:

COURSE NUMBER COURSE NAME SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
PHIL101 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY 3
ART101 ART APPRECIATION 3
PHIL102 INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS 3