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:

GE101KEYS OF COLLEGE SUCCESS
ENG102ENGLISH COMPOSITION
MATH101COLLEGE ALGEBRA
BIO102INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY
HLTH101INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH
PHIL101INTRODUCTION 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 CREDITS39
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 EXPERIENCE3
COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION LITERACY6
QUANTITATIVE LITERACY6
SCIENTIFIC REASONING6
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES12
ARTS & HUMANITIES6
TOTAL39

ASSOCIATE OF ARTS COURSES ORGANIZED BY CATEGORIES

BOLD = Part of General Education Introduction Sequence


INITIATION SEQUENCE 0 credit hours

COURSE NUMBERCOURSE NAMESEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
NWLN100NEWLANE BASIC ORIENTATION AND JUMPSTART0

UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE 3 credit hours

COURSE NUMBERCOURSE NAMESEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
GE100KEYS TO COLLEGE SUCCESS3

COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION LITERACY minimum 6 credit hours

Take the following two courses:

COURSE NUMBERCOURSE NAMESEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
ENG102ENGLISH COMPOSITION3
COMM101INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION3

QUANTITATIVE LITERACY minimum 6 credit hours

Take two of the following courses:

COURSE NUMBERCOURSE NAMESEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
MATH101COLLEGE ALGEBRA3
MATH201INTRODUCTION TO MATHEMATICAL REASONING3
PHIL203SYMBOLIC LOGIC3

SCIENTIFIC REASONING minimum 6 credit hours

Take two of the following courses: 

COURSE NUMBERCOURSE NAMESEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
BIO102INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY3
BIO101INTRODUCTION TO CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY3
PHYS101INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL SCIENCE3
ASTR101INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY3

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES minimum 12 credit hours

Take four of the following courses:

COURSE NUMBERCOURSE NAMESEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
HLTH101INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH3
PSYCH101INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY3
SOC101INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY3
ANTH101INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY3
POLSCI101INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE3
HIST202A HISTORY OF THE MODERN WORLD3
HIST203EUROPEAN HISTORY3
BUS101INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS3

ARTS & HUMANITIES minimum 6 credit hours

Take two of the following courses:

COURSE NUMBERCOURSE NAMESEMESTER CREDIT HOURS
PHIL101INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY3
ART101ART APPRECIATION3
PHIL102INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS3