The Associate of Arts degree at King University is both an academic foundation and an introduction to the King experience. It gives students the skills, ideas, and knowledge they need to pursue additional education with confidence and critical thinking.
Similar to King’s traditional Core Curriculum, the Associate of Arts courses express King’s values through exploration of the Arts and Sciences and help students understand their responsibilities to learn and to serve their fellow human beings throughout their lives as part of a global community.
Students must complete 60 semester hours of required coursework in order to earn the Associate of Arts Degree. This program is offered online.
Admission to the Program
The Associate of Arts program at King is an online program that helps students balance personal and professional goals. King welcomes students who desire an excellent education in a setting where Christian values are the foundation upon which a student’s education is based.
Admission Requirements
- Submit a completed application for admission.
- Submit official transcripts from all prior colleges attended.
- Applicants with less than a cumulative 2.0 undergraduate GPA may be considered on a conditional basis. If a student has 12 or fewer earned college credits, a high school transcript or GED must also be submitted with a 2.6 high school GPA.
- Submit ACT/SAT scores (optional).
- Submit an official high school transcript (required for any student who has not completed an associate or bachelor degree).
General requirements for admission to King University include graduation from an accredited or recognized high school, GED, or secondary institution with a minimum of 16 academic units, distributed as follows:
- Four units of English
- Two units of Algebra (Algebra I and Algebra II)
- One unit of Geometry
- Two units of Foreign Language
- Two units of History and Social Studies
- One unit of Natural Science
- Four units of other academic electives
Academic Preparation
The Admissions Committee of the Faculty may conditionally accept students who do not present this preparation along with a minimum 2.2 academic grade point average on a 4.0 Revised May 2017 2 Associate of Arts 3.05.005 scale and a minimum ACT or SAT I composite score of 19 or 890. Students who receive conditional acceptance may take up to 14 semester hours and may not hold academic sanction regarding academic standards during their first semester in attendance at the University.
Applying for Admission as a Transfer
The admissions office considers transfer students on the basis of their previous college work. To complete a transfer application, students must submit official transcripts from all the institutions of higher education they have attended. Students who have attempted 12 or fewer semester hours of college-level course work after high school graduation must follow the freshman entrance procedures described above and show a cumulative grade point average on previous college work of 2.0 or better on a 4.0 scale.
Students who enter major programs with specified general education requirements must meet the specified requirements for transfer students. Students must take common experience courses or any other course specifically required by the Associate of Arts to meet graduation requirements. All transfer students must meet the residency requirement of 24 King University credits to receive an A.A. degree.
The admission office evaluates students who have 30 or more semester hours of credit based solely on previous college work. King evaluates credits from previously attended colleges or universities on institutional accreditation, level, content, quality, comparability, and degree of program relevance. Students can apply accepted credits to their desired degree, up to a maximum of 76 semester hours. King University grants semester hour equivalence for transfer work of C- or better and allows only work with grades of C- or better to apply toward graduation requirements.
This program is offered online. View more information about the online Associate of Arts program.
Introduction to College Semester
Most Associate of Arts students will complete 12 semester hours of coursework that comprise the Introduction to College Semester. These courses have been created as a way to introduce students to the college experience and enrich their skills in analytical reading, writing, and mathematics.
The following students will not be required to complete the Introduction to College Semester:
- Students who have graduated from high school in the last 5 years with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Students who have passed college-level mathematics or English composition courses in the last 5 years with a grade of C- or higher
Students who have already taken the SAT, ACT, ACT Compass, or ACCUPLACER tests in the last five years and have shown proficiency in Math, Reading, and Writing will take 12 s.h. of electives instead of the three Introduction to College courses to complete the 60 s.h. for the Associate of Arts Degree.
Introduction to College Semester Grade Requirement
Students enrolled in the Introduction to College Semester must pass all three courses in order to proceed in the Associate of Arts Program. If a failing grade is earned in one or more courses, students must petition to repeat the failed course(s). With approval from the Program Coordinator, a student may repeat a failed Introduction to College Semester course once. A second failure will result in dismissal from the program. Revised May 2017 3 Associate of Arts 3.05.005 Every student must earn a grade of C- or higher in IDST 1610 and ENGC 1010. A grade below a C- in either course is equivalent to a grade of F.
Student Learning Outcomes
The Associate of Arts is structured around five competencies that demonstrate the program’s commitment to King University’s mission of building meaningful lives of achievement and cultural transformation in Christ. Students must master these skills and ways of thinking before graduation and demonstrate their competence through specific measures detailed in the Associate of Arts degree’s assessment plan.
Students must demonstrate that they understand how individuals relate to institutions: governmental, ecclesiastical, commercial, educational, and charitable.
- Students will articulate what it means to be a U.S. citizen in today’s world.
- Students will articulate what it means to be a global citizen in today’s world
- Students will consider the ethical implications of decisions that impact their lives as well as the lives of others.
- Students will recognize the importance of service and identify an area where they can apply their individual skills and interests to assist others.
Students must master fundamentals for success in the classroom and beyond.
- Students will be able to communicate effectively in writing.
- Students will be able to communicate effectively in speaking and demonstrate effective listening.
- Students will be able to communicate effectively with numbers.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to collaborate with peers to accomplish tasks.
- Students will demonstrate information literacy.
- Students will employ skills of analysis when presented with a problem.
- Students will demonstrate competency in the use and application of technology.
- Students will gain awareness of health and wellness issues based on current scientific understanding.
Students must develop an understanding of culture through the study of religion, language, values, and social/economic/political systems. Such understanding can lead to transformative actions.
- Students will understand the Christian tradition.
- Students will assess cultural practices in the contexts of place, time, and worldview.
- Students will demonstrate proficiency in a second language.
- Students will examine ways in which identity, including their own, is shaped by culture.
- Students will describe the basic teachings and practices of other world religions.
Students explore their own aesthetic sensibilities as they examine the diverse ways artists express views of truth, beauty, spirituality, society, and the human condition and how aesthetics and worldview combine to create meaning in literature and in the performing and visual arts.
- Students will analyze and interpret aesthetic texts as expressions defined by their genres and historical contexts.
Students must demonstrate an understanding of the procedures, success, and limitations of modern science.
- Students will apply the scientific method to address problems.
- Students will differentiate data-based conclusions from opinion and from other ways of knowing.
- Students will articulate and evaluate the impact of current and emerging science and technologies on social and ethical issues.
The above outcomes will be assessed throughout the Associate of Arts Program and by the OAK (Outcomes Assessment at King) comprehensive assessment test, which will be administered prior to graduation.
Minimum Residency Requirements
Students completing the Associate of Arts at King University must earn at least 24 s.h. (of the 60 s.h. total) at King University.
The following courses which total 18 s.h. must be completed at King:
- ENGC 2010 English Composition: Research and Writing (2 s.h.)
- KING 1500 Introduction to Higher Education (4 s.h.)
- IDST 2200 The Arts in Historical Context (4 s.h.)
- PSCI 2200 The Future of Citizenship (4 s.h.)
- RELG 1001 Foundations of Christian Thought and Practice (4 s.h.)
A student must have a course in every category represented by the King Associate of Arts Curriculum. Courses from other institutions can be transferred in for categories not listed above. Students who are not required to complete the Introduction to College Semester will take elective courses to bring their total number of semester hours to 60.
Grade Requirement for ENGC 1110
Every student must earn a grade of C- or higher in ENGC 1110. A grade below a C- is equivalent to a grade of F. A student with a failing grade must repeat ENGC 1110. Should a student transfer in English composition from another institution, he/she must have a C- or higher in that course.
Associate of Arts Core Curriculum
Courses are grouped three or four to a semester for a total of 12 s.h. Semesters are offered in strict rotation, but incoming students may begin the AA courses in any of the four semesters. Courses indicated with an asterisk (*) must be taken at King.
- MATH 1000 (Not Designed for Transfer) – Principles of Mathematics – 4 s.h.
- IDST 1610 (Not Designed for Transfer) – Preparing for College Level Work – 4 s.h.
- ENGC 1010 (Not Designed for Transfer) – English Composition: Basic Communication – 4 s.h.
- KING 1500* (Not Designed for Transfer) – Introduction to Higher Education – 4 s.h.
- RELG 1001* – Foundations of Christian Thought and Practice – 4 s.h.
- IDST 2200* – The Arts in Historical Context – 4 s.h.
- PSCI 2200* – The Future of Citizenship – 4 s.h.
- ENGC 1110 – English Composition: Writing and Speech – 4 s.h.
- ENGC 2010* – English Composition: Research and Writing – 2 s.h.
- PHED 1110 – Wellness for Life – 2 s.h.
- MATH 1560 – Introduction to Statistics – 4 s.h.
- BIOL 1110 – Principles of Biology and Lab – 4 s.h.
- SPAN 1010 – Spanish Language and Culture – 4 s.h.
- HIST 2110 – 20th and 21st Century Global History – 4 s.h.
- ENGL 2110 – 20th and 21st World Literature – 4 s.h.
- TCOM 1010 – Speech Communication – 4 s.h.