Associate of Arts and Sciences
Associate of Arts and Sciences
(AAS)
ABOUT THE ASSOCIATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Start College With Options, Not Pressure
You can explore career options while attending college. Life University’s Associate of Arts and Sciences gives students a structured way to explore their interests, build essential academic skills and make meaningful progress toward a bachelor’s degree while deciding what direction is right for them.
Students complete Life U’s general education curriculum, explore an area connected to one of the University’s bachelor’s programs and finish with a Synthesis experience designed to help them connect what they have learned with their goals, values and next steps.
Program at a Glance
Degree
Associate of Arts and Sciences
Pathway
Bridge to a Life U Bachelor’s Degree
Completion Time
Approximately 1.5–2 Years
Program requirements, course availability and completion time may vary based on transfer credits, course load and individual academic progress.
Learning Objectives
Explore Your Interests. Discover Your Direction.
The Associate of Arts and Sciences is built for exploration without losing momentum. Students develop the broad academic skills expected from a college education while gaining structured opportunities to think more intentionally about what they want to study and where they want to go next.
A Flexible Foundation for Your Next Step
The 90-quarter-credit-hour curriculum includes 60 credit hours of general education, 25 credit hours focused on a potential major or minor, and a five-credit-hour Synthesis experience.
Students develop skills in:
- Written and Oral Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Academic and Career Exploration
- Goal Setting and Self-Reflection
- Applying Learning to Real-World Challenges
After completing foundational coursework, students choose an area from Life University’s bachelor’s degree offerings to explore in greater depth. Those courses can become part of the student’s eventual major, contribute toward a minor or potentially count as electives if the student chooses another direction.
Finish With a Plan
The program culminates in a Synthesis: Reflection and Application course. Students reflect on their academic journey and complete an applied project in an area such as career exploration, research, entrepreneurship, service or social change before developing a clearer plan for their bachelor’s degree and future career.
Career & Academic Paths
Your Next Step Starts With Finding the Right Direction
Unlike a career-specific associate degree, the AAS is designed primarily as a pathway into further undergraduate study. Its goal is to help students better understand their strengths, interests and motivations so they can choose a bachelor’s degree more intentionally.
The program specifically aims for students to integrate their values, interests, motivations and experiences into their academic and career direction and articulate a realistic pathway forward.
- You are interested in college but unsure which major to choose
- You want time to explore different academic interests
- You want to earn a credential while progressing toward a bachelor’s degree
- You have changed majors and want a clearer academic path
- You want personalized faculty support while determining your next step
Students can use their focused coursework to begin exploring an existing Life University bachelor’s discipline before committing to a longer-term academic path.
The degree is specifically structured to serve as a bridge into Life U bachelor’s programs while allowing students to make progress that can carry forward into their next degree.
Visit Life University
Visiting our campus is the best way to picture your future here. Tour our facilities, meet current students and discover how Life U supports your goals in and out of the classroom. Let us show you what Life U is all about.
