General Studies, AA

Program Information

The Associate of Arts in General Studies provides a well-rounded foundation of knowledge and skills that prepares students for employment and/or further academic study. The program is especially suited for working adults seeking to build academic credentials while progressing toward a bachelor’s degree. The program provides flexibility for students to select pathways to bachelor’s degree programs in psychology, accounting, business, and management and allows for generous transfer credit.

In the core courses and directed electives of general education, students develop AI fluency and essential competencies in written and oral communication, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and information literacy. General education also develops ethical reasoning and the responsible use of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence. Free electives in the degree allow for the development of foundational disciplinary knowledge in psychology, accounting, economics, management, finance, and data analysis, including artificial intelligence, to support analysis and decision-making in academic, professional, and everyday contexts.

Step up to a bachelor’s degree

In the process of completing the AA, students fulfill the general education requirements of GGU’s bachelor’s degrees, while also developing skills and knowledge outcomes in communication, critical thinking, media and information literacy, and quantitative fluency. A flexible course of study is designed to maximize the number of transfer credits counted toward degree completion.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the AA in General Studies, students will be able to:

Written Communication. Write clearly and coherently for professional audiences, including contexts that involve AI-mediated drafting and collaboration.
Oral Communication. Speak clearly and deliver clear, organized presentations appropriate to audience and context.
Quantitative Reasoning. Interpret quantitative information, evaluate statistical claims, and use computational tools to analyze problems.
Critical Thinking. Analyze arguments, weigh evidence, and evaluate claims, including those produced by AI systems, with appropriate critical awareness and rigor.
Information and AI Literacy. Locate, evaluate, and ethically use information from human and AI sources to support inquiry and decision-making.
Ethical Reasoning. Identify ethical dimensions of professional and personal dilemmas and decisions, including those raised by emerging technologies, and apply principled frameworks to navigate and address them.
Human and Social Understanding. Apply psychological, social, and economic perspectives to analyze and interpret behaviors, ways of thinking, and systems.

Requirements for the Associate of Arts in General Studies

AA in General Studies - 60 units total

General Education: 30 units
Free Electives: 30 units

The program includes a 30-unit general education structure composed of 9 units of required core courses, 15 units of competencies and ethics directed electives, and 6 units of general studies free electives. The remaining 30 units are free electives, which may include transfer credit. GGU courses that may be used to complete free electives are organized into pathway groups aligned with bachelor’s degree programs in accounting, business, management, and psychology. Students may select courses from any pathway group to complete the 30 units of free electives.

Each course listed carries three semester units of credit, unless otherwise noted. A cumulative grade-point average of 2.00 “C” or higher is required in all courses taken at Golden Gate University.

General Education - 30 units

Core Courses - 9 units

Students must complete the following courses:

COMM 1 Professional Writing and AI 3 unit(s)
CS 1 AI Applications in the Workplace 3 unit(s)
MATH 1 Quantitative Reasoning with AI 3 unit(s)

Competencies and Ethics: Directed Electives - 15 units

Select 15 units from the following:

COMM 40 Understanding Communication 3 unit(s)
CRTH 10 Critical Thinking 3 unit(s)
ENGL 60 Research Writing 3 unit(s)
MATH 40 Statistics 3 unit(s)
PHIL 50 Professional and Personal Ethics 3 unit(s)

General Studies: Free Electives - 6 units

Select 6 units from the following:

ACCTG 1A Introductory Financial Accounting 3 unit(s)
ECON 1 Principles of Microeconomics 3 unit(s)
FP 320 Introduction to Personal Financial Planning 3 unit(s)
PSYCH 10 Introduction to Psychology 3 unit(s)
SOSC 60 Introduction to Sociology 3 unit(s)
A course used to fulfill a General Education requirement may also be used to fulfill other degree requirements.

Free Electives - 30 units

Students must complete 30 units of undergraduate coursework, which may include transfer credit, to fulfill this requirement. GGU courses that may be taken to complete the Free Electives are organized into four pathway groups. Pathway groups guide students to courses that will satisfy degree requirements in BS in Accounting, BS in Business, BA in Management, and BA in Psychology. Students may take courses from any pathway group to satisfy the 30 units of Free Electives.

General Education courses may count toward bachelor’s degree program requirements. However, general education courses that double count toward general education and program requirements count only once toward total degree units. Students must complete the total number of required units in a program to earn an AA or bachelor’s degree.