Associate of Arts
The Associate of Arts degree is designed to give students a meaningful accomplishment as they progress through their college experience. Many students complete a great deal of coursework before earning a bachelor’s degree but have no formal way to document that achievement, should their education be paused or interrupted. This program solves that problem by formally recognizing students’ academic progress, ensuring they leave with a tangible degree that validates their time, effort and investment in higher education.
For students pursuing majors other than STEM-heavy pathways, the Associate of Arts provides a flexible and highly transferable structure that aligns naturally with the first two years of a bachelor’s degree. Built around general education and elective coursework, the degree allows students to explore interests, refine academic goals, and maintain clear momentum toward a four‑year degree without adding extra credits or extending time to completion. This flexibility is especially valuable for students who are still refining career plans or considering multiple academic pathways.
The curriculum emphasizes skills that matter across professions and disciplines. Students completing the Associate of Arts strengthen ethical reasoning, professional communication, and critical thinking grounded in real‑world social, cultural and global contexts. These outcomes help students clearly articulate what they have learned and how they think—skills that are essential not only for continued academic success but also for internships, employment, and civic engagement.
Finally, students benefit from the program’s seamless integration into existing university support systems. The Associate of Arts relies on current courses, faculty, advising, success coaching, tutoring, and career services, ensuring consistent academic quality without additional cost or disruption. Because the degree is embedded into advising and student success planning from the start, it encourages persistence, builds confidence and increases the likelihood that students will ultimately complete a bachelor’s degree while still being protected by earning a credential along the way.
- When you enter KWU, you do so as either an associate degree-seeking student or a bachelor’s student (more common). Eligibility for athletic and activity participation may be severely restricted if you enter the Associate degree pathway; however, you may be able to receive an associate degree if you depart KWU early while seeking a bachelor’s degree. Talk to your admissions counselor or student success coach for more information.
