An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting two years. It is considered to be greater level of education than a high school diploma or GED but less than a bachelor's degree. The first associate degrees were awarded in the U.K. (where they are no longer awarded) in 1873 before spreading to the U.S. in 1898. They have since been introduced in a small number of other countries.
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Australia
In 2004, Australia added "associate degree" to the Australian Qualifications Framework. This title was given to courses more academically focused than advanced diploma courses, and typically designed to articulate to bachelor's degree courses.
Canada
Associate degrees in Arts and Science are offered as provincial qualifications in British Columbia. They are similar to the U.S. associate degree, consisting of a two-year course and allowing articulation onto the third year of bachelor's degree courses.
Other provinces of Canada do not offer associate degrees as such, but do offer sub-bachelor's higher education qualifications, e.g. the one year certificate, two year diploma and three year advanced diploma in Ontario. In Quebec, the Diplôme d'études collégiales (diploma of college studies), taught at post-secondary collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel (colleges of general and professional education; cégeps) can be a two-year pre-university qualification that is a pre-requisite for entry onto (three year) bachelor's degree courses, or a three-year technical programme preparing students for employment.
Europe
Qualifications on the short cycle of the Bologna Process/level 5 on the European Qualifications Framework sit between secondary education and bachelor's degree level and are thus approximately equivalent to an associate degree. Such qualifications include the Foundation degree (FdA, FdSc, FdEng), Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE) and Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) in the United Kingdom, the Higher Certificate in the Republic of Ireland, and the French Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie (DUT) and Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (BTS).
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, there were four pilots between 2005 and 2011 to assess the added value of the associate degree. In 2007 the associate degree was added to the Dutch system of higher education within the Higher Professional Education (HBO) stream taught at universities of applied sciences (hogeschool). Associate degree courses form part of HBO bachelor's degree courses, and advising requirements are the same for the two year associate degree and the related four year bachelor's degree. Those gaining the associate degree may proceed to an HBO bachelor's degree in only two years, but it does not articulate to bachelor's degrees in the research oriented (WO) stream.
United Kingdom
The title of Associate in Physical Science (later Associate in Science) was used by the University of Durham College of Physical Sciences (now Newcastle University) from the 1870s. It required (in 1884) passes in three of mathematics, physics, chemistry and geology, and allowed students to go on to take the examination for the Bachelor of Science. As a university-level qualification lying below the bachelor's degree, this is considered to be the world's first associate degree in the modern sense, having been first awarded in 1873, 25 years prior to the introduction of associate degrees into the U.S. by the University of Chicago.
The title of Associate in Arts, introduced by the University of Oxford in 1857 and sometimes referred to as the degree of Associate in Arts, predates the Durham degree. However, it was an examination for "those who are not members of the university" and who were under the age of 18; as such it was at the level of a high school qualification rather than a modern associate degree. Examinations were held in English, languages, mathematics, science, drawing and music, with the title being conferred on those who students who passed any two (as long as the two were not drawing and music).
Btitish equivalents to associate degrees vary depending on the national system which issued them. Based on assessment by the UK NARIC, American and Canadian associate degrees are considered equivalent to one year higher education courses such as the Higher National Certificate at level 4 of the British Framework for Higher Education Qualifications. Australian associate degrees, however, are considered equivalent to two year higher education courses such as the Higher National Diploma at level 5 on the framework.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, associate degrees were first introduced into the territory in 2000 with the aim of increasing the number of students with post-secondary qualifications. As originally introduced, the qualification took two or three years, but this was reformed in 2012 to a two-year course. The associate degree is designed as a general academic education qualification, compared to the more vocational Higher Diploma, and allows articulation onto the three year of a four-year (US-style) bachelor's degree or the second year of a the-year (British-style) bachelor's degree. A survey in 2016 showed that most students believe associate degrees will help them to get onto bachelor's degree courses, but not (by themselves) in gaining a career; however only 30% of associate degree graduates gained places for further study, leading to accusations that the degree is "a waste of time and money" and calls for the government to address this by making more bachelor's degree places available. This has been criticized, with others saying that education had benefits beyond income, which is only a short-term measure.
United States
In the United States, associate degrees are usually earned in two years or more and can be attained at community colleges, technical colleges, vocational schools, and some colleges. A student who completes a two-year program can earn an Associate of Arts/Associate in Arts (A.A.) or an Associate of Science/Associate in Science (A.S.) degree. A.A. degrees are usually earned in the Liberal Arts and Sciences such as humanities and social science fields; A.S. degrees are awarded to those studying in applied scientific and technical fields and professional fields of study .
Students who complete a two-year technical or vocational program can earn an Associate of Applied Science/Associate in Applied Science This type of program is designed for persons seeking direct employment upon completion. AA and AS programs are primarily designed for transfer into a bachelor's degree program.
Courses taken (and earned credits) under an A.A., A.S., or A.A.S. degree may be applied toward a bachelor's degree via articulation agreements, depending on the courses taken, applicable state laws/regulations, and the transfer requirements of the university.