AAS General Education Requirements 

Students in class 

The Illinois Community College Board has prescribed that each associate degree curriculum shall include a specific general education component consisting of coursework in communications, arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and mathematics and sciences.

Within these parameters, the Associate in Applied Sciences degree must represent at least 15 semester hours of course work in general education. The general education requirements for an A.A.S. degree at Joliet Junior College are listed below. Students should consult their major programs to determine whether or not there are specific courses required by their major for each Group.

A minimum of 15 semester hours of general education courses from Groups 1 - 4 must be taken outside of the department of the major area of study.

Group 1: Communications

3 - 6 Credit Hours

ENG 101 or ENG 130 required for all A.A.S. degrees.

SPCH 101 required for Business Department A.A.S. degrees.

Other courses available in this category:

Course Description Credit Hours
BUS 111 Principles of Business Communications 3
ENG 102 Rhetoric 3
ENG 120 Creative Writing 3
ENG 130 Technical Writing and Communication 3
ENG 230 Advanced Technical Writing and Communication 3
SPCH 101 Principles of Speech 3
SPCH 102 Advanced Public Speaking 3
SPCH 106 Argumentation and Debate 3
THEA 102 Oral Interpretation of Literature 3
THEA 103 Acting I 3

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Group 2: Social and Behavioral Sciences

3 - 6 Credit Hours

All A.A.S. degrees require a minimum of at least one course from the list below.

Majors in the Business Department must complete ECON 103 or ECON 107 and one additional course from the list below.

Course Description Course Description
AGRI 103 Agriculture Economics
ANTH 101 Introduction to Anthropology ANTH 275 Cultural Anthropology
CJS 250 Criminology ECON 100 Intro. to Career Economics
ECON 103 Principles of Economics I (Macro) ECON 104 Principles of Economics II (Microeconomics)
ECON 107 Consumer Economics GEOG 102 World Regional Geography
GEOG 104 Introductory Economic Geography GEOG 106 Cultural Geography
HIST 103 History of U.S. to 1865 HIST 104 History of U.S. 1865 to Present
HIST 105 History of Civilization I HIST 106 History of Civilization II
HIST 107 World History to 1500 HIST 108 World History Since 1500
HIST 200 History of Great Britain HIST 201 Modern Europe Since 1815
HIST 210 History of IL and Joliet HIST 220 History of Soviet Union
HIST 230 History of Middle East HIST 240 History of Latin America
HIST 290 History of Africa HIST 293 History of Black America
PSCI 101 American National Govt. PSCI 102 American State & Local Govt.
PSCI 103 Intro. to Comparative Govt. PSYC 101 General Psychology
PSYC 205 Abnormal Psychology PSYC 207 Psychology of Personality
PSYC 208 Social Psychology PSYC 210 Child/ Adolescent Psych.
PSYC 215 Life Span: Survey of Human Dev. PSYC 250 Adult and Aging
PSYC 270 Health Psychology PSYC 272 Stress Management
SOC 101 Intro. to Sociology SOC 220 Sex, Gender and Power
SOC 270 Marriage and the Family SOC 280 Sociology of Social Problems
SOC 290 Cultural Diversity in America SOC 295 Sociology of Black America

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Group 3: Humanities & Fine Arts

0 - 3 Credits

There is no minimum requirement in this group for A.A.S. degrees, except that majors in the Business Department must complete a minimum of 3 credits from the list below.

Course Description Course Description
ANTH 275 Cultural Anthropology ART 109 Intro. to the Visual Arts
ART 115 Intro. to Ancient & Medieval Art ART 116 Intro. to Renaissance and Baroque Art
ART 117 Intro. to Modern Art ART 118 History of Chicago Architecture
ENG 103 American Literature ENG 104 American Literature
ENG 105 Survey of English Literature ENG 106 Survey of English Literature
ENG 107 Contemporary Literature ENG 108 Contemporary Literature
ENG 109 Children's Literature ENG 190 Introduction to Film Study
ENG 208 Masterpieces of Western Civilization ENG 209 Masterpieces of Western Civilization
ENG 220 Non-Western Literature ENG 250 Introduction to Shakespeare
ENG 260 Minority American Literature ENG 270 Introduction to Women Writers
HIST 103 History of U.S. to 1865 HIST 104 History of U.S., 1865 to Present
HIST 105 History of Civilization I HIST 106 History of Civilization II
MUS 101 Exploration of Music Lit. MUS 102 Exploration of American Music
MUS 103 Evolution of Jazz MUS 104 Fundamentals of Music
PHIL 101 Intro. to Philosophy PHIL 102 History of Philosophy
PHIL 103 Introduction to Ethics PHIL 104 Logic
SOC 240 Intro. to Comparative Religion SPAN 120 Basic Occupational Spanish
SPAN 121 Spanish for Landscaping Personnel SPAN 122 Spanish for Hospitality Personnel
SPAN 123 Spanish for Law Enforcement Personnel THEA 101 Introduction to the Theater
Foreign Languages

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Group 4: Math/ Sciences

3 - 7 Credits

All A.A.S. degree programs require a minimum of 3 credits from the list below. Majors in the Business Department must complete a minimum of 4 hours of science and 3 credits of mathematics from the list below.

Course Description Course Description
AGRI 105 Crop Production AGRI 126 Introductory Soils
ASTR 101 Descriptive Astronomy
BIO 104 Biological Diversity BIO 105 Microbes and You
BIO 107 Plants and Society BIO 125 Human Biology
BIO 144 Intro. to Human Heredity BIO 146 Ecological Conservation
BIO 147 Field Ecology BIO 151 General Biology I
BIO 152 General Biology II BIO 210 General Botany
BIO 215 Local Flora BIO 220 General Zoology
BIO 221 Comparative Chordate Anatomy BIO 240 Microbiology
BIO 250 Human Anatomy & Physiology I BIO 251 Human Anatomy & Physiology II
CHEM 100 General Chemistry CHEM 101 General Chemistry
CHEM 102 General Chemistry CHEM 104 Chemistry and Society
CHEM 105 Quantitative Analysis CHEM 108 Elementary Organic Chem.
CHEM 209 Organic Chemistry CHEM 210 Organic Chemistry
GEOG 111 Physical Geography - Weather and Climate GEOG 112 Physical Geography - Landforms
GEOG 120 Mapping Essentials GEOL 101 Principles of Physical Geology
GEOL 102 Historical Geology HORT 100 Introductory Horticulture
HORT 243 Entomology MATH 098 Intermediate Algebra
MATH 101 Business Mathematics MATH 107 Technical Mathematics I
MATH 108 Technical Mathematics II MATH 119 Mathematics for Technical Students
MATH 123 Mathematic Structures/ Concepts I MATH 124 Mathematic Structures/ Concepts II
MATH 127 Mathematics for General Education MATH 128 Elementary Statistics
MATH 131 College Algebra MATH 135 Plane Geometry
MATH 137 Intro. to Discrete Mathematics MATH 141 Pre-Calculus Mathematics
MATH 150 Mathematical Analysis for Business MATH 153 Finite Mathematics
MATH 170 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I MATH 171 Calculus with Analytic Geometry II
MATH 172 Calculus with Analytic Geometry III MATH 210 Linear Algebra
MATH 220 Differential Equations and Orthogonal Functions PHSCI 120 Physical Science
PHYS 100 Basic Physics PHYS 101 General Physics I
PHYS 102 General Physics II PHYS 103 Technical Physics
PHYS 104 Technical Physics PHYS 201 Engineering Physics I
PHYS 202 Engineering Physics II PHYS 203 Engineering Physics III

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Group 5: Career Enhancement

0 Credits

There is no specific minimum requirement for an A.A.S. degree from this group.

Course Description Course Description
AGRI 100 Animal Science AGRI 101 Dairy Science
AGRI 110 Intro. to Agriculture Ed. AGRI 150 Intro. to Agriculture Mechanization
BUS 101 Introduction to Business CIS 122 Computer Info. Systems
CIS 124 Beginning Microcomputer Applications CIS 126 Microsoft Office
CIS 127 Overview of Microcomputer Concepts OFS 114 Microsoft Office Suite
GSD 100 Orientation to the College Experience GSD 110 Career/ Life-style Planning
HORT 161 Herbaceous Plants I HORT 162 Woody Ornamentals

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Joliet Junior College
1215 Houbolt Road, Joliet, IL 60431-8938
Phone: (815) 729-9020