General Studies, AA
Program at a Glance
PROGRAM
General Studies, AA
TOTAL UNITS
60
FORMAT
Online, Hybrid
REQUIREMENTS
No SAT or ACT Required
SPRING ’26 EARLY APPLICATION DEADLINE
November 8, 2026
TUITION
Program Overview
The Associate of Arts (AA) 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 and liberal studies 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
Students who complete the Associate of Arts in General Studies will be able to:
- Write clearly and coherently for professional audiences, including contexts that involve AI-mediated drafting and collaboration.
- Speak clearly and deliver clear, organized presentations appropriate to audience and context.
- Interpret quantitative information, evaluate statistical claims, and use computational tools to analyze problems.
- Analyze arguments, weigh evidence, and evaluate claims, including those produced by AI systems, with appropriate critical awareness and rigor.
- Locate, evaluate, and ethically use information from human and AI sources to support inquiry and decision-making.
- 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.
- Apply psychological, social, and economic perspectives to analyze and interpret behaviors, ways of thinking, and systems.
Curriculum
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:
Competencies and Ethics: Directed Electives – 15 units
Select 15 units from the following:
General Studies: Free Electives – 6 units
Select 6 units from the following:
A course applied to a General Education requirement, whether completed at GGU or accepted in transfer, may also satisfy another degree requirement when applicable. The course is completed only once, and its units are counted only once toward the minimum units required for the degree: 120 units for standard degrees, 90 units for accelerated degrees, and 60 units for AA degrees. Students must complete sufficient additional coursework to satisfy the overall unit requirement for graduation.
For example, ECON 1 may satisfy both a General Education: General Studies – Free Electives requirement and a Major: Directed Electives requirement in a particular degree program. Although the course fulfills both requirements, its 3 units are counted only once toward the applicable minimum graduation unit requirement. If additional units are needed to reach that minimum, the student must complete additional elective coursework.
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.
BS in Accounting Pathway
BS in Business Pathway
BS in Management Pathway
BS in Psychology Pathway
