Program Overview:
This program advances participants’ general knowledge beyond high school and meets general education requirements for a baccalaureate degree at any South Dakota public university. Students will also complete 36 credit hours in elective courses.
Students intending to seek a bachelor’s degree after earning an associate degree are encouraged to choose electives that will fulfill bachelor’s degree, major, and/ or minor requirements.
Delivery: Online | On Campus | USD-Sioux Falls
System General Education Requirements (24 hours)
- Composition 6cr SGR #1
- Oral Communication 3cr SGR #2
- Social Sciences 6cr (must be in 2 disciplines/prefixes) SGR #3
- Arts and Humanities 3cr (select from either Fine Arts or Humanities courses) SGR #4
- Mathematics 3cr SGR #5
- Natural Sciences 3cr SGR #6
For a list of courses meeting these requirements, please consult the General Education Requirements page of this catalog.
*Students planning to pursue a bachelor’s degree are strongly encouraged to take another course from SGR #6 and a course from fine arts or humanities not selected for SGR #4. Credit hours completed beyond the required hours for these SGR requirements will be counted as elective hours and will count toward the 36 credit hours of electives.
Electives (36 hours)
Students intending to seek a bachelor’s degree after earning an associate’s degree are encouraged to choose electives that will fulfill bachelor’s degree, major, and/or minor requirements.
Location Matters for Non-Licensure Track Programs
This program is not designed or advertised to lead to a professional license or certification required for employment.
USD is permitted to operate under the terms of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC-SARA) policies and standards in offering online courses/degree programs to residents in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Online courses/programs may also be offered to residents of California (a non-SARA state) because it does not regulate out-of-state public institutions.
Additionally, this program is authorized to offer supervised field study experiences (internship, externship, clinical, rotation, practicum, independent study, study away, etc.) in South Dakota. Please be aware that there may be some restrictions on your ability to engage in supervised field study outside of South Dakota. Please contact a program representative if you have questions regarding supervised field study.
Distance education courses or programs will not be offered outside of the United States without prior written approval from the University, which may be withheld for any reason. If you taking distance courses while physically located outside of the United States, it is your responsibility to confirm the following: (a) if the country will recognize an online degree; (b) the availability of supervised field study opportunities in the country; and (c) if the country charges any additional taxes, withholdings or fees associated with online distance education programs.
For more information, please visit USD’s State Authorization page or contact your admissions counselor.
