Associate of Arts Program Guide
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Associate of Arts degree is a credential approved by the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced
Education and Skills Training and is recognized by the British Columbia Council on Admissions and
Transfer (BCCAT).
The Associate of Arts degree requires students to complete 60 credits of university-transferable courses.
The breadth of study allows graduates the opportunity to transfer into the third year of a four-year
bachelor’s degree.
This two-year degree program is issued as a stand-alone degree, preparing students with the essential
knowledge and skills to enter the workforce.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
A. A high school diploma or school completion certificate.
AND/OR
A vocational/technical/polytechnic diploma with a 60% or higher average.
AND/OR
Mature student status
B. If your native language is not English, you may demonstrate fluency in English at the university
level by submitting documents showing the minimum results on one of the following tests:
• TOEFL IBT of 86 or 230 computer based score, or
• TOEFL score of at least 570 (paper based score) or 230 (computer based score), or
• CAEL score of at least 60, or
• IELTS minimum score of 6.5 with 6.0 on the writing component, or
• PTE overall score of 60 with 60 on the writing component.
If you do not have any of the previous scores, you may be required to write the Coquitlam
College English Proficiency Test or complete a preparatory semester of English Studies.
NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Duolingo English Test is temporarily being accepted
with the following scores:
Duolingo Score Placement Level
90-104 ENGL 099
105 and above ENGL 1XX
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Associate of Arts Program Guide
C. Admission to the College is competitive. In order to facilitate a smooth application process,
please ensure that all official educational documents are attached with your application.
Please note: Application to the College is not a guarantee of acceptance to the College.
TRANSFER CREDIT
Students are eligible to transfer up to 10 university courses (30 credits maximum) towards their
Associate of Arts Degree. Only courses taken within British Columbia and that are on the BC Transfer
Guide may be used to transfer. Courses taken outside of the BC Transfer System will only be granted
transfer if one of the four BC research universities has previously granted the transfer or if the transfer
credits are appropriate for consideration under the Pan-Canadian Protocol for University Transfer.
The minimum grade to receive transfer credit is “D” or “P”.
Transfer credits will appear on the Coquitlam College transcript. The credits will not be used in the
calculation of the Coquitlam College grade point average.
Students who wish to transfer to another institution upon completion of the Associate of Arts Degree
are encouraged to check course transferability using the BC Transfer Guide at: [Link]
(Research Universities
PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES
Graduates of the Associate of Arts Degree program will be able to:
• Demonstrate academic responsibility
• Recall ideas, concepts and theories related to undergraduate studies
• Solve problems according to course and/or discipline requirements
• Express themselves in a clear, concise and organized manner
• Accurately compute mathematic and scientific operations
• Articulate perspectives in their own beliefs and the beliefs of others
• Create logical responses, ideas and/or arguments appropriate to an audience and purpose
• Successfully interact with others in groups and teams
• Apply diverse cultural, linguistic, and academic perspectives to their roles in a safe, caring and
productive society
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
General Requirements
Students must complete a minimum of 60 credits with a minimum of 18 credits in second-year Arts and
achieve a minimum 2.0 GPA in the courses used toward the Associate of Arts Degree.
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Associate of Arts Program Guide
Specific Requirements
1. 6 credits in first-year English; and
2. 36 credits in Arts which will include:
• 6 credits in Social Science (Soc);
• 6 credits in Humanities (Hum) other than English;
• 24 additional credits in Arts; and
3. 9 credits in Science:
• At least 3 credits in Mathematics, Computer Science or Statistics
• 3 credits in a laboratory science course; and
4. 9 elective credits from Arts, Science or other area of study.
COURSE LIST
1. 6 credits from the following English courses
Course Number Course Name Credits
ENGL 101 College Composition (required) 3
AND one of:
ENGL 103* Canadian Literature 3
ENGL 111 Introduction to Poetry and Short Fiction 3
ENGL 121 Introduction to Novel and Drama 3
2. 18 credits from the following first-year Arts courses
Social Science (Soc) and Humanities (Hum) may also be applied as Arts Elective (ArtE)
Course Number Course Name Area Credits
ANTH 100 Selected Topics in Indigenous Studies Soc 3
ANTH 101 Introduction to Anthropology Soc 3
ANTH 102 Anthropological Concepts Soc 3
ARTH 100 Introduction to Art History Hum 3
CHIN 100 Introductory Chinese I Hum 3
CHIN 101 Introductory Chinese II Hum 3
CHIN 151 Spoken Mandarin for Speakers of Other Chinese Dialects I Hum 3
CHIN 152 Spoken Mandarin for Speakers of Other Chinese Dialects II Hum 3
CMNS 110 Introduction to Communications Hum 3
CMNS 130 Explorations in Mass Communication Hum 3
CRIM 108* Introduction to Criminology Soc 3
CRWR 101^ Introduction to Creative Writing ArtE 3
ECON 100 Introduction to Economics Soc 3
ECON 101 Introduction to Microeconomic Principles Soc 3
ECON 102 Introduction to Macroeconomic Principles Soc 3
FILM 101 Introduction to Film Studies Hum 3
FREN 101 Basic French I Hum 3
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Associate of Arts Program Guide
FREN 102 Basic French II Hum 3
GEOG 100 Introduction to Human Geography Soc 3
GEOG 120 The Geography of Canada Soc 3
HIST 101* Canada to Confederation Hum 3
HIST 102* Canada Since Confederation Hum 3
HIST 110 History of the Ancient World Hum 3
JAPA 100 Introduction to Japanese I Hum 3
JAPA 101 Introduction to Japanese II Hum 3
PHIL 100 The History of Philosophy Hum 3
PHIL 101 Critical Thinking Hum 3
POLI 101* Canadian Government Soc 3
POLI 103* Contemporary Ideologies Soc 3
PSYC 101 Basic Psychological Processes Soc 3
PSYC 102 Areas & Applications of Psychology Soc 3
SOCI 101 Introduction to Sociology I Soc 3
SOCI 102 Canadian Society Soc 3
SPAN 101 Basic Spanish I Hum 3
SPAN 102 Basic Spanish II Hum 3
* course may be applied to either first- or second-year requirement
^ course may be applied as Arts Elective (ArtE) only
3. 18 credits from the following second-year Arts courses in two or more subject areas
Course Number Course Name Credits
ASIA 200 Introduction to Traditional Asia 3
ASIA 210 The Emergence of Modern Asia 3
ASIA 220 History of South Asia 3
ANTH 200 Indigenous People’s Ways of Knowing in Canada 3
ARTH 200 20TH Century Art: Modernity and Revolution 3
ARTH 201 History of Photography 3
CMNS 220 Advanced Business Writing and Editing 3
CMNS 223 Advertising as Social Communication 3
CMNS 230 Game Studies 3
CMNS 250 Popular Culture 3
CMNS 253 Digital Culture 3
CRIM 108* Introduction to Criminology 3
ECON 203 Introduction to Labour Economics 3
ECON 210 Money and Banking 3
ECON 226 Introduction to Game Theory 3
ECON 227 Introduction to Development Economics 3
ECON 250 Managerial Economics 3
ECON 255 Understanding Globalization 3
ECON 260 Environment Economics 3
ENGL 208 Studies in Children’s Literature 3
ENGL 245 Graphic Novel 3
GEOG 201 Economic Geography 3
GEOG 202 The Geography of Food 3
GEOG 203 Environmental Geography 3
GEOG 207 Natural Hazards 3
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Associate of Arts Program Guide
HIST 101* Canada to Confederation 3
HIST 102* Canada Since Confederation 3
HIST 203 Europe 1890-1939: Illusion and Disillusion 3
HIST 204 Europe Since 1939: From Destruction to Rejuvenation 3
PHIL 200 Business Ethics 3
POLI 101* Canadian Government 3
POLI 103* Contemporary Ideologies 3
PSYC 201 Theories of Personality 3
SOCI 202 Sociology of Work and Business 3
SOCI 203 Ethnic and Racial Inequality 3
SOCI 204 Sociology of Families 3
* course may be applied to either first- or second-year requirement
4. 9 credits from the following Science or Mathematics, including one laboratory Science course
Course Number Course Name Credits
BIOL 101* Principles of Biology I 4
BIOL 102* Principle of Biology II 4
BIOL 104* Introduction to Biology 4
CHEM 100* Introduction to Chemistry with Laboratory 4
CHEM 101* Principles of Chemistry I 4
CHEM 102* Principles of Chemistry II 4
CHEM 110 Introduction to Chemistry 3
CSCI 100 Software Packages and Programming 3
CSCI 101 Introduction to Computer Programming Using C++ 4
CSCI 102 Introduction to Computer Programming Using Java 4
CSCI 103 Introduction to Scientific Programming 3
CSCI 110 Event-Driven Programming in Visual Basics 3
CSCI 117 Introduction to Internet Programming Using Java 3
CSCI 120 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming 3
CSCI 125 Introduction to Computer Programming II 3
CSCI 127 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming II Lab 3
CSCI 130 Introduction to Computer Hardware 3
CSCI 150 Introduction to Computer Design 3
CSCI 165 Introduction to the Internet and the World Wide Web 3
CSCI 200 C++ for Programmers 3
CSCI 255 Data Structures and Programming 3
CSCI 250 Introduction to Computer Systems 3
CSCI 275 Software Engineering 3
CSCI 285 Introduction to Android Mobile App Development 3
GEOG 101* Weather and Climate 3
GEOG 102* Introduction to Earth Science 3
MACM 101 Discrete Mathematics I 3
MACM 201 Discrete Mathematics II 3
MATH 100 Precalculus 3
MATH 101 Calculus I 3
MATH 102 Calculus II 3
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Associate of Arts Program Guide
MATH 105 Integral Calculus with Applications to Commerce and Social 3
Sciences
MATH 111 Business Calculus I 3
MATH 112 Business Calculus II 3
MATH 120 Precalculus Algebra 3
MATH 190 Principles of Mathematics 4
MATH 197 Mathematics for Everyday Life 3
MATH 232 Linear Algebra 3
PHYS 101* Principles of Physics I 3
PHYS 102* Principles of Physics II 3
STAT 101 Introduction to Statistics 3
STAT 290 Quantitative Methods I 3
STAT 291 Quantitative Methods II 4
* laboratory Science course
5. 9 elective credits from any area of study. Select any course from the above lists that has not
been taken to fulfill another requirement and/or the courses below
Course Number Course Name Credits
ACCT 101 Financial Accounting I 3
ACCT 102 Financial Accounting II 3
ACCT 205 Managerial Accounting 3
BUSI 100 Introduction to Business 3
BUSI 102 Introduction to Leadership 3
BUSI 110 Mathematics of Finance 3
BUSI 237 Introduction to Computers and Information Systems in Business 3
BUSI 272 Organizational Behaviour 3
BUSI 296 Introduction to Marketing 3
EDUC 101 Orientating the Self in Academia: Strategies for College Success 3
Students are advised to speak to a counsellor regarding their study plan prior to registration in the first
and subsequent semesters. Students are responsible for ensuring that the selected courses align with
the general and specific course requirements of the Associate of Arts Degree.
Students are advised to consult the College’s list of course prerequisites prior to registration.
Please note that Coquitlam College will adhere to formal articulation agreements as a receiving institution
within the British Columbia Transfer Guide. Courses which receive direct transfer to Coquitlam College will
count as that particular course when considering the degree checklist.
For example, Douglas College Anthropology 1100 will receive credit for Coquitlam College Anthropology 101
regardless of its transfer to other institutions in the British Columbia Transfer System.
This policy is effective as of September 1, 2022 and will relate to all transcripts submitted after
September 1, 2022.
All existing associate degree transfer guidelines as outlined by the British Columbia Council on Admission
and Transfer continue to apply.
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Associate of Arts Program Guide
GRADING
Coquitlam College will calculate Grade Point Average (GPA) using only University Transfer courses taken
at Coquitlam College (transfer courses will not be used in GPA calculation).
For repeated courses, the higher grade will be used.
Mark Description Points Credit Mark Used In GPA
A+ 91-100 4.33 Yes Yes
A 86-90 4.00 Yes Yes
A- 80-85 3.67 Yes Yes
B+ 77-79 3.33 Yes Yes
B 73-76 3.00 Yes Yes
B- 70-72 2.67 Yes Yes
C+ 65-69 2.33 Yes Yes
C 60-64 2.00 Yes Yes
C- 55-59 1.67 Yes Yes
P 50-54 1.00 Yes Yes
F Below 50 0.00 No Yes
DEF Deferred n/a No No
W Withdrawal 0.00 No No
AUD Audit 0.00 No No
S* Satisfactory 0.00 No No
SR* Satisfactory but Restricted 0.00 No No
U* Unsatisfactory 0.00 No No
* Used only for the evaluation of achievement in non-credit courses.