The Associate of Arts Degree at The Ohio State University at Lima is a two-year liberal arts degree that gets students started on an exciting relationship with learning that will last a lifetime. In two short years, students can receive an Ohio State degree and the pride and opportunities that come with being a Buckeye.

An Associate of Arts Degree can be the first two years of a Bachelor’s degree or a stand-alone degree. This program is designed for students who are interested in addtional education after high school, but don’t want to commit to a four-year degree program as well as for those who want a solid educational foundation but aren’t sure of all their options. Others may be undecided about a major but would still like to start college. Students in this program take coursework that will count toward all majors or degree programs so when they finally decide on a career path, they have already fulfilled much of the required coursework. This is not a terminal degree like some technical-based associate’s degrees; all of the credits apply directly toward a baccalaureate degree at Ohio State.

Curriculum
To earn the Associate of Arts degree at Ohio State, you must complete 90 credit hours of coursework. Approximately half of those hours (50 credit hours) are in social sciences, natural sciences and humanities. These are referred to as the basic required courses. College level foreign language and analytical skills/mathematics are also accepted but not required.

Concentration
The remaining courses – totaling at least 40 credit hours – include those classes that satisfy the general requirements for the individual student’s future baccalaureate program or those courses that meet individual needs. Although the degree is general in nature, students may take a majority of their remaining 40 elective hours in a subject area of special interest such as:

• Business
• Criminology
• Education
• English
• Family Resource Management
• Film and Literature
• History
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Theatre