2022-23 Virginia Western Academic Catalog and Student Handbook

Apr 25, 2024

2022-23 Virginia Western Academic Catalog and Student Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Science, A.S.

Associate of Science
880

Purpose: This curriculum is designed for students who plan to transfer to a four-year institution to complete a baccalaureate degree in a science discipline or pre-professional program.

Students may elect to specialize in Agriculture, Computer Science, Health Sciences, Integrated Environmental Studies, or Mathematics.

Admission Requirements: Applicants must meet the requirements for admission to credit-level coursework established by the college.

Placement Requirements: Students who do not demonstrate readiness for college-level English will be required to select appropriate EDE 10 or ENG 111 /EDE 11* coursework in consultation with an advisor.

Students who do not demonstrate readiness for the college-level math will be required to select appropriate MDE coursework in consultation with an advisor.

Students who intend to transfer should verify specific program requirements with their four-year institution.

First Semester

SDV 101 - Orientation to Science 2 CR
ENG 111 - College Composition I 3 CR
MTH 161* - Pre-Calculus I 3 CR (or MTH 167* )¹
Science ELE - Science Major Sequence I 4 CR
ITE 152 - Introduction to Digital Literacy and Computer Applications 3 CR

Second Semester

ENG 112* - College Composition II 3 CR
MTH 261* - Applied Calculus I 3 CR (or MTH 263* ²)
Science ELE - Science Major Sequence I 4 CR
Humanities/Fine Arts ELE - Humanities/Fine Arts Elective 3 CR
Science ELE - Science Elective I 4 CR

Third Semester

HIS 121 - United States History to 1877 3 CR (or HIS 111 )
MTH 262* - Applied Calculus II 3 CR (or MTH 264* ²)
Science ELE - Science Major Sequence II 4 CR
Social Science ELE - Social Science Elective 3 CR
Science ELE - Science Elective II 3 CR

Fourth Semester

ENG LIT - Literature Elective 3 CR
Science ELE - Science Major Sequence II 4 CR
Science ELE - Science Elective I 4 CR
CSC 221 - Introduction to Problem Solving and Programming 3 CR (or GIS 200 ³)

Total Minimum Credits for Degree: 62

¹Students planning to transfer to Virginia Tech should take MTH 167* (5-credits) in place of MTH 161* (3-credits).

² MTH 263* and MTH 264* are each 4-credit classes.

³Depending on the VCCS school this is taken through, it may be offered as either a three or four credit class.

* This course has a requisite.

For program specific information please go to the program website.

Program Notes:

Students preparing for a major in pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, pre-pharmacy, pre-physician’s assistant or pre-veterinary should complete the curricular program in Science and select BIO 101* -BIO 102* and CHM 111* -CHM 112* to fulfill the required 16 credits of Science Elective with Lab. It is strongly recommended that PHY 201* -PHY 202* General College Physics be taken to fulfill the Science Elective and Transfer Elective requirements. Many pre-professional programs also require Organic Chemistry (CHM 241* /CHM 245* and CHM 242* /CHM 246* ).

Students preparing for a major in biology should complete in their science sequence electives BIO 101* -BIO 102* and CHM 111* -CHM 112* . Additional transfer science electives should be selected from the following list after consulting their transfer institution and taking into consideration program of interest after transfer: BIO 205* , BIO 206* , BIO 220* , BIO 251* , BIO 252* , BIO 270* , BIO 271* , BIO 285 or CHM 261* . Students should consult transfer institution for appropriate math sequence.

Students preparing for a major in chemistry should complete in their science electives CHM 111* -CHM 112* , CHM 241* /CHM 245* , CHM 242* /CHM 246* , as well as BIO 101* and PHY 241* -PHY 242* . Students preparing for a major in chemistry should complete in their math sequence MTH 167* and MTH 263* -MTH 264* .

Students preparing for a major in earth sciences should complete in their science electives GOL 105* -GOL 106* , as well as selecting from BIO 101* -BIO 102* or CHM 111* -CHM 112* , depending on the demands of the transfer institution. Math electives typically are MTH 167* , MTH 263* -MTH 264* . Students should verify math sequence with their transfer institution.

Students preparing for a major in physics, astronomy, or astrophysics should complete in their science electives PHY 241* -PHY 242* , CHM 111* -CHM 112* , MTH 167* , MTH 263* -MTH 264* , MTH 265* , MTH 266* and MTH 267* .

Students preparing for a major in environmental science, ecology, or forestry should pursue the Science: Integrated Environmental Studies Specialization, A.S. degree and see their program advisor for science elective options.

Students preparing for a major in mathematics, mathematics education, or statistics should pursue the Science: Mathematics Specialization, A.S. degree and see their program advisor for science elective options.

Students preparing for a major in a health field such as Nursing or other allied health field and who desire a BS degree, should pursue the Science: Health Sciences Specialization, A.S. degree and see their program advisor for science elective options.

Students preparing for a major in agriculture should pursue the Science: Agriculture, A.S. degree and see their program advisor for science elective options.

Students preparing for a major in computer science should pursue the Science: Computer Science Specialization, A.S. degree and meet with their program advisor for science elective options. Students may also consider the Engineering: Computer Science Specialization, A.S. .