2023-24 Virginia Western Academic Catalog and Student Handbook

Nov 21, 2024

2023-24 Virginia Western Academic Catalog and Student Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Science, A.S.

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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. For the A.S. Science, students choose two science sequences from the four concentrations (Biology, Chemistry, Geology, and Physics), and three science electives.

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 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. .