Associate Degree Comprehensive Requirements

To earn an associate's degree from Portland Community College (PCC) a student must successfully complete the Associate Degree Comprehensive Requirements listed below along with the requirements for the specific associate's degree the student is pursuing.

Comprehensive Requirements

  1. A student must earn a minimum of 90 credits which count toward an associate's degree. (Credit courses numbered below 100 cannot be used to fulfill the 90 credit minimum requirement for a degree.)
  2. Residency Requirement: A student must establish residency at PCC by earning at least 30 credits at PCC. At least 24 of the credits earned at PCC must apply to the specific associate's degree the student is pursuing. (Credit transferred from another institution and credit for prior learning cannot be used to establish residency.)
  3. A student must satisfy basic competency requirements in writing and math.  Competency requirements vary by associate's degree.
  4. A student must have a 2.0 grade point average (C average) or higher.
  5. Associate Degree Comprehensive Requirement limits are:
    • PCC courses approved to be repeated for credit other than Cooperative Education may only be applied once to satisfy the requirements for a degree. A student may take a course additional times for credit, if the course is so designated, but those additional credits may not be used toward fulfilling degree requirements. Specific Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees have exceptions to this requirement; contact the relevant program for information.
    • A maximum of 12 credits of Cooperative Education and/or Independent Study courses may be applied to a degree. Specific AAS degrees that deviate from this maximum will state the degree maximum up to 24 credits (12 credits per year) in the degree requirements for the specific AAS degree.
    • A maximum of 9 credits of experimental courses may be applied to a degree.  (These courses are numbered 199 or 299.)
    • A maximum of 24 credits of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses may be applied to a degree.
    • A maximum of 24 credits of “P” (Pass) grades may be applied to a degree. Specific AAS degrees that deviate from this maximum will state the maximum in the degree requirements for the specific AAS degree.