Academic Programs Degrees & Certificates

Instructional programs at St. Charles Community College offer you several options in attaining long-term or short-term educational goals.

If your goal is to complete requirements for the first two years of a bachelor’s degree, you can enroll in SCC’s college transfer program. The transfer program contains courses that parallel the first two years of study at many four-year institutions.

Another option is the career-technical program pathway. You can earn a certificate or degree that leads directly into the job market upon graduation from SCC. These one- and two-year programs allow you to match your career skills with jobs available in today’s rapidly changing work force.

If you would like to take college-level classes but are unable to come to campus on a regular basis, you may take advantage of distance learning courses such as online courses.

A listing of courses offered for a specific semester can be found on The SCC Online Campus Site.

Of course, not everyone comes to college seeking a degree, so SCC offers you the option to take credit classes one at a time to update job skills or for personal enrichment. Or, if you need to improve basic reading, writing and math skills before enrolling in college-level work, we encourage you to find out more about developmental programs and special study skills classes.

Descriptions of SCC credit courses can be found on the Course Descriptions  page of this online catalog.

The academic skills assessment is required before enrolling in math or English courses. If a student places into lower-level courses than are required for his/her degree, the student needs to first enroll in such course before enrolling in the required courses.

For a complete listing of Academic programs visit the Programs (A-Z):  page of this online catalog.

For Degrees & Certificates by Career Cluster visit the page Suggested Course Sequences by Career Path or Cluster  of this online catalog.

To compare specific career and salary information for each degree or certificate offered by SCC go to:

The Missouri Scorecard Site

The Missouri Scorecard is a publicly available website that combines a searchable program inventory with additional information on program costs, program student demographics, graduate outcomes (earning and employment) and a program comparison function.

Once on the site:

• Type in St. Charles Community or select SCC from the school drop down.
• After selecting St. Charles Community College you may also select degree/credential type (Associate Degree or Certificate) or field of study. If you do not make a selection in those fields you will get all fields offered by SSC

Program Definitions

For a list of Degrees & Certificates by Program, visit the Degrees/Certificates  page of this online catalog.

Associate of Arts (AA)

The AA is awarded to students completing the requirements of the academic transfer program with a minimum of 64 semester hours including general education core requirements. It generally parallels the first two years of a Bachelor of Arts degree at a four-year institution.

Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT)

The AAT is awarded to students completing the requirements of the academic transfer program for future educators. It is a 64- hour program that includes a general education core and elective/institutional requirements. It generally parallels the first two years of a Bachelor of Arts degree at a four-year institution.

Associate of Fine Arts (AFA)

The AFA is awarded to students completing the requirements of a specifically identified academic program available within this degree. Minimum credit hours vary based on the specific program. The Associate of Fine Arts degree is a transfer degree for students planning to pursue a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in studio fine arts, graphic design, Art Education or music at either a four-year college, university or art school.

Associate of Science (AS)

The AS is awarded to students completing the requirements of a specifically identified academic program available within this degree. Minimum credit hours required varies based on the specific program. It generally parallels the first two years of a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree at a four year institution.

Associate of Applied Science (AAS)

The AAS is awarded to students completing the requirements of one of the career/technical programs. Minimum credit hours required varies based on the specific program. Although this degree is not intended to be a transfer degree, some of the courses will transfer to four-year institutions.

Certificate of Achievement (CA)

Certificates are awarded upon completion of a prescribed sequence of courses for each program. Normally, two semesters are necessary to complete the requirements for a one-year certificate.

Certificate of Specialization (CS)

This certificate is for people who desire information or skills in a specific area related to their current job. They usually can be completed in a short period of time.

Program Requirements

Per college policy - individual students may be required to take COL 101 .

The Academic Skills Assessment is required before enrolling in Math or English courses. If a student places into lower-level courses than are required for his/her degree, then the student needs to first enroll in such courses before enrolling in the required courses.

Any student entering a public institution of higher education for the first time after July 2019 who is pursuing an associate’s or bachelor’s degree from such institution shall successfully pass an examination on the provisions and principles of American civics with a score of seventy percent or greater as a condition of graduation from such institution.

Graduation Requirements

• Complete a minimum of 15 credit hours at SCC
• Earn a 2.00 cumulative grade point average.
• Students earning the Associate of Arts Degree must complete one of the following courses: BTC 103 , CPT 115 , or GDS 105  or test for competency.

General Education

Senate Bill 997 established the Higher Education Core Transfer Curriculum Act (Sections 178.785-789 RSMo), which directs the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to develop a standard core transfer curriculum and a common course numbering equivalency matrix for lower-division general education courses. The core transfer curriculum, known as CORE 42, is a framework for general education that all Missouri public two-and four-year institutions of higher education were required to adopt beginning the fall semester of 2018. The goal of the CORE 42 is to facilitate the seamless transfer of academic credits. The completion of the CORE 42 at any public institution of higher education will transfer to every other public institution of higher education in the state and substitute for the receiving institution’s general education requirement. Individual courses that comprise the CORE 42 are guaranteed to transfer one-to-one among all public (and participating independent) colleges and universities in Missouri.

Courses within the CORE42 are assigned a MOTR number (Missouri Transfer) and will be designated by this logo: 

The framework for Missouri’s CORE 42 is designed for students to obtain the basic competencies of Valuing, Managing Information, Communicating, and Higher-Order Thinking through the completion of at least 42-semester hours distributed across the broad Knowledge Areas of Communications, Humanities & Fine Arts, Natural & Mathematical Sciences, and Social & Behavioral Sciences.

A Course Transfer Tracker was developed to allow students, parents, and other interested parties to see how general education courses will transfer to other public colleges and universities in Missouri. The Course Transfer Tracker is located on the MDHE Journey to College website.

At SCC the CORE 42 (General Education) transfer curriculum applies only to the Associate of Arts degree. The Associate of Fine Arts, Associate of Arts in Teaching, Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Science and the
Certificate of Achievement have specific General Education courses within each degree plan. Courses in those degree plans that are included in the CORE 42 curriculum are guaranteed to transfer one-to-one among all public (and participating independent) colleges and universities in Missouri.

Associate of Arts General Education Requirements 

Core 42: Written Communication: Objectives

State-Level Goal

To prepare students to communicate effectively with writing that exhibits solid construction resulting from satisfactory planning, discourses, and review. Students will engage in the writing process including drafting, editing and revision for success in the classroom and workforce.

Suggested Competencies

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

• Express critical and analytical thought through reading and writing.
• Compose sound and effective sentences appropriate to one’s audience and purpose.
• Compose unified, coherent, and developed paragraphs.
• Compose unified, coherent, and developed texts.
• Use a recursive writing process to develop strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading texts.
• Produce rhetorically effective discourse for subject, audience, and purpose.
• Exhibit effective research and information literacy skills.

Core 42: Oral Communications: Objectives

State-Level Goal

To prepare students to communicate effectively in a variety of contexts. Students will understand communication is symbolic, relational, collaborative, strategic, adaptive, and creative. They will recognize the role and importance of communication in developing meaning and understanding; increasing knowledge; enacting change; solving problems; and developing, maintaining, and transforming relationships; among other goals and outcomes.

Suggested Competencies

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

• Identify communication perspectives, principles, and concepts.
• Recognize the role and importance of communication given various purposes, audiences, relationships, groups, and contexts.
• Create and adapt messages relevant and appropriate to various purposes, audiences, relationships, groups, and contexts.
• Present message effectively.
• Critically reflect on their own communication and the communication of others.

Core 42: Social & Behavioral Sciences: Objectives

State-Level Goal

To develop students’ understanding of themselves and the world around them through study of content and the processes used by historians and social and behavioral scientists to discover, describe, explain, and predict human behavior and social systems. Students acquire an understanding of the diversities and complexities of the cultural and social world, past and present, and come to an informed sense of self and others. As part of this goal, institutions of higher education include a course of instruction in the Constitution of the United States and of the state of Missouri and in American history and institutions (Missouri Revised Statute 170.011.1).

Suggested Competencies

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

• Explain social institutions, structures, and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures.
• Develop and communicate hypothetical explanations for individual human behavior within the large-scale historical and social context.• Compose unified, coherent, and developed paragraphs.
• Draw on history and the social sciences to evaluate contemporary problems.
• Describe and analytically compare social, cultural, and historical settings and processes other than one’s own.
• Articulate the interconnectedness of people and places around the globe.
• Describe and explain the constitutions of the United States and Missouri.

Core 42: Natural Sciences: Objectives

State-Level Goal

To develop students’ understanding of the principles and laboratory procedures of the natural sciences (Life and Physical) and to cultivate their abilities to apply the empirical methods of scientific inquiry. Students should understand how scientific discovery changes theoretical views of the world, informs our imaginations, and shapes human history. Students should also understand that science is shaped by historical and social contexts.

Suggested Competencies

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

• Explain how to use the scientific method and how to develop and test hypotheses in order to draw defensible conclusions.
• Evaluate scientific evidence and argument.
• Describe the basic principles of the natural world.
• Describe concepts of the nature, organization, and evolution of living systems.
• Explain how human interaction(s) affect living systems and the environment.

Core 42: Mathematical Sciences: Objectives

State Level Goal

To develop students’ understanding of fundamental mathematical concepts and their applications. Students should develop a level of quantitative literacy that would enable them to make decisions and solve problems and which could serve as a basis for continued learning.

Suggested Competencies

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

• Describe contributions to society from the discipline of mathematics.
• Recognize and use connections within mathematics and between mathematics and other disciplines.
• Read, interpret, analyze, and synthesize quantitative data (e.g., graphs, tables, statistics, survey data) and make reasoned estimates.
• Formulate and use generalizations based upon pattern recognition.
• Apply and use mathematical models (e.g., algebraic, geometric, statistical) to solve problems.

Core 42: Humanities & Fine Arts: Objectives

State Level Goal

To develop students’ understanding of the ways in which humans have addressed their condition through imaginative work in the humanities and fine arts; to deepen their understanding of how that imaginative process is informed and limited by social, cultural,linguistic, and historical circumstances; and to appreciate the world of the creative imagination as a form of knowledge.

Suggested Competencies

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

• Describe the scope and variety of works in the humanities and fine arts (e.g., fine and performing arts, literature, speculative thought).
• Explain the historical, cultural, and social contexts of the humanities and fine arts.
• Identify the aesthetic standards used to make critical judgments in various artistic fields.
• Develop a plausible understanding of the differences and relationships between formal and popular culture.
• Articulate a response based upon aesthetic standards to observance of works in the humanities and fine arts.

SCC Institutional Requirements to Earn an Associate of Arts Degree:

• Complete a minimum of 64 credit hours, including 42 credit hours of general education courses adhering to the minimums as listed above.
• Complete one of the following courses in the Computer Science Course Block: GDS 105 , BTC 103 , or CPT 115 .
• Earn accumulative grade point average of 2.0.
• Complete a minimum of 15 credit hours at SCC.