Associate of Arts in Elementary Education (AAEE)
About this degree
If you enjoy children, feel you have a talent for teaching and you want to help improve the world, the Associate of Arts in Elementary Education (AAEE) is a degree program you should consider. The AAEE degree is a transfer degree providing you with foundational skills in the elementary teaching field while preparing you for initial teaching certification programs at the state’s three public universities. The general education component of the Associate of Arts in Elementary Education is specifically designed to fulfill the lower division general education requirements at those schools.
Additionally, with your AAEE degree in hand, you meet current elementary school requirements that classroom instructional assistants have an associate degree. You have the credentials to work in your chosen setting while you are earning your bachelor’s degree.
Please note that the biggest misconception about an associate degree is that all the courses you take will transfer to a university. While the required general education component courses transfer, not every one of the other courses you take may count toward a bachelor's degree. Courses you select outside of the general education component either must be found in university transfer guides in the major you plan to obtain or are NPC prerequisites or electives. To assure a smooth and efficient transfer, it is smart to work with NPC academic advisers. With their knowledge, not only of NPC courses and programs, but those at other institutions, our advisers provide you with the accurate and up-to-date information you need to ensure a seamless and speedy path to success.
- Click here to see the easy steps to becoming an NPC student.
NPC Requirements
- The Associate of Arts in Elementary Education (A.A.) degree requires a minimum of 64 hours of course credits with a grade of C or better in all courses and a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.
- Some courses have placement requirements or prerequisites that must be filled. Completion of these can result in coursework beyond the 64 credits. These courses, too, require a grade of C or better. For accurate information about prerequisites see an NPC academic adviser.
- Graduates must complete a minimum of 35 credits of the general education requirements for the Associate of Arts in Elementary Education. These must include six credits in English composition, three credits in mathematics, nine credits from the arts and humanities, eight credits from the natural sciences, and nine credits from the social and behavioral sciences. The student must also complete an additional 29 credits of 15 hours of core requirements and 14 hours of required electives.
- In most general education courses, special emphasis is placed on developing written communication skills with intensive writing requirements. Race and ethnic issue awareness is also embedded throughout the general education requirements. And specific courses, as noted, meet the requirement for contemporary global/ international or historical awareness.
Degree Requirements
General Education Credits:
The following list of 35 credits comprises the Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC-A) component for the Associate of Arts in Elementary Education degree. You must take at least the minimum number of credit hours listed in each heading. Completion of the 35 general education course credits fulfills all requirements for the Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC-A).
35 Total General Education Credits:
English • 6 cr.
- ENL 101 College Composition I • 3 cr.
- ENL 102 College Composition II • 3 cr.
Mathematics • 3 cr.
- MAT 142 College Math w/Contemporary Applications • 3 cr.
- or
- MAT 152 Advanced Algebra • 3 cr.
- (or quantitative course for which MAT 142 or MAT 152 is a prerequisite)
Arts and Humanities • 9 cr.
Courses must be selected from the following list and from at least two disciplines:
- ART 101 Understanding Art • 3 cr.
- ART 115 Art History I • 3 cr.
- ART 116 Art History II • 3 cr.
- ENL 220 World Literature I • 3 cr.
- ENL 221 World Literature II • 3 cr.
- ENL 224 English Literature I • 3 cr.
- ENL 225 English Literature II • 3 cr.
- HUM 150 Humanities in the Western World I • 3 cr.
- HUM 151 Humanities in the Western World II • 3 cr.
- MUS 150 Music Appreciation • 3 cr.
- PHL 101 Introduction to Philosophy • 3 cr.
- PHL 105 Introduction to Ethics • 3 cr.
- SPT 130 Introduction to Theatre • 3 cr.
- SPT 150 Introduction to Film • 3 cr.
- SPT 155 History of Television • 3 cr.
Physical and Biological Sciences • 8 cr.
Courses must be selected from the following list:
- BIO 100 Biology Concepts • 4 cr.
- BIO 105 Environmental Biology • 4 cr.
- BIO 160 Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology I • 4 cr.
- BIO 181 General Biology I • 4 cr.
- BIO 182 General Biology II • 4 cr.
- **CHM 130 Fundamental Chemistry • 4 cr.
- **CHM 151 General Chemistry I • 4 cr.
- CHM 152 General Chemistry II • 4 cr.
- GEO 111 Physical Geography • 4 cr.
- GLG 101 Introduction to Geology I - Physical • 4 cr.
- GLG 102 Introduction to Geology II - Historical • 4 cr.
- PHY 113 General Physics I • 4 cr.
- PHY 114 General Physics II • 4 cr.
** Students may transfer either CHM 130 or CHM 151, but not both; therefore, CHM 130 and CHM 151 cannot be taken to satisfy the 8 credit requirement.
Social and Behavioral Sciences • 9 cr.
Courses must be selected from the list below and from at least two disciplines. At least one asterisk (*) course must be chosen in order to meet requirements for Contemporary Global/International or Historical Awareness.
- *ANT 102 Cultural Anthropology • 3 cr.
- BUS 140 Principles of Economics - Macro • 3 cr.
- BUS 141 Principles of Economics - Micro • 3 cr.
- *GEO 110 World Regional Geography • 3 cr.
- *HIS 105 U.S. History to 1877 • 3 cr.
- *HIS 106 U.S. History since 1877 • 3 cr.
- *HIS 155 Western Civilization to 1700 • 3 cr.
- *HIS 156 Western Civilization since 1700 • 3 cr.
- POS 110 American Government • 3 cr.
- PSY 101 Introduction to Psychology • 3 cr.
- PSY 200 Psychology of Adjustment • 3 cr.
- PSY 240 Developmental Psychology • 3 cr.
- SOC 120 General Sociology • 3 cr.
- SOC 121 Social Problems in America • 3 cr.
- SOC 130 Racial, Ethnic & Gender Relations in Modern Society • 3 cr.
- SOC 225 Sociology of the Family • 3 cr.
Core Requirements • 15 cr.
- EDU 200 Introduction to Education • 3 cr.
- EDU 220 Diversity in Education • 3 cr.
- EDU 222 Introduction to Special Education • 3 cr.
- MAT 161 Algebra-based Math for Elementary Teachers I • 3 cr.
- MAT 162 Algebra-based Math for Elementary Teachers II • 3 cr.
Electives
For the AAEE elective component students must successfully complete a total of 14 credits of electives. Six of the credits (6 cr.) are unduplicated electives selected from the General Education Requirements list (see list above).
Student is also required to successfully complete one 3-credit course from the following list of (these are known as the AAEE Required Electives):
- EDU 272 Educational Psychology • 3 cr.
- or
- EDU 276 Managing the Learning Environment • 3 cr.
- or
- EDU 291 Children's Literature • 3 cr.
- or
- ENL 291 Children's Literature • 3 cr.
Student is also required to achieve successful completion of each of the following courses for a total of five credits (5 cr.).
- CIS 100 Introduction to Computer Science • 3 cr.
- POS 221 Arizona Constitution • 1 cr.
- POS 222 U.S. Constitution • 1 cr.
The electives component must consist of credits that transfer to all three public Arizona universities as defined in the Course Equivalency Guide of the year the student completes the course. Access to information about degrees and pathways, common courses, Course Equivalency Guides, transfer guides and Arizona college and university catalogs is available through an NPC academic adviser or directly on the Internet at Arizona transfer website.