Graduation FAQ

At PCC you have the choice to earn an Associate in Arts Degree, an Associate in Science Degree or an Associate Degree for Transfer. Each degree has various major options.

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For the AA and AS Degrees, you may follow the IGETC, CSU, or PCC GE requirements.

For the AA-T and AS-T, you may follow the IGETC (for CSU) or CSU.

• IGETC (for CSU) requires completion of area 1C but not foreign language.

The PCC GE requirements have a competency requirement called Diversity. The Diversity requirement may double count with other GE areas (A-E) on the PCC GE requirement sheet.

• Associate degrees can stand alone or be a stepping stone to a bachelor degree.
• Associate degree holders earn up to 25% more each year than someone who is doing the same job without a degree.
• More employers are requiring job candidates to have a degree, so getting an associate degree will open more doors.
• A different associate degree from your bachelor degree will diversify your resume (i.e. AA in Business and BA in Economics). 
• In case it may take you longer to complete your bachelor degree than planned, you will have an associate degree to fall back on.
• Completing an associate degree from PCC demonstrates that you can accomplish your goals at each stage in your education.
• By meeting your transfer requirements, you may already qualify for a degree without taking additional classes.

UCs, CSUs, and most universities in California do not require an associate degree for admission. Only CSUs give admission and graduation incentives if you have an AA-T or AS-T degree in your admitted major.  However, some out-of-state or private institutions may require an associate degree, please check with your interested institutions.

Receiving an associate degree has NO impact on your Financial Aid or Fee Waiver. If you are transferring, an associate degree does not affect your financial aid at the university.

If you started at PCC Fall 2009 and after OR who have elected to receive post Fall 2009 degrees, you may have multiple AA, AS, AA-T, and AS-T degrees and one Career Tech Ed AS degree (degree with a certificate of achievement).

If you started at PCC prior to Fall 2009 and have maintained continuous enrollment, you may have one AA degree and multiple AS degrees.

You can only have rights to pre-Fall 2009 or post-Fall 2009 rights, not both. 

Submit your official transcript(s) to Admission. After you have completed 12 units of coursework at PCC, ask a counselor to submit a transcript evaluation request towards one of our general education patterns for the Associate degree (IGETC GE/CSU GE/PCC GE). 

You may also make a request for a transcript evaluation through our online counseling service.

Admission & Records requires all official transcripts to be on file for posting of degrees.  So although you may not need to use your credits from another college for your PCC degree, you are still required to submit your official transcript to receive a PCC degree. 

You may be able to use your credits from another country.  However, you are required to have your foreign transcripts (Academic Records) evaluated by one of the evaluation agencies approved by PCC. Once we receive the official evaluation results and you have completed 12 units at PCC, PCC evaluators will complete a second evaluation for PCC degree credits. 

If you are planning to transfer to a four-year university, please see a counselor before applying for a foreign transcript evaluation. Most universities have their own evaluators who evaluate foreign transcripts. Transcript evaluation at PCC is not necessary if you are transferring to a university.

Foreign credit is not accepted for the IGETC and CSU GE patterns for GE certification.

If you have petitioned for your degree(s) with a counselor or through online counseling, please find out what to expect after you petition for your degree by going to our What to Expect After Applying website.

If you petitioned for your degree(s) using Raise My Hand, make sure you received confirmation.  If not, please connect with a counselor.  

You will receive a letter by mail from the Evaluator stating your missing requirements.  Once you enroll in the course again, you will need to petition for your degree again.

You are not required to attend the ceremony; however we highly encourage you to attend and invite your family and friends to celebrate your achievements at PCC.