Earning a Degree or Certificate

Degree, Certificate, and Graduation Requirements

Note: To find the latest versions of Board Policies or Administrative Policies see the Pima Community College Policy website

Graduation Requirements (see AP 3.25.02)

Students should apply for graduation in the term of completion by the Graduation Application Deadline as published in the Academic Calendar.
Students may only apply for graduation for the degree or certificate, or a certificate embedded in declared degree, currently identified as their declared program of study in the College’s Student Information System.
Complete all program requirements as published in the student’s Catalog of Record (see Catalog of Record information below).

Associate Degree Requirements

Complete General Education requirements appropriate to the degree;
Complete program Core, Support, and if needed, Concentration requirements;
Complete a minimum of 60 credit hours of coursework at the 100 level or higher;
Complete at least 15 credit hours of program requirements in-residence at PCC;
Have a minimum overall 2.0 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 grade point scale and;
Complete all courses with appropriate grades as defined here:
- Transfer Degrees (AA, AB, AFA, & AS)
  - Grades of ‘C’ or higher are required for all program requirements;
  - Grades of ‘D’ or ‘F’ do not fulfill any program requirements;
  - Grades of ‘P’ cannot be used for any requirements with the following exceptions:
    - Applicable courses transferring to Pima for which a ‘P’ grade is the only option available to students, and that grade is equivalent to a C or better.
    - Up to 3 credit hours of courses with an FAW prefix may be used towards degree requirements. FAW courses may have a letter grade or a ‘P’ grade.
- Career & Technical Education Degrees and Associate of General Studies (AAS & AGS)
  - Grades of ‘C’ or higher are required for all program requirements;
  - Grades of ‘D’ or ‘F’ do not fulfill any program requirements;
  - Grades of ‘P’ cannot be used for any General Education requirements with the following exception:
    - Applicable courses transferring to Pima for which a ‘P’ grade is the only option available.

Certificate Requirements

Complete program Core, Support, and if needed, Concentration requirements;
Complete at least 6 credit hours of certificate requirements in-residence at PCC;
Have a minimum overall 2.0 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 grade point scale.
Complete all courses with appropriate grades as defined here AP 3.25.02

Grading for All Certificates (CTE and Post Degree)

Grades of ‘C’ or higher are required for all program requirements;
Grades of ‘D’ or ‘F’ do not fulfill any program requirements.
For the AGEC only, grades of ‘P’ cannot be used for any requirements except for applicable courses transferring to Pima for which a ‘P’ grade is the only option available to students, and that grade is equivalent to a C or better.

Catalog of Record

Students must follow a Catalog of Record that complies with Continuous Enrollment rules and is no more than six years old.
The rules for maintaining continuous enrollment are:
- A semester in which a student earns course credit will be counted toward continuous enrollment.
- Failure to enroll in three consecutive regular (fall or spring) semesters breaks continuous enrollment for a student. Enrollment in the intervening summer terms may be used to maintain continuous enrollment status.
- Continuous enrollment may be maintained at any Arizona public or tribal community college or university.
- If continuous enrollment is not maintained, the student must meet the requirements for graduation of the catalog in effect at the time they re-enroll or any subsequent catalog of continuous enrollment.
- Students may graduate according to the requirements of the catalog in effect at the time of initial enrollment or according to the requirements of any catalog in effect during subsequent terms of continuous enrollment. (Students accepted to a program through a selective admissions process will be admitted under the current catalog at the time of admission to the program.)
- Students who elect to change their program of study must follow and may only graduate according to the catalog in effect at the time of the change, or any subsequent catalog if they maintain continuous enrollment.
- Students may not follow a catalog older than 6 years from the current academic year even if they have been continuously enrolled.

Time Limit for Coursework

In areas of study in which the subject matter changes rapidly, material in courses may become obsolete or irrelevant. Coursework is subject to review based upon requirements of program accreditation agencies or changes in course outcomes by the student’s major department. In cases where courses were completed prior to student entry in their program of study under their catalog of record, additional work may be required to document the updated outcomes.

Earning Multiple Degrees

Students seeking multiple degrees or a second degree are encouraged to speak with an advisor to ensure that the additional time and resources are beneficial to employment and/or transfer.
Students may be awarded only one Associate of Arts degree.
Students may be awarded only one Associate of Fine Arts degree.
Students may be awarded only one Associate of General Studies degree.
Students may be awarded only one Associate of Science degree.
Students may be awarded only one Associate of Business degree.
Students earning more than one Associate Degree must complete a minimum of 15 unique credit hours for each degree.
Students earning more than one Certificate must complete a minimum of 6 unique credit hours for each certificate.

Academic Honors

Students who are graduating with an Associate Degree and who have completed 30 credit hours at Pima Community College are granted honors designation if they meet certain overall institutional grade point averages:

3.500 to 3.749 grade point average = Graduation with Honors
3.750 to 3.899 grade point average = Graduation with High Honors
3.900 to 4.000 grade point average = Graduation with Highest Honors

These designations will be shown on diplomas and listed on the student’s official transcripts.