Associate of Arts Degree
Associate of Arts

Liberal Arts and Sciences

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Program Overview

Program Overview

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Christopher Rempfer
203-575-8233 (p)
Room: K611
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A Dynamic Educational Experience That Encourages Creativity, Intelligence, and Adaptability

NVCC's Liberal Arts and Sciences program offers students a dynamic educational experience that encourages creativity, intelligence, and adaptability while supporting students in the understanding of their transfer options. Its core curriculum is structured to engage students in the areas of analytical thinking, applied knowledge, creative expression, effective communication, ethics, social awareness and responsibility, and technological literacy.

Interdisciplinary courses to build on including writing, mathematics, sciences, and arts; plus lots of electives - you get to choose! Easy transfer opportunities to Central, Southern, Eastern, and Western Connecticut State Universities, and UCONN. Course meeting times to fit YOUR schedule: classes are held early mornings, days, evenings, Saturdays, Sundays, and online.

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Currently there are no related workforce training courses available for this program.

Liberal Arts/Sciences Areas of Study

Areas of Study You Can Further Pursue with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences

  • What are humans?
  • Where do you, as humans, come from, both biologically and geographically?
  • How does where you come from affect how you think, what you believe and how you act? 
  • Why are people in different places so different? And in what ways people are all the same? 

In anthropology courses at NVCC, you will learn the answers to these questions and more. You'll also get more than theory - you can “get your hands dirty” at the college’s on-campus archaeological site.

Whether you desire a rigorous background for a degree in the sciences, a foundation for healthcare careers or an excellent liberal arts education, our biology courses provide you with opportunities to learn in a student-centered environment.

You'll get hands-on laboratory and field experiences using investigation methods and experimental techniques that reflect the current state of biological science.

A CSCU Pathway Transfer Degree in Biology is available.

The field of chemistry is a central discipline in the understanding of natural phenomena and the creation of products useful to humanity. Chemists are at the forefront of exciting research in medicine and environmental technologies, such as fuel cells. It is because of this key role in emerging research that the employment prospects for chemists in the coming years are good. Students interested in immersing themselves in challenging problems at the forefront of science should consider majoring in chemistry.


A CSCU Pathway Transfer Degree in chemistry is available.

Communication as an academic field relates to all the ways we communicate.

"The field of communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within and across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media. The field promotes the effective and ethical practice of human communication." (Natcom)

A CSCU Pathway Transfer Degree in Communications is available

From presidential debates to conversations across the proverbial dinner table, everyone is talking about the economy.

Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

In this exciting and ever-evolving field, you will learn about the impact of government policies and financial decisions on businesses and the industry. As you study interest rates, exchange rates, economic indicators and equity markets, you will also become better prepared to make better personal financial decisions about investments, retirements, mortgages, etc.

CSCU Pathway Transfer Degree in Economic Studies is available.

Why study English, you ask?

Language is at the heart of our humanity. It informs who we are, what we do and what we want our lives to be about.

Studying language gives you the opportunity to master the allied skills of thinking, reading and writing.

  • Courses in composition help you to manage the language.
  • Courses in literature encourage you to appreciate the full range of human expression, enhancing your engagement with words and the world.

These foci cultivate a deeper understanding of ourselves and others, foster a critical and creative engagement with language and literature, and allows teachers, scholars, writers and professionals to emerge as individuals capable of contending with the complexities of our world.

A CSCU Pathway Transfer Degree for English is available. 

Geography is the science of place and space. Geographers ask where things are located on the surface of the earth, why they are located where they are, how places differ from one another, and how people interact with the environment.There are two main branches of geography: human geography and physical geography. Human geography is concerned with the spatial aspects of human existence - how people and their activity are distributed in space, how they use and perceive space, and how they create and sustain the places that make up the earth's surface. Physical geographers study patterns of climates, land forms, vegetation, soils, and water.


CSCU Pathway Transfer Degree for Geography is available. 

Geology is the study of the Earth, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those materials, and the processes acting upon them. It includes the study of organisms that have inhabited our planet. An important part of geology is the study of how Earth’s materials, structures, processes and organisms have changed over time.

Geologists work to understand the history of our planet. The better they can understand Earth’s history the better they can foresee how events and processes of the past might influence the future.

An Environmental Science degree may be an area of interest for you as well.

In order to understand the modern world, you need to understand the past. From American and European History to African American History to Women’s History, we offer a wide range of history courses. If you wish to pursue a career as a historian, our courses will provide you with an excellent foundation. Even if you do not plan to pursue a history related career, our courses will help you thrive as a citizen in the 21st century. 

In addition to gaining an understanding of the people, diverse cultures, and current issues and events, you will also begin to learn how to critically analyze, evaluate and interpret information – skills necessary for living in the modern world.

A CSCU Pathway Transfer Degree in history is available.

You may be required as part of your degree program to study a modern language and if so, you're in luck!

Learning a language is fun and can provide a shared interest when you meet people from different cultures. Plus, learning a second language can increase your chances of finding a new job or getting a promotion.

If you're interested in pursuing a language during your bachelor's degree, you'll find a variety of languages to start with here at NVCC.


CSCU Pathway Transfer Degrees in French, Italian, and Spanish are available.




Do you have a knack for math? Maybe you love the victorious feeling of cracking a word problem or the challenge of solving quadratic functions and parametric equations. Whatever your arithmetic pleasure, there are a variety of courses at NVCC that can take you as far as you're ready to go.

Even if you only have to take math as part of your general requirements, you'll find that small class sizes, knowledgeable professors and variety of classes offered will help prepare you for your next career or educational step.

A CSCU Pathway Transfer Degree in mathematics is available.

The study of philosophy is concerned with the fundamental questions of being human.

    What is the nature of our relationship as human beings to the world and to one another?
    What is the nature of the physical universe?
    What is beauty? What is truth? Are human beings free to act? What is a moral decision? What is reality?

The study of philosophy nurtures intellectual curiosity through philosophical inquiry and encourages students to become thoughtful and reflective thinkers. The study of philosophy asks that students raise questions about truth, reality, and values—personal, cultural, and societal.

To think philosophically and analytically, students must learn to use basic, logical reasoning skills. The philosophy department at NVCC emphasizes the philosophical archetypes from the Pre-Socratics to the present in order to encourage the development of logical-reasoning and critical-thinking skills. The study of philosophy develops the ability to analyze various modes of discourse. Students develop the ability to identify and construct arguments. In addition, students are encouraged to develop personal philosophies in order to determine their own sense of truth and reality.

It is also an excellent background if you want to continue on to a four-year school or eventually earn a degree in law or public administration. Interested in the subject but not sure if you want to earn a degree? NVCC offers a number of philosophy courses to help you test the waters while earning flexible credit towards a bachelor's degree.

Briefly defined, physics is the science that tries to understand the laws of nature and the relationship between energy and matter.

It might be more appropriate, however, to define physics as a way of thinking rather than as a profession. The field of physics trains students to take a logical, problem-solving approach in whatever situations they might find themselves. Physics students explore concepts and methods of science that can be applied in many different professional areas and research topics.

Some of the better-known careers for physics majors include academic and industrial research, electronics, alternative energy development, communications or the vital area of medical physics. Physicists are in demand for their analytical skills in many financial, fund management and research roles, in law, as weather forecasters, computer programmers, and as physics and science teachers.

A CSCU Pathway Transfer Degree in physics is available.

In our Political Science courses, you will learn the fundamentals of politics and and develop basic knowledge on issues such as power, the varieties of democratic and non-democratic government, the nation-state and emerging forms of governance and the diversity of forms of political behavior—from democratic participation to revolutionary violence.

A CSCU Pathway Transfer Degree in Political Science  is available.

Your life will probably not be the same after taking a sociology course at NVCC as a result of the increased awareness that you will gain. Through these courses, you will learn how sociologists view the world, the events occurring in it and even individual and seemingly peculiar behavior. After learning about the sociological perspective, you will understand a lot more about your life and the lives of those around you.


A Window to the World - Past, Present and Future…

We offer a range of courses to prepare you to understand how and why people and countries interact with each other the way they do. Our courses will provide you with:

  • an excellent education - these are essential disciplines comprising a well-rounded general education curriculum.
  • maximum transferability - all courses offered in these areas are transferable to universities and colleges both in and out of the state.

A CSCU PathwayTransfer Degree in sociology is available.

Student Success



Where does this take me?

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Academic & Transfer

Thinking of getting your bachelor's? Easy transfer opportunities to Central, Southern, Eastern, and Western Connecticut State Universities and UCONN are available. The requirements for the liberal arts degree allows students interested in pursuing a bachelor's in anthropology, biology, chemistry, communication, economics, English, geography, geology, history, languages, mathematics, philosophy, physics, political science, or sociology to transfer seamlessly to most four-year colleges and to successfully complete their bachelor's degree in those areas without loss of credit or time. 

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