Description

The Associate of Science with an Oregon State University emphasis is intended for students who are confident they will finish their bachelor’s degree at either OSU in Corvallis or OSU-Cascades. The program provides a framework for students to meet OSU’s general education requirements at the lower-division level. At OSU, this is called the Baccalaureate Core or "Bacc Core." However, the Bacc Core will be replaced at OSU by their new general education requirements, "Core Ed," starting Summer 2025. Students who are uncertain whether they will complete their studies at OSU, or those who have fewer remaining requirements with the Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer, may be better served by the Associate of Arts, which guarantees progress toward the general education core requirements at all Oregon public universities.

Entrance Requirements

While this program has no formal entrance requirements, individual courses may have prerequisites which must be met before enrollment.

Course Requirements

¹

Select from the appropriate category in the OSU Baccalaureate Core course list.

²

No more than two courses (or lecture/lab combinations) from any one department may be used by a student to satisfy the Perspectives category of the core. GEO courses listed under Physical Science are considered to be from a different department than GEO courses listed under any other Perspective category.

³

Electives must be numbered 100 or higher (with a maximum of 12 Career and Technical Education (CTE) credits).

Advising Notes

Students are highly recommended to include lower-division major requirements and their Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science requirements in the first 90 credits. Many Oregon State University majors require a significant number of lower-division courses, and some programs (such as engineering, computer science, and business) require completion of these courses before students may continue to upper-division courses. OSU-Cascades maintains advising guides for all programs. Students who do not complete these requirements in their first 90 credits may find that they cannot complete their bachelor’s degree in two years after completion of the Associate of Science degree nor in the minimum total of 180 credits.

This information reflects an accurate picture of OSU requirements at the time of approval using the OSU catalog, advisors, and web resources for consultation. However, degree requirements can and do change. OSU has made no guarantee about the accuracy of requirements in the Associate of Science; determination of transfer status is made on an individual course basis at the point of admission to OSU.

NOTE: The OSU Bacc Core is changing to Core Ed in Summer 2025. Students who wish to complete their OSU degree under the old Bacc Core requirements need to transfer to OSU by Spring of 2025. After Spring 2025, students will be required to complete the new Core Ed requirements. Speak with an advisor at OSU if you have questions about transferring in this transition period. 

Timing
OSU recommends the following plan for timing baccalaureate core requirements.

First Year:

• Complete Writing 1 (WR 121Z Composition I, C- or higher), speech, and math (required in first 45 OSU credits)
• Begin perspectives courses
• Consider a difference, power, and discrimination or fitness course

Second Year:     

• Complete Writing II (required in first 90 OSU credits)
• Continue perspectives courses
• Complete difference, power, and discrimination and fitness course requirements           

Notes for majors from the College of Liberal Arts (CLA)
At OSU-Cascades, this includes majors such as American Studies, Liberal Studies, Psychology, and Social Science. Generally, triple dipping is not allowed.

CLA majors have a College of Liberal Arts core requirement (five courses, at least 15 credits).

As of Spring term 2020, triple dipping is not allowed between the baccalaureate core, CLA core, and major requirements. This means that a single course can count towards two of these requirements but not three. This policy applies to major in the CLA but not to minors, certificates, or the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science requirements (which have separate restrictions with some majors).

Requirements for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS) degree and other requirements
Students are encouraged to include the BA or BS requirements in their lower division courses. Following are considerations for students working on their BA/BS requirement.

• Nearly all degrees at OSU are either BA or BS degrees.
• Some majors offer both BA and BS options, and some offer only one option.
• BS requirements are included in major curriculum for all degrees that are in colleges outside of the College of Liberal Arts.
• A major will either allow students to double dip (use a course to meet two requirements, such as a major requirement and a BA/BS or baccalaureate core requirement) or will prohibit double dipping.
• Usually, majors that allow double dipping will require specific courses that can be used in both the major and the BA/BS or baccalaureate core.

Performance Standards

• Academic Requirements:
  • Students must have a 2.0 cumulative GPA to earn a COCC certificate or degree.
  • All courses must be completed with a C grade or higher.

Sample Plan