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Academic Programs and Services

Culture, Science and Technology

The Culture, Science and Technology A.A. degree curriculum is designed to provide students with the educational foundation necessary to deal with the complex interrelationships among technical, scientific and societal changes in the modern world. The program is designed for students planning to transfer to baccalaureate programs or professional schools after study at Community College of Philadelphia; for students selecting a specialized associate’s degree; for students planning to enter certain select programs at a later date; and for students undecided about their long-term educational goals.

Students are expected to consult with an academic advisor or counselor upon entry to the program and in subsequent semesters. Planning should begin early, so that the student can gain the most benefit from the curriculum. Students who follow the Culture, Science and Technology curriculum and plan to attend a specific four-year college after graduation should choose elective courses that duplicate as closely as possible those in the first two years of the program of that college. Students who plan to apply for admission to one of the College’s select programs should meet with an advisor or counselor for course selection.

Students can choose to follow a Science/Technology concentration or a Health Careers concentration. The Science/Technology concentration is appropriate for students interested in careers in science and technology. The Health Careers concentration is appropriate for students who want to study in a health-related field. This concentration is specifically for students interested in one of the College’s allied health programs, the College’s Nursing program, or in transferring to a baccalaureate program in a discipline such as nursing, public health, therapeutic recreation, school health, physician’s assistant, occupational therapy or other health careers.

Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this program graduates will be able to:

  • Demonstrate knowledge in mathematics beyond the intermediate level.
  • Demonstrate a depth of understanding in a scientific or technological discipline.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of subject matter in the humanities and social sciences.
  • Transfer successfully to a four-year university.
  • Successfully transition to a program in health care or science.


Program Entry Requirements:
Students are typically required to take the College’s placement tests at their time of entry. Students identified as needing developmental course work must satisfactorily complete the appropriate English and mathematics courses as a part of the degree program.

Program of Study and Graduation Requirements:
To qualify for the A.A. degree in Culture, Science and Technology, a student must complete a minimum of 60 credit hours as prescribed and attain a grade point average of 2.0 (“C” average). Students are required to take five core courses, five concentration courses, three courses chosen from the Society cluster, two courses chosen from the Humanities cluster and four general electives to bring the total to 60 credits.

The five core courses are: ENGL 101, ENGL 102, MATH 118 and a second math course (level 135 or higher) and CIS 103. Students can choose either a Science/Technology concentration or a Health Careers concentration. For the Health Careers concentration students should take ECON 112 or MATH 251 as the second math course.

Health Careers Concentration:
To earn the degree in this concentration students are required to successfully finish five concentration courses referred to as the Science and Health requirement and a Society cluster of courses. To provide both breadth and depth, the Science and Health requirement includes four Natural Science courses with labs and one Health course. One of the Natural Science courses must be in a different discipline than the other three courses, to satisfy the breadth requirement. Three Natural Science courses have to be in the same discipline to satisfy the depth requirement. Students must take either
AH 103, Medical Terminology or DIET 111, Introduction to Nutrition for the Health requirement.

Science/Technology Concentration:
To earn the degree in this concentration students are required to successfully finish five concentration courses. The Science/Technology concentration is satisfied with one of two options: 1) Students complete four Natural Science courses with labs and one technology course. One of the Natural Science courses must be in a different discipline than the other three courses, to satisfy the breadth require-ment. The depth option is satisfied by taking three Natural Science courses in the same discipline. 2) Students complete two Natural Science courses with labs in two different disciplines to satisfy breadth requirement and three technology courses in the same discipline which satisfies the depth requirement.

Technology courses acceptable for the Science/Technology concentration include Architecture Design and Construction (ADC) 103, 163 or 263, Paralegal Studies (PLS) 115, or any courses in Computer Information Systems (CIS), Computer Science (CSCI), Computer Forensics (CF) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Each technology course must be a minimum of 3 credits.

For purposes of this curriculum, the natural sciences include biology, chemistry and physics. Courses in these disciplines, as well as STS 101, will fulfill the natural science requirement.

The Society cluster must include any three courses from among the following ANTH 112, ANTH 202, ECON 181, GEOG 103, GEOG 180, PSYC 101, PSYC 215, PSYC 221, PHIL 211, POLS 101, POLS 111, POLS 211, SOC 101, SOC 105, SOC 231 and SOC 233.

Two courses in the humanities in addition to English 101 and 102 or 112 are also required to complete the degree. Courses which will meet the humanities general education requirement include art history, English (100 and 200 levels), foreign languages, history, humanities, music history and philosophy.

Students with specialized academic interests or plans to major in a certain subject after transfer should consider one of the more specialized degree programs offered by the College.

Download a printable degree description (PDF File) that includes a recommended course sequence grid.