A Starting Point for Earning Your Bachelor’s Degree
The first two years
The Associate in Arts Program (AAP) is an option for Delaware residents as a starting point for earning your bachelor’s degree at UD. By the time students earn their AA degree, they will have fulfilled all the University and College of Arts and Sciences breadth requirements, and will be almost half way to the total number of credits needed for a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, in response to current student interest in pursuing majors in the natural sciences, all three AAP campuses now offer biology and chemistry classes for science majors, and a higher level of pre-calculus designed for science and engineering. We are discussing opportunities for curriculum expansion into fields like food science, ecology, and wildlife conservation, as well. This means that during the first two years in the AAP, students can earn credits that will make it easier to transition into majors that lead to bachelor of science degrees.To make sure students stay on track to attain these goals, the AAP offers many academic programs and events throughout a student’s two years. Each campus has one or more professional academic advisors. They are knowledgeable, friendly, and totally dedicated to making sure that students are on course and taking all the classes that will be most beneficial. They will also direct students towards all the support services that may be needed, such as tutoring, disability services, and financial aid. In addition to the academic advisors, all our full-time professors serve in an advisement capacity, as well. Not only can they help students with the subjects they teach, they can also provide connections to departments on the main campus, and can help with the selection of classes when registration begins for each semester or winter/summer session.The vast majority of our students are successful in achieving the AA degree, and virtually all of them have opted to continue their academic careers at the UD Newark Campus.
Degree completion and the transition to Newark
The Associate in Arts Program continues to support students as they relocate to the Newark campus. An orientation for sophomores and their families, Transitions Day, takes place in Newark the summer before AAP graduates start a degree program on the Newark Campus. Like Majors and Minors on Main, this event features representatives from on-campus organizations and activities. We have also recognized that our students, as they transition to the Newark campus, face many of the same challenges that external transfer students encounter when arriving at UD. We now have programming to acclimate AAP graduates to new courses of study and life on a much larger campus. To that end, there is a professional advisor on the Newark campus dedicated to help students make a seamless transition on to the main campus. The advisor is available to help students stay on track with their educational goals, cope successfully with new academic demands, and assist them in finding a number of support services on their new campus.
To learn more, visit www.aap.udel.edu