What is the difference in Associates of Applied Science degree and an Associates of Applied Technology degree?

Associate degrees are conferred by a two-year college after the prescribed course of study has been successfully completed.

Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.)

degree programs prepare students for careers, career changes and career advancement at the technician or technologist level. AAS programs may also prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions. It is an occupational degree and is the only degree FVCC awards with a specified area of emphasis. These programs offer training in recognized technologies and specialties with emphasis on analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The program content, which is approximately 30 percent general education, provides both depth and breadth in conceptual and manipulative skills. General education courses in the areas of communications, humanities and mathematics, as well as in life, physical and social sciences, help equip students with the problem-solving, technical and social skills to compete successfully in the job market. Other courses, determined regionally, provide flexibility to meet the specific needs of local employers.

Applied Technology

Major fields of study offered by this division include air conditioning, architectural drafting, automotive collision repair technology, automotive technology, building safety and code administration, cabinetmaking technology, computer aided drafting and design, construction, electronic technology, environmental technology, fire technology, graphic communications, industrial education, networking/computer technician, manufacturing technology, photography, and welding/metal fabrication.

Transfer college programs in architecture and industrial technology are available. Apprenticeship training and trade extension classes, in addition to other fields of study offered by the Technical and Industrial Division, are also available in the evening programs.

An Associates degree is a two-year degree, and if it comes from an accredited college it can count towards a four-year degree at another college or university. Associates degrees are usually AA’s (Associates of Arts), because two-year degrees usually are very basic and survey courses — one usually doesn’t have a declared major until the third and fourth years of a four-year degree.