Degrees and Certificates

Associate Degrees

The College of Western Idaho confers the following types of associate degrees:

Associate of Arts Degree

  • An Associate of Arts (AA) degree is a credential awarded for completion of requirements in an approved Academic Transfer program of at least 60 semester credits (includes a minimum of 36 general education credits) and represents mastery of a defined set of competencies. An AA can typically be completed within two years if a student attends on a full-time basis. An Associate of Arts degree program is typically an adaptable degree, meaning that it is flexible and encompasses all topics that are not primarily related to math or science. You can expect coursework that will focus on the liberal arts plus your choice of electives. 

Associate of Science Degree

  • An Associate of Science (AS) degree is a credential awarded for completion of requirements in an approved Academic Transfer program of at least 60 semester credits (includes a minimum of 36 general education credits) and represents mastery of a defined set of competencies. Depending on math readiness, an AS can typically be completed within two years if a student attends on a full-time basis. An Associate of Science degree program requires an additional 15 credits of STEM courses and therefore provides a greater focus on elective courses within math and science.  

Associate of Applied Science Degree

  • An Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree is a credential awarded for completion of requirements in an approved Career and Technical Education (CTE) program of at least 60 semester credits (includes a minimum of 15 general education credits) and represents mastery of a defined set of competencies. An AAS can typically be completed within two years if a student attends on a full-time basis. Students who are career-focused, know what they want to do, and have researched the advantages of earning the AAS can earn this degree without needing to complete the additional required general education coursework required by AA and AS degree programs. NOTE: Students need to be aware that AAS degrees will articulate into BAS degree programs but do not include all of the general education coursework that is required when continuing to baccalaureate degree programs. Please refer to the Transfer and Articulation catalog page for additional information regarding the transfer of general education credits.

Associate of Engineering Degree

  • An Associate of Engineering (AE) degree is a credential awarded for completion of requirements in an approved Academic Transfer Engineering program of at least 60 semester credits and represents mastery of a defined set of competencies. Students who select this program are expected to have already attained high levels of math and chemistry skills. Depending on math readiness, an AE can typically be completed within two years if a student attends on a full-time basis. Students who complete the Associate of Engineering program should note that the general education (GE) requirements for this program will NOT result in GE core completion with regard to transfer. However, the program was designed to make transferring into a four-year Engineering program easier and is intended to result in students being better prepared to transfer in at a junior-class level.

Certificates

The College of Western Idaho confers the following types of certificates:

Technical Certificates include the Advanced Technical Certificate, Intermediate Technical Certificate, and Basic Technical Certificate. These certificates are credentials awarded for the completion of requirements in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program that represents mastery of a defined set of competencies. Technical certificates are awarded based on the total number of required credits and are intended to be stackable when multiple certificates are offered in the same program.

  • An Advanced Technical Certificate (ATC) requires 52 to 59 credits.
  • An Intermediate Technical Certificate (ITC) requires 30 to 51 credits.
  • A Basic Technical Certificate (BTC) requires 8 to 29 credits. 

Academic Certificate

  • The Academic Certificate (AC) is a credential awarded for the completion of a coherent program of study consisting of seven (7) semester credits or more. An AC may lead to an academic degree or be completed in addition to an Academic Transfer or CTE degree.

Specialized Certificate

  • The Specialized Certificate (SC) is a credential awarded upon the successful completion of specific courses within a CTE or Academic Transfer program of fewer than 60 credits that have been industry-validated and sequenced to develop and upgrade existing skills in an occupation. Specialized Certificates are intended to be stacked on or appended to other credentials as advanced training; in other words, they are typically meant to be an additional credential that students earn after completing an associate degree from a related program.