Some students express interest in the potential to earn an Associate's degree in high school via dual-enrollment. This is possible, but it does require planning.

• College Catalog. The PVC catalog should be read in-depth with an emphasis on the programs dealing the AAs (and ASs) offered at PVC.

Each Associate's degree has different courses that are required but the general pattern for an AA from PVC is (with courses shown date to 8/21/25):

Associate's Degree Requirements

• CalGETC General Education (34-38 units). This is detailed more below.

• Area of Emphasis (~18 units). A minimum of 18 units required in an area of emphasis (Arts & Humanities, Business & Technology, Mathematics & Science, Social & Behavioral Science, etc.). These units may also fulfill CalGETC requirements. At least 2 courses must be completed in one discipline.

• The student must earn a total of 60 units, which tends to work out to a range from 18-20 individual semester courses (typically from 3-5 electives).

The CalGETC requirements in-depth are:

General Education (CalGETC - req. "C" or better) (34-38 units) 

• 1. English Communication (9+ Units, 3 courses)

  • 1A: English Composition (ENGL C1000)

  • 1B: Critical Thinking and Composition (ENGL C1001)

  • 1C: Oral Communication (COMM C1000)

• 2. Mathematics Concepts & Quantitative Reasoning (3+ units, 1 Course)

  • 1 course: STAT C1000, MAT 108, MAT 110, MAT 130, PSY 155

• 3. Arts & Humanities (6+ units, 2 Courses)

  • 3A: Arts (ART 101, ART 110, ART 111, ENG 125, MUS 121, MUS 137, THA 110, THA 151)

  • 3B: Humanities (ENG 102, ENG 122, ENG 125, ENG 140, ENG 222, HIS 110, HIS 120, HIS 125, HIS 130, HIS 140, PHI 100, PHI 120)

• 4. Social & Behavioral Sciences (6+ units, 2 Courses)

  • 2 courses, each from a different discipline: ANT 101, 102, 107, 201, CHD 101, ECO 105, ECO 106, GGR 103, GGR 120, HIS 110, HIS 120, HIS 125, HIS 130, HIS 140, POLS C1000, SOC 101, SOC 115, SOC 120, SOC 121, SOC 140, SOC 160, SPE 105, PSYC C1000, PSY 115, PSY 150, PSY 201, PSY 205, PSY 210, PSY 215

• 5. Physical & Biological Sciences (7+ units, 2 Courses with Lab)

  • 5A: Physical Sciences (AST 101, AST 105, AST 110, GGR 101, GEL 101, GEL 103, GEL 105, PHY 100, CHE 101, CHE 109, CHE 210, CHE 211

  • 5B: Biological Sciences (ANT 100, BIO 100, BIO 111, BIO 190, BIO 191, BIO 210, BIO 211

  • 5C: Lab (ANT 108, BIO 101, GEL 102, 104, 106, GGR 102 or any underlined course)

• 6. Ethnic Studies (3+ Units, 1 Course)

  • 1 course: ETH 101, ETH 210

Note: Courses may be listed in two areas, but will only count in one area (an exception being that an science class lab meets both its primary subject and the 5C requirement).

Students in high school may be enrolled as special part-time students for up to 11 units per Fall or Spring semester and up to 5 units per Summer semester. The typical course through PVC is 3 units. Therefore a theoretical maximum is:

• Freshman Year = 6 courses

• Summer + Sophomore Year = 7 courses

• Summer + Junior Year = 7 courses

• Summer + Senior Year = 7 courses

This represents a total of 27 opportunities to enroll in coursework. Most students will need about 19 units of coursework, so up to 8 'blank' spots are allowed.

The high school offers both College History and College Psychology, which can also take up space within the regular high school schedule:

• College History (HIS 130 + HIS 140) will satisfy both Area 3B and either (1) 1 course towards a Humanities emphasis, plus depth or (2) elective credit.

• College Psychology (PSY 101 + PSY 210) will satisfy Area 4 and contribute either (1) 1 course towards a Social Science emphasis, plus depth, or (2) elective credit.

A functional model which employs both of these might look like:

• 9th Spring (1), 10th Summer (1), 10th Fall (2), 10th Spring (2), 11th Summer (1), 11th Fall (3 - 2 on campus), 11th Spring (3 - 2 on campus), 12th Summer (1), 12th Fall (3), 12th Spring (3)

This would yield a total of 20 courses (for a total of 60+ units).

Certain CTE programs can also contribute towards an A.S. degree with that area of emphasis. In this model a student would enroll in a CTE program (e.g. CIS) for three consecutive years from 10th-12th grade and would additionally enroll in one course meeting CalGETC requirements per semester, beginning in 9th Grade Spring.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Just because something can be done, doesn't mean that it should be done. The model given above should serve as an example for strongly self-motivated students.

It is also important for university-bound students to remember that this does not serve as a direct replacement for traditional high school coursework, but should be seen as a way to show additional breadth (in subjects not available through the regular high school day) and depth (in preferred areas of study).