General Studies: Agriculture Trades AS Degree
General Studies – 18 Unit Emphasis | SC Program: AS.1496
The Agriculture emphasis allows students to explore all areas of agriculture, including animal science, agriculture business, horticulture, equine, sustainable agriculture, mechanized agriculture, natural resources, and viticulture.
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Map your education by viewing the program map for the degree or certificate you’re interested in earning below. Meet with a counselor to create your official comprehensive education plan.
A program map shows all the required and recommended courses you need to graduate and a suggested order in which you should take them. The suggested sequence of courses is based on enrollment and includes all major and general education courses required for the degree.
Fall Semester, First Year
14 Units TotalNote: For students who would benefit from further instruction and individual support while taking their first college-transfer level English course, ENGL 1AX is a recommended alternative to ENGL 1A.
This course develops the reading, critical thinking, and writing skills necessary for academic success, emphasizing expository and argumentative writing as well as research and documentation skills. As a transferable course, it presupposes that students already have a substantial grasp of grammar, syntax, and organization, and that their writing is reasonably free from errors. A research paper is required for successful completion of the course. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
The course is designed to develop leadership qualities in students. "Hands-on" techniques will be used to facilitate problem solving, cooperative work ethics, developing initiative, managing and organizing information, flexible thinking and effective questioning. Practical experience in conducting business as a group will be gained by participation.
Spring Semester, First Year
15 Units TotalAn introductory course in statistics designed to show the role of modern statistical methods in the process of decision making. Concepts are introduced by example rather than by rigorous mathematical theory. The following topics will be covered: measures of central tendency and dispersion, regression and correlation, probability, sampling distributions including the normal, t, and chi-square, statistical inference using confidence intervals and hypotheses testing. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This course is a survey of inorganic chemistry and some organic chemistry suitable for agriculture and nursing students. The basic fundamentals of the metric system, chemical nomenclature, atomic and molecular structure, chemical reactions, energy changes, states of matter, solutions, chemical equilibria and kinetics, and organic functional groups are presented. The quantitative nature of chemistry is developed by introduction of the Avogadro's number and the mole and continuing with stoichiometry, gas law, solution concentrations and pH calculations. The lecture/discussion portion of this course may be offered in a distance education format.
Fall Semester, Second Year
15 Units TotalThis course is an introduction to the process of human communication with emphasis on public speaking. The subjects covered are speech topic selection, audience analysis, information competency (e.g. researching, evaluating and using supporting materials), presentation outlining, principles of effective speech delivery, critical evaluation of speeches, and presentation of informative and persuasive speeches. Most students will have the opportunity to be recorded and to use presentational technology. College level writing skills will be expected on all papers, outlines and short essays. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Note: This class includes two Saturday field trips on classification, judging, and conservation of soils. The class is required for all agriculture, natural resources, and horticulture majors.
This class is an introductory course on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil as it relates to agriculture and natural resources. Ecosystem relationship of soil use and management is emphasized. The effects of drainage, tillage, and irrigation on land use are discussed. A portion of this course may be offered in a distance education format.
Spring Semester, Second Year
16 Units TotalThis course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of race and ethnicity in the United States. It examines social justice movements in relation to ethnic and racial groups in the United States to provide a basis for a better understanding of the socioeconomic, cultural, and political conditions among key social groups including, but not limited to, Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina/o Americans. This course examines the systemic nature of racial/ethnic oppression through an examination of key concepts including racialization and ethnocentrism, with a specific focus on the persistence of white supremacy. Using an anti-racist framework, the course will examine historical and contemporary social movements dedicated to the decolonization of social institutions, resistance, and social justice. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This course offers an introduction to the biological principles of plant growth and development. Ecosystem relationships will be covered with particular emphasis on succession, water cycle, mineral cycle, and energy flow. In addition to investigating modern production and marketing practices of agronomic crops, the impact of commercial crop production upon mankind and the environment will be considered. The lecture portion of this course may be offered in a distance education format.
Please see a counselor to discuss options for meeting general education requirements for transfer to California State Universities (CSU) and/or University of California (UC) campuses, as well as any specific additional courses that may be required by your chosen institution of transfer.
*Alternative Courses: Please see a Shasta College counselor for alternative course options. You can also view the following to find other courses to meet degree/certificate requirements:
- California State Universities – General Education
- IGETC – Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum
Need a print out? Feel free to download and/or print out a copy of the sample program map(s).
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