Jun 18, 2025  
2025-26 Catalog 
    
Catalog Navigation
  Catalog Home
  About Highline
  Academic Calendars
  Core Competencies
  Enroll in Classes
  Getting Started
  Assessment, Placement, and Educational Planning
  Financial Aid
  Programs, Resources and Services for Students
  Registration and Records
  Tuition and Fees
  Advanced Placement Equivalency Information
  Course Descriptions
  All Programs (A-Z)
  Associate Degree & Certificate Requirements
  Baccalaureate Degree Requirements
  Degree & Certificate Programs
  Distribution Areas
  Professional Technical Associate Degree & Certificate Types
  Transferable Degree Information
  Other Instructional Programs
  Board of Trustees/Faculty/Staff
  College Policies and Procedures
  Instructional Policies and Procedures
  Maps
  Services Directory
  Glossary
  Veterans Services Addenda
  My Portfolio
HELP
2025-26 Catalog

Associate in Arts (AA-DTA)

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: All Programs (A-Z)

Core Competencies

Critical Thinking

Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze and summarize complex information, create an argument that acknowledges multiple perspectives, and use reasoning and evidence to draw conclusions.

Quantitative Reasoning

Students will demonstrate the ability to apply numerical, logical, and analytical techniques to analyze, evaluate, and explain quantitative information.

Effective Communication

Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate ideas through written, oral, and/or visual formats by utilizing their own voice to address various audiences and consider the perspectives of others.

Information & Visual Literacy

Students will demonstrate the ability to interpret, evaluate, synthesize, and organize selected textual, visual, or electronic resources for a given situation, maintaining strict adherence to legal and ethical guidelines governing information access.

Community & Social Responsibility

Students will demonstrate the ability to interact productively and equitably with others in diverse local, national, and global communities; address social justice issues based on awareness of historical and contemporary systemic inequalities; proactively engage in their physical and mental health.

Globalism

Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate how environmental, relational and cultural processes and interactions impact the world, people’s lives, and their own views.

AA-DTA Requirements

Importance of Advising. Advising is an important part of completing a degree. Each student should meet with an advisor as early as possible. Students are responsible for checking the transfer requirements of the college or university they plan to attend; advisors can help with this.

General Requirements

  • 90 Credits Total: Complete at least 90 credits of courses numbered 100 or higher
  • 2.0+ Cumulative GPA: Earn at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA
  • 25% of Total Credits at Highline: Complete at least 25% of your 90 total credits at Highline. This is the “Residency” requirement.
  • 75+ Credits Fully Transferable: At least 75 credits must be designated as fully transferable. All Distribution Area and PE Activity courses are fully transferable.
  • Maximum 15 Credits Restricted: Courses that are not fully transferable are called “restricted.” Students can use no more than 15 restricted credits for their degree. Restricted courses include most Professional-Technical courses, College Studies, PE Activity courses, independent studies, credit by examination, military experience credit, CLEP and other nontraditional credit. AP courses are generally not restricted.
  • Maximum 15 Credits CR/NC: You can choose to have a course graded as CR/NC, but no more than 15 credits of CR/NC courses can apply to your degree.
  • Maximum 3 Credits PE Activity: All PE courses are either “Activity” or “Theory” courses. You can only use 3 credits of PE Activity for your degree.

For more information, refer to the Associate Degree and Certificate Requirements page.

Specific Requirements

College Success Course: 2-5 Credits

Complete one of the following College Success courses during your first 30 credits at Highline. The 2-5 credits earned will apply to the Elective requirement.

  • BUSN 199 - Orientation to Business
  • COL 101 - Strengthening Navigational Skills
  • COL 105 - Navigating College
  • HEAL 102 - Introduction to Healthcare Professions
  • STEM 101 - Pathway to STEM Success

If a student cannot or should not take a College Success course, they may be able to have the requirement waived. For more information, see Instructional Policies and Procedures.

Communication Skills: 15 credits

Complete the required 10 credits of English and 5 credits of Communication Studies courses. Courses used to meet the Communication Skills requirement cannot apply to other requirements.

Note: ENGL& 102 is the best choice for most students. ENGL& 235 is for specific pathways; talk to an advisor before taking it.

Complete the following:
Complete one of the following:
Complete one of the following:

Quantitative Skills Requirement: 5 credits

Complete a Quantitative Skills course from the list below. The course used to meet the Quantitative Skills requirement cannot apply to other requirements.

Note: UW accepts Mathematics for Elementary Education for elective credit, but not as meeting its Reasoning requirement.

Diversity and Globalism: 3 credits

Complete at least 3 credits of Diversity and Globalism coursework. This course can apply to another requirement, so choose one that will also meet a Distribution or Elective requirement.

Some potential transfer institutions may require a Diversity and/or Globalism course, check transfer institutions equivalency guides for courses that may meet both schools’ requirements.

Distribution Requirements

A complete list of courses in the Humanities, Social Science, and Natural Science distributions can be found on the Distribution Areas page.

Humanities Distribution: 10 Credits

Note: Some colleges and universities require two years of high school world language or fluency in more than one language. If a student doesn’t have either, they need two quarters of a college world language. Students can take the first in Humanities Area 1 and the second as an elective.

Complete the following:
  • 5 credits from Humanities Area 1
  • 5 credits from Humanities Area 2

Social Science Distribution: 15 Credits

Complete the following:
  • 5 credits from Social Science Area 1
  • 5 credits from Social Science Area 2
  • 5 credits from Social Science Area 1 or Area 2

Natural Science Distribution: 15 Credits

Complete 15 credits from the Natural Science distribution, including:
  • A 5-credit course that includes a lab (L) experience
  • No more than 10 credits from one subject
  • At least 10 credits chosen from the Physical, Biological, and/or Earth Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geology, Oceanography, Astronomy, or Physics)

Physical Education: 3 Credits

Complete at least 3 credits of Physical Education (PE). These credits will apply to the Elective requirement.

Note: All PE courses are either “Activity” or “Theory.” PE Activity courses will apply under the “transferable” section of the Elective requirement. PE Theory courses apply under “any courses 100-level or higher” section because they are considered restricted.

Electives: 30 credits

Complete 15 credits from the Distribution Areas or the other transferable electives listed below. The remaining 15 credits can come from any courses numbered 100 or higher.

Note: 2-5 credits will be College Studies and at least 3 credits will be PE. PE Activity Courses, up to 3 credits, are fully transferable electives, but College Studies and PE Theory are not (they are restricted).

Complete 15 credits from the following list of fully transferable electives:

* Distribution Areas (All distribution area courses are fully transferable)

* PE Activity Course(s) (Maximum of 3 credits)

ICRC approved transferable electives listed below:

Complete 15 credits from the following:
  • Any courses numbered 100-level or higher
  • Students are “restricted” from taking more than 15 credits of non-transferable courses as part of their AA-DTA. All “Restricted Electives” fall in this area. Examples include Professional Technical Courses, Internships, Field Studies. Please speak with an advisor to determine the appropriate course selection.

Total Credits: 90

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: All Programs (A-Z)