Educational Options

An AA degree program is designed for transfer into a bachelor’s degree program in liberal arts, social or behavioral sciences or a professional field with such disciplines as its base.

The Associate of Arts (AA) degree requires 22 credits distributed among six General Education Content Areas and an additional nine credits may be selected from the Content Areas and/or a Multi-Discipline Area.

An AAS degree program prepares students to enter either skilled or paraprofessional occupations or to upgrade workplace skills and knowledge. An AAS program is not intended to transfer to bachelor’s degree programs, although certain courses may be accepted at some institutions.

The Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree requires 12 credit hours distributed among six General Education Content Areas and an additional 3 credit hours may be selected from the Content Areas or a Multi-Discipline Content Area.

An AS degree program is designed for transfer into a bachelor’s degree program in a technical, medical or professional field with such disciplines as its base.

Associate of Science (AS) degree requires 22 credits distributed among six General Education Content Areas and an additional nine credits may be selected from the Content Areas and/or a Multi-Discipline Area.

A certificate program that prepares students to enter either skilled or paraprofessional occupations or to upgrade workplace skills and knowledge.

A certificate program that prepares students to enter either skilled or paraprofessional occupations or to upgrade workplace skills and knowledge. The courses are often a subset of those required for a corresponding Certificate of Completion or Associate’s degree.

A post-degree certificate of completion program requires that the student has already completed a degree before being accepted into the program. In some cases there are restrictions for entry into the program based on federal or state mandates. The certificate program prepares students to enter either skilled or paraprofessional occupations or to upgrade workplace skills and knowledge. Certificates containing 45 or more credit hours must contain 6 general education credit hours chosen from any course included in CNM’s approved list of general education coursework.

Non degree programs are blocks of courses that are offered in conjunction with or under the guidance of other organizations for preparation, training or refresher purposes. These non-degree programs and do not lead to a CNM certificate or degree.