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Custom Degrees at SNHU - chasey11442 - 09-09-2017

Hi all,

I know I asked a similar question the other day but I wanted to ask it in a different way. Here's a little bit about me, I am currently attending SNHU pursing my AA first and later will concentration in either Political Science/ Public Administration. A few friends of mine were telling me that PA is actually more of that concentration within the discipline of PS. With this being said, I will I will be best served getting my AA in Political Science of Liberal Arts so I can have that foundation. I've already emailed my advisor and was told there is no way to create an AA in Political Science even though there is a BA Political Science. This was a little bit of a shocker to me because I wasn't really asking if it were possible, I was asking who was responsible for creating the degrees. So I guess my "rephrased" question is does anyone know who is IN CHARGE at this colleges that create this degrees. I mean, I know it isn't impossible--it would just take time and i'd rather wait for a degree I want then waste time on one I don't.


RE: Custom Degrees at SNHU - bjcheung77 - 09-09-2017

LOL, what friends can tell you are different than in the real world. It's more like an opinion that you don't really need to go by, you can take it with a grain of salt or not... I'm not here to brush you off, but the AA is an insignificant degree that won't really matter, as long as you get the degree you want at the Bachelors level. If you really need to go back to get an AA in Political Science, do that after you've got your BA Political Science (I don't see the need to though as the BA PS is the main goal).

People use the AA as a springboard or a first two-year degree and rarely need a "concentration" from it. Just get as many courses as you need from it to get an AA in General Studies or Liberal Arts, make sure all of those courses transfer into the BA Political Science. That's the "end of the story", as most schools including the AA don't have a concentration, it's just an Associates of Arts. Anyways, check out some of the recommended schools around your neck of the woods and see if there is an "AA in PS".

I highly doubt you would want to wait for it, it could come 5 years, 10 years, 20 years down the road, GO GET THE BA PS! That's the degree which matters most to you. Like me, I've done the ASNSM Bio & ASBA/BSBA in General Management. My Masters I am going to go for has nothing to do with Bio or Business, I am going for an MIS from Hodges then add an MPA from them too!


RE: Custom Degrees at SNHU - chasey11442 - 09-09-2017

Didn't really answer my question, I will assume you do not know the answer.


RE: Custom Degrees at SNHU - bjcheung77 - 09-09-2017

My answer still remains the same as I sent the last thread... Good luck.
http://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/showthread.php?tid=27645

The Principal! Cuz, he's a prince and your pal... oh wait, what if that principal is a woman, she'll be a princess and your pal...
Other than that, work your way from Dean to VP, to P. I like the way you think... Big shots need to get things done differently.


RE: Custom Degrees at SNHU - cookderosa - 09-09-2017

(09-09-2017, 04:45 PM)chasey11442 Wrote: Hi all,

I know I asked a similar question the other day but I wanted to ask it in a different way. Here's a little bit about me, I am currently attending SNHU pursing my AA first and later will concentration in either Political Science/ Public Administration. A few friends of mine were telling me that PA is actually more of that concentration within the discipline of PS. With this being said, I will I will be best served getting my AA in Political Science of Liberal Arts so I can have that foundation. I've already emailed my advisor and was told there is no way to create an AA in Political Science even though there is a BA Political Science. This was a little bit of a shocker to me because I wasn't really asking if it were possible, I was asking who was responsible for creating the degrees. So I guess my "rephrased" question is does anyone know who is IN CHARGE at this colleges that create this degrees. I mean, I know it isn't impossible--it would just take time and i'd rather wait for a degree I want then waste time on one I don't.

The SNHU AA is in liberal arts, there isn't room for a concentration.
Who do you ask? Call the Dean of Arts and Sciences. He's going to tell you "no" for the reasons I already shared. EVEN IF they were to start the process of creating a new degree for the college to offer, that's no less than a 2-year process.
The purpose of the AA at your school is to perfectly fill the general education requirements of your school. You can probably find a different school offering an AA in Political Science.


RE: Custom Degrees at SNHU - sanantone - 09-09-2017

We aren't going to know more about SNHU than their employees. If they don't list a degree program in their catalog that lets you design associate's degrees, then you can't design an associate's degree. Accreditation agencies don't let students create and design whatever major they want. The major the school will have a name such as general studies, interdisciplinary studies, multidisciplinary studies, individualized studies, learner designed area of study, etc. Within those majors, you can design concentrations.

Colleges have to have majors approved by their accreditor, and they aren't going to ask and pay for review and approval of every student's self-designed degree. So, students have to design concentrations in a major that is already approved and designed for that purpose.

Public administration is basically a management/business degree for non-profits and the public sector. Just get a liberal arts associate's program that will knock out your general education requirements and possibly some of the lower level political science courses and move on to the bachelor's. You don't need an associate's in political science.


RE: Custom Degrees at SNHU - dfrecore - 09-09-2017

If you look at their catalog, the 2 majors are completely different, with virtually zero overlap (the only 3 courses I see shared out of 12 are Public Administration, American Politics, and American Government). So your friends who have said that PA is a concentration within PS were wrong, at least at that school.

If you look at their PA degree, it says related degrees are CJ and Sociology.


RE: Custom Degrees at SNHU - Life Long Learning - 09-09-2017

Self-designed major....see below?

Every COA student designs his or her own course of study in human ecology. Beyond a small core of degree requirements, there’s no set path. You give shape to your curriculum based on your interests and goals, exploring across multiple areas of study or digging deeper into a chosen focus.


This college claims the student can?
https://www.coa.edu/academics/

Design Your Own Major
http://www.swarthmore.edu/academics/design-your-own-major

How to Create Your Own Major in College (& Should You Do It?)
https://www.hercampus.com/life/academics/how-create-your-own-major-college-should-you-do-it


RE: Custom Degrees at SNHU - cookderosa - 09-10-2017

And ACTUALLY, it occurs to me that if you WANT to design an associate's degree, you can do it by completing 15 credits in that area via Pierpont.

I'm helping a friend complete her degree through Pierpont, and wrote a post on my blog today - the link is in my sig if you're interested.


RE: Custom Degrees at SNHU - bjcheung77 - 09-10-2017

BTW, designing a degree would still be an Associates of Arts, or an Associates of Science, rarely would they put a "concentration" in there for an AAG parchment, it'll most likely only be noted in the transcript which is what you're looking for. So, that AA in PS can be done in any school as you have a "concentration" from that. Just get them to note it in the transcript if you really needed that extra distinction, case solved! Woo hoo!