Bellevue College offers a large assortment of concentrations available for the Associate in Arts and Science degree. Subjects or programs such as English, music, psychology and criminal justice are all available for students to concentrate in. The most recent addition to this list is an academic concentration in mathematics.
Math Program Chair Jennifer Laveglia explained the details of the process. To obtain the concentration, students have to take at least four math classes. Each class is five credits, which is equivalent to earning a minimum of 20 credits. At least two of the classes applied towards completing the concentration will be Math 208, Math 238 or Math 254.
The credits that are earned for the Mathematics academic concentration fulfill some of the electives credits for the degree. Since the electives are the amount of credits left over to earn after the main components of the degree are completed, the concentration may or may not fulfill all the credits in the electives section.
The biggest advantage of obtaining an academic concentration is that it lets students leave Bellevue College not only with an associates degree, but also with more specialized credits that can be transferred to a majority of four year institutions.
At the University of Washington, the majority of transferred credits are accepted. There are a few exceptions, like if the classes are taken out of order such as a 100 level class taken after a 200 level class. Moreover, if the school feels that two classes covered the same material, credit will only be given for one of the two classes. High school foreign language is not given credit, however foreign language taken at college level is accepted.
Washington State University will accept the “Washington 45” which is a compiled list of accepted courses that can transfer from another college.
They also have a “course match up” which shows what courses have an equivalent at WSU. WSU’s website also explains how to convert credits earned on a quarter system into credits for a semester system.
Once at university with the transferred credits, students are only one or two courses away from then earning a minor in the same subject area as their academic concentration.
For students interested in completing a mathematics academic concentration, the one-page application is available online at Bellevue College’s website. Searching for “academic concentration” on the college’s web page should provide a quick link to the application.
Applications for the math concentration are turned in at the science department office in L200.
During this academic pursuit, students must agree to maintain a minimum of a 2.0 GPA throughout their time at Bellevue College while they earn their Associate of Arts and Science degree.