Liberal Arts: Arts and Humanities
Associate in Arts Counseling · San Jose City College · 2026-2027 Catalog
Description
The Associate in Arts in Liberal Arts: Arts and Humanities degree emphasizes the study of cultural, historical, aesthetic, philosophical or performance expression. Students will appreciate, interpret, and evaluate ways in which people throughout the ages have responded to the world around them in artistic and cultural creation, through the development of philosophical principles and human thought, through the evolution of modern and ancient languages, through an appreciation for different forms of literature, and an understanding of historical perspectives across culture and time.
Major preparation for this degree must include a minimum of 6 units of Theory-based Arts or Humanities courses. Non-Theory-based/Skills-based courses within the major preparation for this degree reflect an emphasis on developing creative expression, artistic skills and/or enhanced performance. This degree may prepare students for a narrow or interdisciplinary focus in Arts and/or Humanities areas of study to pursue similar majors at four-year institutions.
A grade of "C" or better is required for each course in the major or area of emphasis. A "P" (Pass) grade is an acceptable grade for courses in the major or area of emphasis if the course is taken on a Pass/No Pass basis.
Courses approved within the general education standards in the areas of Arts or Humanities may be used to fulfill major preparation requirements. Students should consult with a Counselor in planning for fulfillment of these degree requirements.
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Describe and analyze the human experience through the cultural, historical, aesthetic, philosophical, or performance expressions that explore different humanistic, theoretical, and philosophical methods.
- Analyze the cultural, intellectual, and historical contexts that shape human expression and artifacts.
- Demonstrate the production or re-creation of works of art that articulate the creative process and develop opinions, ideas, or critiques of human expression.
Requirements
Major Requirements
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Complete 18 units from courses listed below: (At least 6 of the 18 units must be from Theory-based courses) | 18 | |
| THEORY-BASED COURSES (GE Certified and 6 Units Minimum) | ||
| ART 090 | Art Appreciation | 3 |
| ARTH C1100 | Survey of Art From Prehistory to the Medieval Era | 3 |
| ARTH C1200 | Survey of Art From the Renaissance to Contemporary | 3 |
| ART 093 | Art of the Americas | 3 |
| ART 096 | Survey of Asian Art | 3 |
| DANCE 002 | Dance Appreciation | 3 |
| ENGL C1002 | Introduction to Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 010 | Great Works of Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 033 | Women in Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 065 | The Short Story | 3 |
| ENGL 071A | Fundamentals of Creative Writing/Poetry | 3 |
| ENGL 071B | Fundamentals of Creative Writing/Fiction | 3 |
| ENGL 071C | Fundamentals of Creative Writing/Drama | 3 |
| ENGL 073 | Introduction to Shakespeare | 3 |
| ENGL 079 | Memoir Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 080 | Mexican-American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 081 | Introduction to African American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 084A | Survey of American Literature I | 3 |
| ENGL 084B | Survey of American Literature II | 3 |
| ENGL 086A | Survey of British Literature I | 3 |
| ENGL 086B | Survey of British Literature II | 3 |
| ETH 011 | Ethnic Images in Film | 3 |
| ETH 019 | The African American Family | 3 |
| ETH 020 | African American Culture | 3 |
| ETH 022 | African American Cinema | 3 |
| ETH 026 | Vietnamese Women in the U.S. | 3 |
| ETH 027 | Introduction to Race & Ethnicity in American History | 3 |
| orETH 027H | Honors Introduction to Race & Ethnicity In American History | |
| ETH 028 | Introduction to Critical Race & Social Justice | 3 |
| ETH 029 | Women of Color in the United States | 3 |
| ETH 030 | Chicana/o Culture | 3 |
| ETH 033 | Chicana Feminism | 3 |
| ETH 037A | Mexican American History I | 3 |
| ETH 037B | Mexican American History II | 3 |
| ETH 041 | Vietnamese American Culture | 3 |
| ETH 042 | Asian American Experience | 3 |
| GLOBL 007 | Global Citizenship/Civics | 3 |
| HIST 005 | History of Asian Americans | 3 |
| HIST 010A | Development of Western Culture | 3 |
| HIST 010B | Development of Western Culture | 3 |
| HIST 011A | World History to 1500 | 3 |
| HIST 011B | World History from 1500 | 3 |
| HUMNT 002 | Introduction to World Literature | 3 |
| HUMNT 003 | Introduction to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | 3 |
| JAPAN 001A | Elementary Japanese1 | 5 |
| JAPAN 001B | Elementary Japanese 2 | 5 |
| JAPAN 002A | Intermediate Japanese 1 | 5 |
| JAPAN 002B | Intermediate Japanese 2 | 5 |
| MUSIC 032 | Introduction to Chicanx/Latinx Music in The U.S. | 3 |
| MUSIC 083 | Exploring the World of Music | 3 |
| orMUSIC 083H | Honors Exploring the World of Music | |
| MUSIC 091 | Music Appreciation: Western Civilization | 3 |
| MUSIC 095 | Music Appreciation: Jazz | 3 |
| MUSIC 099 | Introduction to Music Theory | 3 |
| PHIL 010 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 012 | Introduction to Existentialism | 3 |
| PHIL 065 | Introduction to Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 070 | Comparative Religions | 3 |
| PHOTO 009 | History of Photography | 3 |
| SL 001A | American Sign Language 1 | 3 |
| SL 001B | American Sign Language 2 | 3 |
| SL 002A | American Sign Language 3 | 3 |
| SL 002B | American Sign Language 4 | 3 |
| SPAN 001A | Elementary Spanish 1 | 5 |
| SPAN 001B | Elementary Spanish 2 | 5 |
| SPAN 002A | Intermediate Spanish 1 | 5 |
| SPAN 002B | Intermediate Spanish 2 | 5 |
| SPAN 022A | Spanish for Heritage Speakers 1 | 5 |
| SPAN 022B | Spanish for Heritage Speakers 2 | 5 |
| SPAN 031 | Introduction to Spanish Linguistics | 3 |
| SPAN 032 | Introduction to Spanish and Latin American Literature | 3 |
| THEAT 002 | Beginning Acting | 3 |
| THEAT 015 | Theatre History 1 | 3 |
| THEAT 020 | Introduction to Theatre | 3 |
| THEAT 040 | Introduction to Film | 3 |
| THEAT 055 | Chicanx/Latinx Theatre | 3 |
| NON-THEORY-BASED/SKILLS-BASED COURSES (Not GE Certified and 12 Units Maximum) | ||
| ART 012 | Two-Dimensional Design | 3 |
| ART 013 | Three Dimensional Design | 3 |
| ART 014 | Color Theory | 3 |
| ART 024 | Beginning Drawing | 3 |
| ART 026 | Intermediate Drawing | 3 |
| ART 027A | Illustration | 3 |
| ART 040 | Ceramic Sculpture 1 | 3 |
| ART 042 | Beginning Sculpture I | 3 |
| ART 046A | Beginning Ceramics I | 3 |
| ART 046B | Beginning Ceramics II | 3 |
| ART 055A | Life Drawing I | 3 |
| ART 055B | Life Drawing II | 3 |
| ART 060 | Beginning Painting I | 3 |
| ART 061 | Beginning Painting II | 3 |
| ART 076 | Professional Practices and Portfolio Development 1 | 3 |
| ART 076B | Professional Practices and Portfolio Development 2 | 3 |
| ART 089 | Special Projects in Ceramics | 3 |
| ART 095 | Watercolor 1 | 3 |
| ART 095B | Watercolor 2 | 3 |
| ART 098 | Directed Study in Art | 0.5-9 |
| DANCE 004 | Dance Pedagogy: Teaching Children Dance | 3 |
| DANCE 006 | Dance Conditioning and Injury Prevention | 1 |
| DANCE 010 | Ballet, Beginning 1 | 1 |
| DANCE 010B | Ballet, Beginning 2 | 1 |
| DANCE 011 | Ballet, Intermediate I | 1 |
| DANCE 011B | Ballet, Intermediate 2 | 1 |
| DANCE 011C | Ballet, Advanced | 1 |
| DANCE 013A | Dancers' Workshop - Student, Large Group | 0.5-1 |
| DANCE 013B | Dancers' Workshop - Student, Small Group | 0.5-1 |
| DANCE 013C | Dancers' Workshop - Student, Solo/Duet | 0.5-1 |
| DANCE 014A | Rehearsal and Performance - Modern Dance | 0.5-1.5 |
| DANCE 014B | Rehearsal and Performance - Jazz Dance | 0.5-1.5 |
| DANCE 014C | Rehearsal and Performance - Hip-Hop Dance | 0.5-1.5 |
| DANCE 014D | Rehearsal and Perfomance - Tap Dance | 0.5-1.5 |
| DANCE 014E | Rehearsal and Performance - Ballroom Dance | 0.5-1.5 |
| DANCE 014F | Rehearsal and Performance - Ballet | 0.5-1.5 |
| DANCE 015 | Dance Team: Rehearsal and Performance 1 | 2 |
| DANCE 015B | Dance Team: Rehearsal and Performance 2 | 2 |
| DANCE 020 | Jazz-Contemporary Dance, Beginning 1 | 1 |
| DANCE 020B | Jazz-Contemporary Dance, Beginning 2 | 1 |
| DANCE 021 | Jazz-Contemporary, Intermediate 1 | 1 |
| DANCE 021B | Jazz-Contemporary Dance, Intermediate 2 | 1 |
| DANCE 023B | Hip-Hop Dance, Beginning 2 | 1 |
| DANCE 023C | Hip-Hop Dance, Intermediate | 1 |
| DANCE 030 | Dance Improvisation | 1.5 |
| DANCE 032 | Choreography | 1.5 |
| DANCE 034A | Choreography Workshop - Large Group | 1 |
| DANCE 034B | Choreography Workshop - Small Group | 1 |
| DANCE 034C | Choreography Workshop - Solo/Duet | 1 |
| DANCE 040 | Tap Dance, Beginning 1 | 0.5 |
| DANCE 040B | Tap Dance, Beginning 2 | 0.5 |
| DANCE 040C | Tap Dance, Intermediate | 0.5 |
| DANCE 050 | Modern-Contemporary Dance, Beginning 1 | 1 |
| DANCE 050B | Modern-Contemporary Dance, Beginning 2 | 1 |
| DANCE 051 | Modern-Contemporary Dance, Intermediate 1 | 1 |
| DANCE 051B | Modern-Contemporary Dance, Intermediate 2 | 1 |
| DANCE 064 | Ballroom Dance, Beginning | 0.5 |
| DANCE 065 | Ballroom Dance, Intermediate | 0.5 |
| DANCE 066 | Intermediate Ballroom - Latin | 1 |
| DANCE 067 | Intermediate Ballroom - Swing | 1 |
| CGID 001 | Introduction to Digital Media Arts | 3 |
| CGID 002 | Introduction to Graphic Design | 3 |
| CGID 003 | Typography | 3 |
| CGID 004 | Web Design | 3 |
| CGID 005 | Motion Graphics I | 3 |
| CGID 006 | Motion Graphics II | 3 |
| CGID 007 | Digital Video Production | 3 |
| CGID 011 | Design Thinking | 3 |
| CGID 012 | Principles of User Experience | 3 |
| CGID 013 | Interaction Design and Prototyping | 3 |
| CGID 021 | Concept Art | 3 |
| CGID 022 | 2D Animation | 3 |
| CGID 023 | 3D Modeling | 3 |
| CGID 025 | 3D Animation | 3 |
| MUSIC 020 | Class Piano | 1 |
| MUSIC 028 | Class Guitar | 1 |
| MUSIC 050A | Beginning Piano I | 1 |
| MUSIC 050B | Beginning Piano II | 1 |
| MUSIC 058A | Beginning Guitar I | 1 |
| MUSIC 058B | Beginning Guitar II | 1 |
| MUSIC 098 | Directed Study in Music | 0.5-9 |
| PHOTO 022 | Beginning Darkroom Photography | 3 |
| PHOTO 062 | Intermediate Darkroom Photography | 3 |
| PHOTO 079 | Beginning Digital Photography | 3 |
| THEAT 003 | Intermediate Acting | 3 |
| THEAT 030 | Theatre Rehearsal and Performance | 1-2 |
| THEAT 033 | Technical Theatre in Production | 1-2 |
| THEAT 051 | Costume Design | 3 |
| THEAT 052 | Stage Makeup | 3 |
| Total Units | 18 | |
AA Degree Requirements
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Major Requirements | 18 | |
| General Education Requirements | 34 | |
| Degree Applicable Electives | 8 | |
| Complete two courses for the U.S. History, Constitution, and American Ideals Requirement (US-1, US-2, and US-3) | ||
| Total Units | 60 | |