An Associate Degree is granted by a community college, junior college or technical school which recognizes a student’s satisfactory completion of an organized program of study consisting of a minimum of 60 degree applicable semester units. Students awarded an AA can also apply the credits toward the first two years of a bachelor's degree. The most common types of Associate Degrees are Associate in Arts (AA), Associate in Science (AS), or Associate of Applied Science (AAS).

An Associate of Arts (AA) degree is often awarded for programs that are terminal or intended for transfer to a four year college, usually with a major in the social sciences or humanities. It is also awarded to General Studies students, those who decline to select an area of concentration.

The Associate of Science (AS) degree is similarly awarded to terminal students or to potential transferees to a four years college, but the areas of concentration are usually in mathematics, natural sciences, or technology.

The Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree is awarded to students who are permitted to relax some of the general education requirements in order to study more course work in their program area. Typically, this kind of degree is for students who intend to enter the work force upon graduation.