In 1999 the San Diego Community College District approved a new degree track, the associate in arts degree in transfer studies/liberal arts, for its three colleges (City College, Mesa College, Miramar College). This is a streamlined, yet more rigorous associate degree option for students planning to transfer to four-year universities.

The transfer degree is designed to make it possible for transferring students to receive an associate degree and to have all their degree courses accepted at a university. Prior to this new degree, many transfer students did not obtain an associate degree because SDCCD associate degree requirements added more courses than were required by the transfer university.

Students who choose the transfer studies/liberal arts degree do not have to take the current associate degree requirements in American institutions, health education, physical education and multicultural studies. However, students may still use these courses as electives for an approved pre-transfer education plan.

Besides streamlining transfer preparation, the transfer studies/liberal arts degree allows students to demonstrate they have completed a program, not just taken courses. Surveys shows that persons with a degree earn more than persons without a degree, and employers often say they see completion of a degree as evidence of ability to set and meet goals.

Note: This degree does not GUARANTEE admission to any specific campus in the University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) systems or other institutions, nor does it guarantee admission to a specific major.

Determining lower-division major preparation for a transfer university can be complicated, and requirements change. Students are strongly advised to meet with a counselor upon entering college or as early as possible to help them plan a transfer curriculum.