AA in the Liberal arts with concentration in Catholic studies

The AA degree program at CDU is a 60 credit program consisting of 36 required credits and 24 elective credits. Students can earn the entire degree at CDU or we will accept up to 30 general education credits from other accredited universities with six of the 30 transfer credits in theology based courses. The tables below explains what courses are needed to earn this degree.

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core curriculum

In addition to the 21 credits in the Catholic Studies Core, students are required to earn 15 credits in the following areas:

The following CDU courses can be used to meet these 15 general education credits and/or can be used for the 24 elective credits required to reach the 60 total credits needed for this degree:

AA level courses and seminars The following courses and seminars can be used to meet the 15 credit core general education requirements and/or to meet the 24 credits in general electives.
Course No. Online Group	Course Title	Credits
106-1202	Introduction to Philosophy and Logic (Humanities GE)	3
106-1203	Elements of Philosophy of the Human Person (Humanities GE)	3
106-1805	Spanish 1 (Foreign Language GE)	3
106-2501	Basic English Grammar and Composition (English GE)	3
106-2701	Western Civilization, Part I (Social ScienceGE)	3
106-2702	Western Civilization, Part II (Social Science GE)	3
106-3001	General Mathematics (Math GE)	3
106-3002	Introduction to Statistics (Math GE)	3
106-3101	Nutrition (Natural Science GE)	3
106-3201	Elements of Economics (Social Science GE)	3
116-1801	Latin I (Foreign Language GE)	3
	Online Undergraduate Seminars Courses	1

A few of the courses do not have links to course descriptions. These are future courses under development.

Program Details

Transfer Credit and Work Experience
CDU will accept up to 30 General Education credits from other accredited colleges and universities toward the AA degree, provided these credits meet the requirements of the program. At the dean's discretion, up to six (6) of the 30 transfer credits may be theology credits. Theology transfer credits must have been earned no more than five years prior to transfer.

Students are required to submit official transcripts of all undergraduate courses completed at other institutions. Transfer credits must be from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the US Department of Education.

CDU does not grant undergraduate credit for work experience.

Student ID Cards
Students ID cards will be issued to all students upon acceptance into the AA program. This card is needed for library loans from the Woodstock Theological library and can also be used for general college student discounts. Cards are mailed four to six weeks after acceptance into a program.

Earning and Transferring Academic Credit
If you plan to transfer course credits from CDU to an undergraduate degree-granting institution, CDU strongly encourages checking with the receiving institution prior to enrolling in your course. Please keep in mind that each receiving institution, including CDU, reserves the right to evaluate the transcript for course transfer.

Program Time Limits
Students accepted into the AA program have four years to complete the degree requirements.

Proctored Examinations
Final examinations must be proctored. Each student provides the undergraduate registrar with the name, address, telephone number, and email address of one appropriate person in his or her community who could serve as a proctor, such as a librarian, a teacher, a priest, or sister. Students are notified when examinations are sent to the proctor. Proctors certify that examinations have been administered according to accepted procedures, and return all examinations to CDU for grading. Proctors are requested to verify student identification before the student is given the final exam. The time and place for administering the exam will be arranged between the proctor and student. Details can be found in the Proctored Exam Form.

Academic Probation
Undergraduate students are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. An undergraduate student whose cumulative GPA falls below 2.0 is automatically placed on academic probation. During probation, a student must obtain a semester GPA of at least 2.0; further, the student must raise the cumulative GPA to the 2.0 or higher level in order to be removed from academic probation.

The dean will on an individual basis, review incidents of academic probation. A student remains on academic probation until his grade point average returns to 2.0 or better. If a course is failed, no retake of the final examination is allowed. At the discretion of the undergraduate dean, and in consultation with the professor, remedial work may be assigned with examinations in order to rectify deficiencies. Exceptions to these regulations will be referred to the undergraduate dean.

Leave of Absence
For serious reasons, a student may apply for a leave of absence (up to 1 year) until he or she is able to resume study. During this leave, elapsed time does not accrue toward the maximum completion time allowed for finishing the degree. A letter requesting leave should be addressed to the undergraduate dean.

Undergraduate Library Resources
Course authors provide bibliographies and supplemental reading lists with course materials. This information is useful for term papers and course work. Borrowing privileges to full-time CDU students have been granted to Woodstock Theological Library, with 195,000 volumes and 700 periodicals. Local students may visit the library in person and distant students may use the inter-library loan system. Full-time program students are welcome to call the librarians for personal assistance. A CDU student ID card is needed for library loans.

The faculty and staff of CDU have prepared an online reference library for CDU students. This library can be found in the CDU Online Campus.

Delta Epsilon Tau: International Honor Society for Distance Learning
CDU, the first distance university in the Church to highlight academic achievement in distance education, holds Virginia’s Alpha Chapter of Delta Epsilon Tau. To be invited for admission into the honor society, graduates must have demonstrated academic excellence by attaining an overall GPA of 3.8 (on a 4.0 scale) during their undergraduate studies.

Each honored graduate who accepts the invitation to join the Delta Epsilon Tau Honor Society will receive an official Certificate of Membership, a Delta Epsilon Tau gold key lapel pin, a congratulatory letter, and a narrative of the Honor Society, as well as reference letters (upon request).

Withdrawing From a Course or a Program
A student may terminate enrollment in the AA program or an individual course at any time by notifying the university; however, a student is advised to do so in writing for his or her own protection. Refunds will be granted on request, according to the program satisfactory policy. Written withdrawal request should be emailed to admissions@cdu.edu.

To view CDU satisfaction and refund policy