The Associate in Arts in General Studies Pattern I with an emphasis in Arts and Humanities degree covers a broad area of study and is intended for students who may not be planning to transfer to a four-year university or who may need to explore possibilities before committing themselves to a major.  The courses that fulfill the Arts and Humanities area of emphasis will examine the cultural activities and artistic expressions of human beings. The courses are designed to develop students' awareness of the ways in which people throughout the ages and in different cultures have responded to themselves and the world around them in artistic and cultural creation and to develop students' aesthetic understanding and ability to make value judgments.

Students are required to:

1. Complete Oxnard College’s General Education requirements to include areas A-F.
2. Complete courses in the area of emphasis listed below.
   1. Complete a minimum of 18 units in the chosen area of emphasis with a grade of “C” or better (or a “P”) in each of the courses selected within the chosen area. 
   2. Complete a minimum of 6 of the 18 units within a single discipline.
3. Complete a minimum of 60 degree-applicable units.
4.  Complete competency requirements in Mathematics and English.
5. Complete requirements in scholarship (2.0 minimum cumulative degree-applicable GPA).
6. Complete residency requirements.
   1. Students must complete at least 12 semester units in residence at Oxnard College in order to receive a degree from Oxnard College. The same policy applies to all colleges in the district: a minimum of 12 semester units must be completed at the college granting the degree.

NOTE: Students planning to transfer to a four-year university are advised that this curriculum may not adequately prepare them for transfer.  General Studies Patterns II and III are designed for transfer students.              

Students will select a minimum of 18 units from the courses below, with a minimum of 6 units in a single discipline.

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to: 

• Describe the theoretical concepts and aesthetics of human expression in the Arts.
• Identify and discuss (in a way that demonstrates broad-based knowledge) at least two major contributions to knowledge and society by key people within one or more disciplines in the Arts.
• Describe the historical and cultural context of a Western or non-Western movement in the visual arts, design, music, dance, theatre, television, or film.
• Express understanding and appreciation of varieties of cultural and artistic expression.
• Identify values of culture and community as expressed through art.
• Explain how artistic works, both historic and contemporary, are individual expressions of the culture and history of their creation.
• Analyze and describe how one’s own artistic work blends personal vision, sociocultural background, ethical values, and aesthetic judgment.
• Demonstrate factual knowledge of the emergence and development of a set of ideas, an artistic form or medium, or a religious, philosophical, or artistic tradition.
• Apply a methodological approach to scholarly analysis and critical assessment of the artistic and intellectual creations of Western and non-western cultures, for academic disciplines in the humanities.
• Assess the effectiveness and value of a given cultural artifact using standards appropriate to the medium and cultural origin of the work.
• Make clear, well organized, and substantive written and oral presentations.
• Read, comprehend and communicate at the beginning or intermediate level of a target language.
• Participate in informed discourse on topics involving art, architecture, language, literature, politics and current events, history, ethnography, geography, religion, philosophy, music, or theater.