Associate of Arts vs Associate of Science vs AAS

01What is an associate degree?

An associate degree is an undergraduate credential that typically requires about 60 semester credits, or about two years of full-time study. Community colleges award most of them, though many four-year and online schools offer them as well. The comparison of Associate of Arts vs Associate of Science vs Associate of Applied Science matters because these three titles signal very different purposes even though they take about the same amount of time.

Think of it this way: the AA and AS are designed to be picked up and carried to a four-year school, while the AAS is designed to be used in the job market immediately. Choosing the wrong type is one of the most common reasons community college students lose credits when they transfer.

If your main question is timing, our guide to how long it takes to get an associate degree covers pace, part-time study and shortcuts.

02AA degree meaning: the Associate of Arts

An AA degree (Associate of Arts, sometimes written Associate in Arts) is a broad transfer degree. Most of its credits are general education in writing, humanities, social sciences, arts and communication, with a smaller set of math and science requirements.

A typical AA path includes English Composition I and II, public speaking, a literature or philosophy course, American history or government, psychology or sociology, one college-level math course and one science. The remaining credits are electives, which is where a business-minded student would place introductory economics and accounting.

An AA degree suits students heading toward bachelor's programs in management, marketing, human resources, communications or other fields where the four-year school mostly wants a solid general education foundation. Many states have agreements that let a completed AA from a public community college satisfy all lower-division general education at public universities in that state. Check your state's rules, because the details differ.

03AS degree: the Associate of Science

An AS degree (Associate of Science) is also a transfer degree, but it trades some humanities requirements for more math and natural science. Expect a higher math sequence (often through precalculus or calculus), lab sciences and sometimes statistics or programming.

For business students, the AS can be the stronger choice if you are aiming for a quantitative major such as finance, economics, accounting, business analytics or actuarial science. Those bachelor's programs often require Business Calculus or Calculus I, and taking it at a community college is usually cheaper than taking it at a university.

The catch: an AS sometimes leaves certain humanities or diversity requirements unmet, which you then complete after transferring. That is not a problem as long as you know it going in.

04AAS degree meaning: the Associate of Applied Science

An AAS degree (Associate of Applied Science) is a career and technical degree. Instead of a broad general education core, most of its credits are hands-on courses in a specific field, with a smaller general education component.

Business-related AAS programs often have titles such as Accounting Technology, Business Office Administration, Supply Chain and Logistics, Hospitality Management or Small Business Management. Courses might include payroll accounting, QuickBooks or similar software, business writing, customer service, purchasing and inventory control.

The AAS is valuable when your goal is a specific job soon, such as bookkeeping or office administration. The trade-off is transfer: many four-year schools accept only part of an AAS, because applied courses may not match their lower-division courses. Some universities offer a Bachelor of Applied Science or similar "degree completion" program designed to accept an AAS in full, so ask about those if you already hold one.

05Associate of Arts vs Associate of Science vs AAS side by side

Some colleges also offer an Associate of Business Administration or an associate degree with a business transfer pathway. These behave like an AA or AS with business courses built in. Our page on the associate degree in business administration covers that option in detail.

06Which associate degree is best for a business major?

Use these questions to decide:

1. Do you plan to earn a bachelor's within the next few years? If yes, choose an AA or AS. If no, an AAS may get you job-ready faster.
2. Is your target major quantitative? Finance, accounting, economics and analytics generally favor the AS because of calculus and statistics. Management and marketing work well with either.
3. Do you know your target university? Look up its transfer guide for your community college. If it lists specific courses for business majors, follow it exactly.
4. Do you plan to sit for the CPA exam someday? Accounting courses need to transfer cleanly into a bachelor's. Read our overview of CPA degree requirements before choosing.

When in doubt, the AA or AS keeps more doors open. It is easier to move from a transfer degree into a job than to move from an applied degree into a bachelor's without losing credits.

07Online AA degree and other online options

All three associate degree types are widely available online. An online AA degree is especially common because its general education courses translate well to distance formats. AS programs online sometimes require in-person or proctored lab work for science courses, so confirm how labs are handled. Online AAS programs in business fields are common because much business work already happens on a computer.

Whichever format you choose, make sure the college is institutionally accredited by an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or CHEA. You can check any school in the Department's DAPIP database. Accreditation affects both transfer and federal aid eligibility; see our guide to an accredited online business degree for more.

08Does the type of associate degree change earnings?

National data does not split earnings by AA, AS and AAS, so treat any claim that one type pays more with skepticism. What the BLS does report is that full-time workers age 25 and older with any associate degree had median weekly earnings of $1,135 in 2025, compared with $1,578 for those with a bachelor's degree. That gap is one reason a transfer degree that leads smoothly into a bachelor's can pay off over a career, while an AAS can pay off sooner if it leads directly into a job in demand where you live.