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SUNY GCC - Genesee Community College

Do you already have a career in mind? Perhaps you know what bachelor’s or master’s degree(s) you intend to pursue. And, maybe you even have your four-year college or university mapped out. With GCC’s Liberal Arts Natural Sciences: Flexible STEM Concentration A.S. Degree, we will help you create the academic pathway that suits your unique interests and transfer plans.

With the help of a GCC advisor, your program of study can be tailored to your needs while meeting the required number of science and math credits for the Natural Sciences: Flexible STEM Concentration. You can select the sciences that best match your interests and long-term career plans. You will be able to pick from a large number of laboratory based sciences from each program’s restricted electives. You can also explore opportunities to conduct scientific field work, internships, co-ops and research projects in a variety of industries.

Why GCC?

One of the most important benefits of GCC for Flexible STEM concentration students is the College’s 19:1 student to faculty ratio. That means small classes and plenty of one-on-one instruction, and access to a team of dynamic faculty members who are all dedicated to your success.

GCC also offers free tutoring to help students individually in areas of specific need. Additionally, state-of-the-art technology has always been a priority at GCC – from the science labs to the new Food Processing Technology lab, the outdoor Nature Trail to the dozens of online databases at the library. There are also smart classrooms and WiFi connections across all campus locations, and 26 open-access computer labs.

Finally, GCC is friendly and prides itself on being flexible and accessible. Classes are offered day and night at seven campus locations, and each semester more than 100 courses are offered online. There are also nine different academic sessions in a year, allowing you to create a course schedule that accommodates employment or family care responsibilities.

Degree Types

Natural Sciences: Flexible STEM Concentration (AS)

AS Program Learning Outcomes (PLO)

Upon successful completion of the Liberal Arts & Science: Natural Sciences, A.S. the student will be able to:

  1. Apply quantitative skills to solve scientific problems.
  2. Produce results or findings scientific investigations or experimentation, documenting as appropriate.
  3. Analyze and interpret scientific data.
  4. Design solutions to scientific problems, based upon carefully planned and executed processes.
  5. Explain the foundational theories and principles of at least one of the major fields of the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics).

CHEMISTRY Concentration

  1. Describe the properties of compounds (type of bonding, orbital overlap, geometry, polarity, intermolecular forces, etc.).
  2. Perform all steps of stoichiometry calculations for chemical reactions.

BIOLOGY Concentration

  1. Demonstrate how evolutionary forces shape organisms, leading to changes in species over time.
  2. Explain how structure is essential for function in life from the atomic level to the organism level.
  3. Explain the functioning of the hereditary process (storage, use, replication of genetic information).

PHYSICS Concentration

  1. Apply a variety of physics principles to scientific problems (mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, waves and optics, relativity, quantum mechanics, etc.).
  2. Use advanced quantitative skills to solve physics problems (calculus, vector arithmetic, differential equations, linear algebra, etc.).

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE concentration

  1. Assess relationships in ecosystems between living organisms and the environment in which they live.
  2. Solve scientific problems associated with the environment through the evaluation of evidence.

Download the 2024-2025 Curriculum Worksheet for AS [PDF]

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Career Outlook

Contact Career Services for more information.

Transfer Opportunities

Starting at GCC saves many students and their families thousands of dollars in tuition. With an A.S. or A.A. degree you will be able to seamlessly transfer within the SUNY network of 64 college and universities as well as to many 4-year private institutions. GCC’s A.S. and A.A. programs were developed as part of the SUNY seamless transfer initiative allowing students to complete the first two years of a bachelor’s degree as a freshman and a sophomore at a community college, then seamlessly transfer to a SUNY four-year institution to earn a bachelor’s degree. Please reference the SUNY Transfer Pathways for degree programs to learn about any campus specific requirements. Visit the SUNY Core Course Finder to plan out the courses you should complete to transfer to a 4-year SUNY School.

If you are planning to transfer to a 4-year private institution you should work with our Transfer Services office to learn about possible articulation agreements and pathways that exist for many or our degree programs. Some GCC A.A.S. programs also have transfer opportunities.

Transfer opportunities include, but are not limited to:

  • Canisius College
  • Daemen College
  • Niagara University
  • Roberts Wesleyan College
  • RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology)*
  • St. John Fisher College
  • SUNY College at Brockport
  • SUNY College of ESF
  • SUNY College at Geneseo
  • SUNY University at Buffalo
  • SUNY Upstate Medical*

*GCC has current transfer agreements with the above noted institutions.

To learn more about these opportunities and agreements contact the Transfer Services Office, we are more than happy to work with you and answer any questions you may have on building your own personalized transfer plan.