ADVANCE Program Milestones:
All ADVANCE students must adhere to the following requirements. For Milestones #1-#3, failure to meet these milestones will prevent a student from matriculating to Mason and/or result in termination from ADVANCE. For Milestones #4-#7, failure to meet these milestones may delay matriculation to Mason.
1. Students must complete their 91³Ô¹Ï degree within 4 years of being admitted into ADVANCE. Students are highly encouraged to be continuously enrolled at 91³Ô¹Ï/Mason to support progress towards degree completion.
2. Students must maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA at 91³Ô¹Ï and must have a minimum 2.5 GPA upon matriculation to Mason.
3. Students who wish to enroll at Mason for the fall semester must apply for 91³Ô¹Ï spring graduation by March 1 or summer graduation by June 1. Students who wish to enroll at Mason for the spring semester must apply for 91³Ô¹Ï fall graduation by October 1.
4. Students must begin developmental coursework no later than the first semester in ADVANCE at 91³Ô¹Ï.
5. Students must take first college-level MTH course and ENG 111 in the semester immediately following the completion of any MDE or EDE courses (excluding summer).
6. In the first 30 credits, students must complete ENG 111 and ENG 112 with a C or better.
7. Students must complete a Mason Core Quantitative Reasoning course equivalent with a C or better no later than one semester before 91³Ô¹Ï graduation. Refer to your pathway to select the appropriate MTH course(s).
A.S. Social Science
| 91³Ô¹Ï | MASON | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91³Ô¹Ï Degree Requirement | 91³Ô¹Ï Course | Credits | Transfer to MASON As | MASON Degree Requirement |
| SDV Course | SDV 100 College Success Skills or | 1 | UNIV 100 | General Elective |
| SDV 101 Orientation to XXX | UNIV 100 | |||
| ENG 111 | ENG 111 College Composition I1 | 3 | ENGH XXX | General Elective |
| GIS 101 | GIS 101 Introduction to Geospatial Technology | 3 | GGS 110 | Major |
| MTH 167 Required (91³Ô¹Ï Catalog: MTH 154 or Higher) | MTH 167 Pre-Calculus with Trigonometry | 5 | MATH 105 | General Elective |
| Science Course #1 | BIO 101 General Biology I or | 4 | BIOL 103/105 | Nat Science |
| ENV 121 Foundations of Environmental Science or | EVPP 108/109 | |||
| GOL 105 Physical Geology or | GEOL 101/103 | |||
| GOL 111 Oceanography I or | GEOL 120/121 | |||
| PHY 100 Elements of Phyics | PHYS 103 | |||
| ENG 112 | ENG 112 College Composition II1 | 3 | ENGH 101 | Written Comm |
| ITE 152 | ITE 152 Introduction to Digital and Information Literacy and Computer Applications | 3 | IT 104 | Info Tech |
| GIS 200 | GIS 200 Geographical Information Systems I | 4 | GGS L311 | Major |
| MTH 263 Required (91³Ô¹Ï Catalog: MTH 245 or Higher) | MTH 263 Calculus I | 4 | MATH 113 | Major & Quantitative |
| Science Course #2 | BIO 101 General Biology I or | 4 | BIOL 103/105 | Nat Science |
| BIO 102 General Biology II or | BIOL 102 | |||
| ENV 121 Foundations of Environmental Science or | EVPP 108/109 | |||
| ENV 122 Applications in Environmental Science or | EVPP 112/113 | |||
| GOL 105 Physical Geology or | GEOL 101/103 | |||
| GOL 106 Historical Geology or | GEOL 102/104 | |||
| GOL 111 Oceanography I or | GEOL 120/121 | |||
| PHY 100 Elements of Phyics | PHYS 103 | |||
| CST Course | CST 100 Principles of Public Speaking or | 3 | COMM 100 | Oral Comm |
| CST 110 Introduction to Human Communication | COMM 101 | |||
| GEO 200 | GEO 200 Introduction to Physical Geography | 3 | GGS 102 | Major |
| GIS 201 | GIS 201 Geographical Information Systems II | 4 | GGS L470 | Major |
| HIS Course | HIS 101 Western Civilizations Pre-1600 CE or | 3 | HIST 101T | Global History |
| HIS 102 Western Civilizations Post-1600 CE or | HIST 102T | |||
| HIS 112 World Civilizations Post-1500 CE(recommended) | HIST 125 | |||
| Humanities/Fine Arts #1 | ART 100 Art Appreciation or | 3 | ARTH 101 | Arts |
| ART 101 History of Art: Prehistoric to Gothic or | ARTH 200 | |||
| ART 102 History of Art: Renaissance to Modern or | ARTH 201 | |||
| CST 130 Introduction to Theatre or | THR 101 | |||
| CST 151 Film Appreciation I or | ENGH L372 | |||
| MUS 121 Music in Society | MUSI 101 | |||
| ENG Literature Course | ENG 225 Reading Literature: Culture and Ideas or | 3 | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | Literature |
| ENG 245 British Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 246 American Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 255 World Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 258 African American Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 275 Women in Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG Any 200-Level ENG Literature course2 | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| GIS 203 | GIS 203 Cartography for GIS | 3 | GGS L310 | Major |
| PSY 200 or SOC 200 | PSY 200 Principles of Psychology or | 3 | PSYC 100 | Soc/Behav |
| SOC 200 Introduction to Sociology | SOCI 101 | |||
| Social/Behavioral Sciences #1 | GEO 210 People and the Land: An Intro to Cultural Geography | 3 | GGS 103 | Major |
| Social/Behavioral Sciences #2 | GEO 220 World Regional Geography | 3 | GGS 101 | General Elective |
| Total Credits: 61-62 | ||||
For academic policies and procedures, please see 91³Ô¹Ï catalog - http://www.nvcc.edu/catalog/index.html
B.S. Geography
Concentrations: Geoinformatics, Geospatial Intelligence, Urban Science
| MASON Degree Requirement Sequence | Course | Credits | MASON Core/Degree Equivalent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | GGS 300 Quantitative Methods for Geographical Analysis | 3 | Major | |
| Concentration Courses | Approved Concentration Courses3 | 3 | Major | |
| Breadth and Experience Courses | Approved Systematic Course3 | 3 | Major | |
| Breadth and Experience Courses | GGS 379 Remote Sensing | 3 | Major | |
| Breadth and Experience Courses | GGS 366 Spatial Computing | 3 | Major | |
| Concentration Courses | Approved Upper-Level Concentration Courses3 | 3 | Major | |
| Concentration Courses | Approved Upper-Level Concentration Courses3 | 3 | Major | |
| Gen Ed: Written Communication (Upper-level) | ENGH 302 Advanced Composition | 3 | Written Comm | |
| General Electives | Upper-Level General Electives (See Advisor) | 3 | General Elective | |
| Geography Electives | Upper-Level GGS Elective3 | 3 | Major | |
| Breadth and Experience Courses | Approved Regional Course3 | 3 | Major | |
| Concentration Courses | Approved Upper-Level Concentration Courses3 | 3 | Major | |
| Concentration Courses | Approved Upper-Level Concentration Courses3 | 3 | Major | |
| General Electives | General Electives (See Advisor) | 3 | General Elective | |
| Core Courses | GGS 415 Seminar in Geographic Thought and Methodology4 | 3 | Major & Writing Intensive | |
| Gen Ed: Apex & Core Courses | GGS 485 Capstone in Geography and Geoinformation Science | 3 | Major & Apex | |
| Geography Electives | Upper-Level GGS Elective3 | 3 | Major | |
| Concentration Courses | Approved Upper-Level Concentration Courses3 | 3 | Major | |
| General Electives | General Electives (See Advisor) | 3 | General Elective | |
| Total Credits: 120 | ||||
*Denotes a course that must be taken at George Mason University while attending 91³Ô¹Ï. Failure to complete your co-enrollment course(s) while attending 91³Ô¹Ï can significantly affect your timeline for Mason graduation. Please see your ADVANCE Coach for more information and to enroll.
Important Academic Information:
1Students who complete ENG 111 after Spring 2024 will earn ENGH elective for ENG 111 and ENGH 101 for ENG 112.
2Students who place directly into MTH 263 may complete MTH 154 or higher, in addition to completing MTH 263.
3200-level ENG literature classes include: ENG 225, ENG 230, ENG 236, ENG 237, ENG 245, ENG 246, ENG 250, ENG 255, ENG 256, ENG 257, ENG 258, ENG 271, ENG 275, and ENG 279.
4For approved Breadth and Experience and other major-related courses, please visit: https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/science/geography-geoinformation-science/geography-bs/#requirementstext .
5GGS 415 is generally offered in the Spring term.
Additional General Notes & Resources:
• Candidates for the Geography degree must complete the following Core, Breadth and Experience, and Geography Elective courses with a minimum GPA of 2.00. Students interested pursuing a Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s (BAM) program should contact their advisor soon after transferring to Mason. For more information about BAM program, visit: https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/science/geography-geoinformation-science/geography-
bs/#acceleratedmasterstext .
• For academic policies and procedures, please see Mason catalog - https://catalog.gmu.edu/policies/ .
• Students seeking a bachelor's degree must apply at least 45 credits of upper-level courses (numbered 300 or above) toward graduation.
General Education Waiver Policy and Guidance:
• Students who complete a VCCS transfer associate degree (AS, AA, or AFA) will receive a waiver of the Foundation and Exploration (lower division) Mason
Core general education categories, which can be found here: https://catalog.gmu.edu/mason-core/ . To be eligible for the waiver, the students must provide
the Mason Office of Admissions with a final, official transcript reflecting the degree conferral date. As a prerequisite for ENGH 302, ENGH 101 is not waived.
Students must complete ENGH 100 or ENGH 101, or an equivalent, with a C or higher.
• When a course fulfills a Mason Core requirement and a major or college requirement (e.g. Major & Quant), students must complete the course listed on
the pathway to fulfill the major/college requirement. Courses that fulfill only Mason Core Foundation and Exploration categories are recommendations. In
most pathways, ADVANCE students must complete a Quantitative Reasoning course to matriculate through ADVANCE.
• ADVANCE students must complete the associate degree indicated on their pathway (see the ADVANCE Program Milestones listed above). Students who
withdraw from ADVANCE and transfer without the associate degree or UCGS are required to complete each Mason Core general education category.