About the Diversity Requirement

We live in a society and world characterized by diversity, and Anne Arundel Community College believes that the study of diversity is an essential part of contemporary education.

Diversity courses share common characteristics.

• They focus on one or more of the elements of diversity: race, ethnicity, gender, disability, class, sexual orientation, age, and culture.
• They look at how ideas about diversity are shaped by culture and affect the way people think and live.
• They link diversity to larger questions of power and privilege.
• They help students develop the knowledge and understanding needed to participate effectively in our diverse global, national, and local communities.

While the college encourages all students to complete a diversity course, each student pursuing an associate degree must fulfill the college’s diversity requirement in one of the following ways:

1. Successfully complete one course from the list below
2. Successfully complete one program diversity sequence from the list below
3. Transfer credit awarded for an equivalent course successfully completed at another accredited institution of higher education in accordance with the college transfer credit policy.

In many cases, students may satisfy the diversity requirement simultaneously as they satisfy the arts and humanities, biological and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences or health/fitness/wellness general education requirements or elective requirements in their major.