Liberal Arts Degree with Area of Emphasis: Allied Health

Description

The Associate in Arts degree in Liberal Arts with Area of Emphasis: Allied Health is intended for students not planning to transfer to a four-year university. This degree is designed to prepare students for life in the global community by developing a core of knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for personal and professional success.

The Liberal Arts with Area of Emphasis: Allied Health courses provide students the opportunity to gain practical and theoretical knowledge in specific disciplines within the Allied Health field. Career possibilities might include psychological technician, medical assistant, and laboratory assistant.

Earnings Potential

The California Community Colleges (CCC) provides the following five-year data on an associate degree in liberal arts. Different programs and areas of emphasis will have variations of this range. An associate degree in liberal arts and sciences offers the salary potential of $29,882 two years after graduation, with expected increases to $42,063 at five years. These do not reflect salaries with a four-year degree.1

In California, median salaries are $91,000 for Dental Hygienists2; $54,000 for Paramedics3; and more than $88,000 for Kinesiologists.4 

For national data on salaries and job growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2021, the median annual wage is $37,190 for medical assistants; $36,930 for EMTs and paramedics; and $57,800 for clinical laboratory technicians and technologists. Some careers require additional training or education. Typically, clinical laboratory technician careers require an associate degree, and technologist careers require a four-year degree. Please note that all states require EMTs and paramedics to be licensed. Job growth projections from 2021 to 2031 show increases. Medical assistants are projected at a much higher rate than average at 16%; and EMTs and paramedics are at the average rate of seven percent.5  

1 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. Salary Surfer. 2021. https://salarysurfer.cccco.edu. Accessed 19 April 2023.
2 Dental Hygienist median salary in California: $91,282.  https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark. Accessed 24 February 2024.
3 Paramedic median wage in California: $53,987. https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark. Accessed 24 February 2024.
4 Kinesiologist salary range in California $88,914-$108,043. https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark. Accessed 24 February 2024.
5 “Occupational Outlook Handbook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 8 Sept. 2022. https://www.bls.gov/ooh. Accessed 19 April 2023.

Program Requirements

To earn an Associate in Arts in Liberal Arts with an Area of Emphasis: Allied Health, students must complete: (1) all course requirements with a minimum grade of “C” in each course; and (2) complete General Education Graduation Requirements with an overall GPA of 2.0 or better.

See the degree requirements in the Taft College Catalog. Please note: This links to an external website. 

Program Learning Outcomes

After completing the Liberal Arts Area of Emphasis: Allied Health major, a student will be able to:

  1. Employ evidence-based reasoning when analyzing information in the completion of allied health problems in related careers.

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