Admission requirements for the associate degree are the same as those for the baccalaureate degree. The Associate in Science as offered by the College of Agricultural Sciences provides a student the opportunity to follow an extremely flexible curriculum. The basic requirements are that the student must complete a minimum of 62 credit hours, with at least 30 of the credits earned within at least four of the six departments in the college. A minimum of 32 credits for the degree must be earned at the University of Delaware. A candidate must apply for the associate degree during the academic term in which all requirements for the degree are to be completed and must, at the time of application, be enrolled in the college.
Later application requires the approval of the student's dean.
Although not necessarily recommended, a student could take all 62 credits in agricultural courses. A better approach would be for the student to take some course work in the areas of physical science, social science, English, and mathematics, along with his or her courses in agriculture. This approach would allow the student to more easily complete a B.S. degree program at a later date if desired. The flexibility of the curriculum allows students to select only those courses that they and their academic adviser deem most important to their career objective and to complete a program in two years. Animal science, agribusiness, entomology, and agricultural engineering technology are all potential areas in addition to plant science.