An associate degree (or associate's degree) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study intended to usually last two years or more. It is considered to be a greater level of education than a high school diploma or GED. The first associate degrees were awarded in the U.K. (where they are no longer awarded) in 1873 before spreading to the U.S. in 1898. They have since been introduced in a small number of other countries.

Answer this question based on the passage: what type of degree is an associate degree? Let's have some stream of consciousness first.
This is the relevant information: An associate degree (or associate's degree) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study intended to usually last two years or more. So, the answer is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study intended to usually last two years or more.