The Associate in Arts program of the UP Open University was the first undergraduate program offered by the UPOU when it was institutionalized in 1998.   


The 2018 AA program comprises of 72 units of academic coursework with (8) units of Physical Education and (6) units of NSTP. The third revision in 2018 coincided with intake of the first batch of K-12 graduates and the new General Education program (RGEP) of the whole UP System.  


The program aims to:


  1. Cultivate appreciation of the Arts and Humanities as a field of study and practice;
  2. Hone skills in humanistic inquiry, including critical thinking, scholarship, effective communication, collaboration, and creativity; and
  3. Develop competencies in the study of the Arts and Humanities in a rapidly changing digital world.


You follow the 2018 curriculum if you were admitted into the AA Program from 2018 onwards.  (If you have earned some units in your previous college/university and are considering having them credited towards the AA Program, study the information on this page:  Applying for a Transfer of Credit (TOC))


The 2018 Curriculum is composed of:


15 units of Common Courses:

  • Comp Ed 10  Critical Digital Literacies 
  • Comp Ed 20  Introduction to Analytics
  • Comm 2  Communication Skills 2
  • English 157  English for the Professions 
  • PI 100 (a Rizal course mandated by law)


30 units of General Education (GE) Courses (shared with the rest of the UP System)

  • Wika 1 Wika, Kultura at Lipunan
  • Arts 1  Critical Perspectives in the Arts 
  • Ethics 1  Ethics and Moral Reasoning in Everyday Life 
  • Kas 1  Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas 
  • STS  Society, Technology, and Society 
  • Science 11  Living Systems: Concepts and Dynamics 
  • Math 10  Mathematics, Culture and Society 
  • plus 3 GE Electives (recommended elective: English 11)


27 units of Concentration Courses

  • English 12 World Literature 
  • CL 50  Philippine Literature in English or Pan Pil 12 Text Mo, Text Ko
  • Film 10 Sining Sine  
  • Theatre 11 Dula at Palabas
  • MuL 13 World Music Cultures
  • MuD 10 Reading Dance
  • Hum 40 Tools and Methods in Digital Humanities 
  • Art Stud 141  Photography as Art 
  • Art Stud 195  Curatorship 


as well as (14) units of Non-academic courses:

  • PE 1, (2) units
  • 3 PE 2 courses, (2) units each, for a total of (6) units
  • National Service Training Program (NSTP), as mandated by Law, (6) units 


If you are following the 2018 curriculum and you were admitted on the First Term or Second Term of 2018 and have earned/enrolled in no less than 24 units,  then you will be on your Sophomore Year this year.


If you are following the 2018 curriculum and you were admitted on the Third Term of 2018 or a new student (1st Term 2019) or have earned/enrolled in less than 24 units,  then you are on your Freshman Year this year.


This is what you need to do to get pre-enrollment advising:


  1. Download the Program Checklist for the 2018 Curriculum below.  
  2. Fill up the checklist using the information obtained from your student portal (skip this if you are a NEW STUDENT and have not taken any courses yet):  
    1. Grade obtained, 
    2. Term taken, and 
    3. Remarks (indicate if: Awaiting Final Grade or AFG, Transfer of Credit or TOC, or if received a conditional grade of EXT or 4.0, if it has not yet lapsed).  
  3. Save the file as LASTNAME-Intake Year.xls (i.e., If I entered AA in 2018, my checklist should be saved as HIDALGO-2018.xls)
  4. List the courses you still need to take in order to finish the program.


You are now ready to look into the Course Offerings for the next three terms.

  1. Look up the Course Offerings for the incoming term to have an idea of the courses that you can take. 
  2. Look up the Course Offerings for the next two terms to have an idea of the courses that will be available for the 2018 curriculum students.  Note that the list of future course offerings is still subject to change.
  3. Create a Plan of Study, identifying the term, the course/s you intend to take, and the total number of units.


You are now ready to email your program chair.

  1. Email the filled up Program Checklist, along with the Plan of Study, to aa-program-chair@upou.edu.ph, with the subject:  Pre-enrollment advising for LASTNAME-Intake Year Student Number.
  2. Wait for confirmation from the program chair.


Your program chair will get back to you within 5 days of receiving your pre-enrollment advising request, provided that you follow the instructions above.


Goodluck!