Dallas College

Core Curriculum


Core Curriculum

Build a strong academic foundation with Dallas College’s Core Curriculum. Complete 42 credit hours, transfer with ease, or earn an associate degree with just 18 more. Flexible, career-focused, and designed to support your college and life success.

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The Core Curriculum is a set of courses that provides the knowledge, skills and experiences you need to succeed in college and in life. Whatever your academic or career goals, the Core Curriculum can help you to launch a successful future. Here’s why:

  • It builds a solid academic foundation with personal flexibility. Completing the Core ensures you build fundamental skills on a solid educational base. But it’s also flexible enough that you can choose the courses that will apply to your chosen field of study while completing your Core requirements.
  • You can earn an associate degree with just a few more courses. Take your block of Core courses (42 credit hours), and with just 18 additional hours, you can earn an associate degree. Go right to work with your new skills, or transfer your Core Curriculum to a four-year institution to earn a bachelor’s degree.
  • Transfer is guaranteed. It’s a state law that students who complete the Core Curriculum with at least a 2.0 GPA are guaranteed that their courses will transfer as a block of credit to any Texas public college or university. Individual Core courses must be accepted as well by the transfer institution. 

Get specific information on the Core Curriculum, read answers to frequently asked questions about the Core or learn about the history of the Core selected by Dallas College. 

What Can I Study?

I Want to Transfer

Students planning to transfer to a four-year college or university should consider the Core Curriculum, Transfer Pathways, or degrees like the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science, which are designed to be widely accepted at other institutions.

  • Associate Degrees (for Transfer)

Length of time is based on catalog degree plans1. Tuition rates are based on program hours for Dallas County residents2.

Can I Transfer?

Our Associate of Applied Science degrees and certificates may not fully transfer to a four-year college or university.

  • If your goal is to transfer, you may want to explore our Core Curriculum and Transfer Pathways.
  • You may also want to explore a transfer degree, like an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science.
  • The classes you take will count towards a bachelor's degree and are designed to be accepted by any public college or university in Texas.

If you're not sure if this is the right choice for you, you can talk to a Pathway Specialist for guidance.

“Along the way, we all get discouraged and might say, ‘Maybe I’m not worthy enough to go to law school.’ Well, I would want people to read my story and see, you know what, I can do this. I can get it done.” Read Vonda Bailey's story.
Vonda Bailey
Vonda Bailey
Judge, Dallas County 255th Family District Court

Core Curriculum Areas of Study

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Find Out More About Core Curriculum

Sign up to receive additional information about Core Curriculum or call 972-669-6400.

Pathway Specialist

Dallas College

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1Length of time is based on catalog degree plans. Prerequisites may be required, which are not included in this estimate. For most programs, full-time student status is assumed, a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester.

2Cost for credit courses is based on tuition rates for program hours for Dallas County residents. The price of most required learning materials (books, software, supplies, etc.) is included with the price of tuition. Certain programs may have additional costs above the standard tuition. Continuing Education and Ed2Go courses may vary by program. Please review the Area of Study Overview and/or the Health Information Packets for additional costs and details. Visit our Paying for College site to learn more about cost, financial aid, scholarships and more.

3Each location offers a unique combination of certificate and degree options. Not all degree and certificate offerings are available for admission/start at all campuses every semester.

4A portion of Lightcast’s data comes from O*NET Online by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Lightcast has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Updated June 18, 2026