The document that arrives after an associate degree is a single printed sheet, usually about 8.5 by 11 inches, the size of a sheet of letter paper. Many universities use a larger format for bachelor’s and graduate diplomas. It carries the college’s name and seal, the graduate’s name as it stood on the official record at graduation, the degree written out in words, and a conferral date with two or more signatures. The line that identifies it as an associate degree is the degree line itself: Associate in Arts, Associate of Science, Associate in Applied Science or one of a handful of state-specific variants. Nothing about the paper, the seal or the border marks it as a two-year credential. The wording does.
The anatomy of an associate degree diploma
The elements below appear on virtually every associate degree diploma. What varies between colleges is which optional lines are printed and how the degree is phrased.
| Element | What it says | Where colleges differ |
|---|---|---|
| Institution name | The community college, technical college or university awarding the degree, usually across the top | Some print the district or system name as well |
| Conferral sentence | A formal line naming the board of trustees or governing body that confers the degree | Wording is set by the college, and some colleges print it in a second language |
| Graduate’s name | The legal name on the student record at the time of graduation | Some registrars allow a preferred first name, but most do not |
| Degree line | The degree written out in full, as Associate in Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate in Applied Science | “in” versus “of” varies by state and by college, as set out below |
| Major | The program of study, on colleges that print it | Minors, concentrations and options are usually left off |
| Honors | An honors or high-honors line where the college awards one | Community colleges more often use “with honors” than Latin honors |
| Date | The conferral or graduation date | Some print the full date, some only the term and year |
| Seal | The college seal, embossed, foil-stamped or printed | Raised seals are common but not universal |
| Signatures | Typically the college president and the board chair, and sometimes the registrar or a dean | Number and titles vary, and they are printed instead of hand-signed |
Letter paper, not a wall-sized parchment
Few registrars publish diploma measurements, which is why so much of what circulates online is guesswork. Doña Ana Community College, part of New Mexico State University, is one of the exceptions and publishes both sizes: “Associate Degrees are 8.5×11 inches in size” while “Bachelor/Masters/Doctorate Degrees are 11×14 inches in size” (read September 13, 2026).
| Level | Published size at Doña Ana CC | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Associate degree | 8.5 by 11 inches | Fits a standard letter-size document frame |
| Bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate | 11 by 14 inches | Needs a larger frame, and matting changes the outer dimensions again |
Treat that as one institution’s practice rather than a national standard. There is no US-wide diploma size, and universities that publish their own measurements list everything from 8.5 by 11 inches upward. The range is set out in what a college diploma looks like. The safe rule is the one framers give, which is to measure the document after it arrives. If it is going on a wall, framing and displaying a diploma covers glazing and matting, both of which matter more than the frame’s label.
“Associate in” or “Associate of”? The wording is the tell
The preposition is not a typo when it looks unfamiliar. Which form a college prints is a matter of state convention and institutional history, and both are correct where they are used.
- “Associate in” is the standard in Florida and California. Florida law defines the credential that way. An “associate in arts degree must require no more than 60 semester hours of college credit and include 36 semester hours of general education coursework” (Florida Statutes s. 1007.25). California’s transfer degrees carry the same form, and Cañada College awards the “Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T)” and “Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T)”.
- “Associate of” is common elsewhere. Columbus State Community College in Ohio names its awards the “Associate of Arts (AA), the Associate of Science (AS), the Associate of Applied Science (AAS), and the Associate of Technical Studies (ATS)”.
- Both, at the same college. Sierra College in California lists “Associate in Arts for Transfer/Associate in Science for Transfer Degrees” alongside “Associate of Arts/Associate of Science Degrees”, so the transfer degrees take “in” and the local degrees take “of”. Two diplomas from one campus can read differently.
A separate question is whether the word takes an apostrophe. Diplomas overwhelmingly print the adjective form without one, so the line reads Associate in Arts and not Associate’s in Arts, while résumés and job postings tend to write “associate’s degree”. Which to use where is set out in associates or associate’s degree.
AA, AS and AAS on the document
The three common associate degrees differ in what they were built to do, and that difference is visible on the diploma only in the degree line. Nothing else on the sheet distinguishes them.
| Degree | Degree line reads | Built for | Typical requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.A. | Associate in Arts / Associate of Arts | Transfer into a bachelor’s program, usually in the humanities and social sciences | Florida requires no more than 60 semester hours, including 36 hours of general education (s. 1007.25) |
| A.S. | Associate in Science / Associate of Science | Transfer in science, technology and health fields, or direct entry to work in some states | Sierra College: 60 degree-applicable units, 12 of them at the college, 2.0 GPA |
| A.A.S. | Associate in Applied Science / Associate of Applied Science | Employment comes first. The Community College of Philadelphia says it “provides students career-specific skills leading directly to employment”, adding that holders “may also transfer to bachelor’s degree-granting institutions” | Set by the program, with general education lighter than on an A.A. |
| A.A.-T / A.S.-T | Associate in Arts for Transfer / Associate in Science for Transfer | California only, with a guaranteed transfer pathway into the California State University system | Cañada College sets a minimum of 60 CSU-transferable semester units, a 2.0 GPA, and at least 18 units in the major with C or better |
Figures read September 13, 2026. For where each of these sits relative to a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate, see degrees in order. For how long each takes, see the degree timeline hub.
What is printed, and what is deliberately left off
Doña Ana Community College states its rule in one sentence: “Diplomas are printed with the degree, major, and academic honors”, while “minors, supplementary majors, and concentrations will not appear on the diploma”. Names follow the record and not the preference. Diplomas “are issued using the name listed on the official student record at the time of graduation”.
What is missing is as informative as what is there. No associate degree diploma shows a GPA, a credit total, a course list or a grade. Those live on the transcript, which is the document a registrar actually sends when a degree has to be confirmed. See what a transcript looks like. It is also why employers asking to “see the diploma” are usually satisfied by something else entirely, and how employers verify degrees covers what the check really involves.
Honors wording is where community colleges diverge most from universities. Sierra College names a graduate an honor graduate on completing all degree-applicable credit courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better. Bergen Community College’s honors diploma is earned through coursework rather than GPA alone: 18 credits of honors courses and a 3.4 GPA for an A.A. or A.S., 12 credits and a 3.4 GPA for an A.A.S. or A.F.A., with students in certificate programs ineligible. Latin honors, meaning cum laude and its cousins, are far less common at two-year colleges than at four-year ones.
Seals and signatures
The seal is the college’s own mark and may be embossed into the paper, foil-stamped or just printed. A flat seal is not a sign that the document is irregular. Signatures are printed reproductions, not ink, and the signatories are whoever held the offices at the time, most often the president and the chair of the board of trustees. What a seal is for, and what it does and does not prove, is covered in the diploma seal.
One genuine variation is worth knowing, because some colleges print the document in two languages. Kapiʻolani Community College in Hawaii issues graduates a diploma cover, a diploma “Printed in English and Hawaiian”, and a certified electronic diploma. On the Hawaiian-language version “the graduate’s name, degree, major, as well as official university signatures, appear in English”.
Associate versus bachelor’s, and what actually differs
Put the two documents side by side and the layout is the same: institution, conferral sentence, name, degree, date, seal, signatures. Three things change.
- The degree line. “Associate in Arts” becomes “Bachelor of Arts” or “Bachelor of Science”. On a bachelor’s diploma the degree is frequently printed in Latin at older universities, which almost never happens on an associate degree.
- The size, at some institutions. Doña Ana prints associate degrees at 8.5 by 11 inches and everything above at 11 by 14. Plenty of universities print bachelor’s diplomas at letter size, so this is a tendency, not a rule.
- Nothing else, reliably. Paper weight, border ornament, seal type and typography are set by the institution and its printer. A well-funded community college can produce a heavier, more ornate document than a large state university, and often does.
The full anatomy of the four-year document, including the Latin, the conferral formula, the honors lines and how the name is formatted, is set out in what a college diploma looks like. If the question is about the certificate a bachelor’s program issues rather than the diploma itself, the bachelor’s degree certificate covers that ground.
The digital version
Two-year colleges adopted certified electronic diplomas quickly, because a signed, verifiable PDF solves the problem a paper diploma creates the moment a graduate moves. Kapiʻolani provides a certified electronic diploma at no cost to graduates from spring 2022 onward, and sells one to earlier graduates for $45. Doña Ana offers an official eDiploma, a signed and certified PDF, for a one-time $5.00 charge, delivered “within minutes of ordering”, against roughly eight weeks for the paper original to arrive after final grades are processed. Both figures read September 13, 2026.
Replacing an associate degree diploma
Replacements come from the college that granted the degree and not from a state agency. Most two-year colleges now route the order through a credential vendor. Published terms at four colleges, read September 13, 2026:
| College | Published fee | Stated wait | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doña Ana Community College (NM) | $10.00 per replacement plus shipping | Printed and mailed within 1–2 days of the order | Ordered online, with standard or express delivery |
| Columbus State Community College (OH) | $20.00 | Allow up to six weeks | Ordered through Parchment, with orders completed on the 15th of each month, and covers AA, AS, AAS and ATS |
| Kapiʻolani Community College (HI) | $25.00 | 8–10 weeks | Fee includes both the English and the Hawaiian diploma with one cover |
| Delaware County Community College (PA) | Vendor shipping only: $5.75 plus $2.95 USPS domestic, or plus $35 FedEx domestic | Not published | Ordered through Parchment, which adds a 5 % credit card surcharge |
Columbus State makes the important point explicitly: “Replacement diplomas are not copies of your original diploma. They are new documents.” A reissue is printed fresh, which means it carries the signatures of whoever holds the offices now and not the people who signed the original. Universities follow the same pattern. The step-by-step request, including what to do when the college has merged or closed, is in how to get a copy of an associate’s degree.
Replica associate and bachelor’s degree diplomas for display
There are ordinary reasons to want a second, clean copy of a document like this: the original is in a safe deposit box or a parent’s house, it was damaged in a move, a duplicate is wanted for an office wall, or a prop is needed for a photograph, a film set or a stage production. ValidGrad’s replica associate degree maker and replica bachelor’s degree maker produce novelty documents for display and commemoration, using generic seals and signature styles instead of any institution’s marks. Current pricing and turnaround are shown on the product pages.
A replica is not an official document and proves nothing. It must never be used to claim a credential that was not earned, and never sent in answer to a verification request from an employer, a school, a licensing board or a government agency. The Terms and Conditions forbid it. The answer to a verification request is always a record that comes from the institution.
Frequently asked questions
Is an associate degree a real college degree?
Yes. The US Department of Education’s IPEDS glossary defines an associate’s degree as “an award that normally requires at least 2 but less than 4 years of full-time equivalent college work”, and it is reported in federal completions data alongside bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. It is awarded by accredited institutions, it appears on the transcript, and it is verifiable in the same way any other degree is.
Is a two-year degree the same thing as an associate degree?
In practice, yes, since “two-year degree” is the informal name. IPEDS puts normal time to completion for an associate’s degree at two years, meaning four semesters or six quarters excluding summers, at a standard term-based institution. Part-time study is common at community colleges, so the elapsed time is frequently longer, and nothing on the diploma records how long it took.
Does an associate degree diploma show the major?
Usually. Doña Ana Community College prints the degree, the major and academic honors, but not minors, supplementary majors or concentrations. Policies differ, so the transcript is the document that reliably lists the full program, the courses and the grades.
What is the difference between an A.A., an A.S. and an A.A.S. on the diploma?
Only the degree line. An A.A. and an A.S. are generally built for transfer into a bachelor’s program, while an A.A.S. is built for employment. The Community College of Philadelphia describes it as providing “career-specific skills leading directly to employment”, with transfer possible afterwards. The layout, seal and signatures are identical.
What size frame fits an associate degree diploma?
An 8.5 by 11 inch document frame fits the size Doña Ana publishes for associate degrees, but sizes are set by each college and no national standard exists. Measure the diploma before buying a frame, and if it is going on a wall in daylight, choose UV-filtering glazing and acid-free matting.
Sources
- NCES, IPEDS 2024–25 Survey Materials Glossary. Definitions of “associate’s degree” and “normal time to completion”.
- Doña Ana Community College (NMSU), Diplomas. Sizes by degree level, what is printed, name on the diploma, mailing, replacement fee, eDiploma.
- Columbus State Community College, Replacement Diploma. Degree names, fee, wait, and “not copies of your original diploma”.
- Kapiʻolani Community College, Diplomas. English and Hawaiian diplomas, CeDiploma, mailing and replacement terms.
- Delaware County Community College, Transcripts and Diplomas. Parchment replacement shipping charges.
- Florida Statutes s. 1007.25 (2024). The phrase “associate in arts degree”, 60 semester hours, 36 hours of general education.
- Cañada College, AA-T / AS-T requirements. 60 CSU-transferable units, 2.0 GPA, 18 units in the major.
- Sierra College catalog, Associate Degree and Certificate Information. Both “Associate in” and “Associate of” degree families, unit and GPA minimums, honor graduate threshold.
- Community College of Philadelphia, Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.). Purpose of the A.A.S.
- Bergen Community College, Honors Diploma. Honors credit and GPA requirements by degree type.
Fees, sizes and policies above were read from the colleges’ own pages on September 13, 2026 and change without notice. Confirm with the registrar before sending payment.