What is a Human Services Degree?

If you are interested in pursuing a human services degree, chances are you already know at least the basics of what it entails. However, there is much more to the field of human services than is apparent at first. To help you make the most informed decision possible, we’ve put together a guide to getting your online degree in human services, complete with useful information about just what a human service degree is.

In general terms, the field of human services is devoted to assisting individuals, groups, and communities that are traditionally underserved. Human services professionals work to provide their clients with access to basic human needs such as food and shelter. They also help enable those they serve to live more independent and productive lives. Their primary goal is to deliver essential services to their clients, whether those services are in a social services or mental health setting.

A career in human services can take many directions due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Specialists in social services, for example, help underserved groups such as the elderly, developmentally disabled, or those dealing with substance abuse to attain a higher quality of life. Professionals in mental health service, on the other hand, work with clients that have a variety of needs and who require counseling or rehabilitation. Regardless of the aspect of human services in which a professional works, certain character traits are essential. These include being compassionate, accepting, analytical, sympathetic and creative.

If this basic profile aligns with the kind of career you are interested in, then a degree in human services may be right for you. At Brescia University, we work to provide our students with a quality education that prepares them for their desired career. Read on to find out the specifics of Brescia’s human services degree and how you can apply to the program.

Human Services at Brescia

Brescia offers an associate degree in human services that is completely online. Once completed, this degree can be applied to our online bachelor’s degrees in social work, psychology, theology or integrated studies. This seamless process gets you on the way to the career you are working towards, and the flexibility of an online degree program fits into your busy schedule. Brescia’s online associates degree in human services prepares students for a variety of entry-level human services positions. Students learn how to work with individuals, groups, and communities, as well as clients of diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

The online program focuses on intervention and crisis counseling, case management, information systems, theory and other human services areas. It covers subjects such as biology, sociology, social work, and psychology. The program requires 63 credits in order for students to graduate.

Admissions

Before you apply to Brescia’s online human services program, you will be assigned an admissions counselor who will serve as a resource for any questions or concerns you have. Your counselor will help you throughout the admissions process and can assist with credit transfers from other institutions. Whether you have no previous college experience or would like to transfer less than 45 credit hours, you may complete an online associates degree with Brescia. An online associates degree gets you started on your career goals and can also serve as a basis for any of our online bachelor’s degree programs.

While Brescia does have minimum requirements for admission, we can work with you if you don’t meet some of those requirements. We believe that any student who wants to learn should be able to do so, and as a result we work to make our admissions process flexible.

Human Services Careers

The variety of careers in the human services field is significant. With an associates degree from Brescia, you can be competitive in the workforce while using the skills and knowledge you learned to improve the lives of your clients. Some examples of jobs in the human services field are:

  • Youth worker
  • Residential manager
  • Social services liaison
  • Intake interviewer
  • Group home worker
  • Case monitor
  • Client advocate
  • Community organizer
  • Group activities aide
  • Therapeutic assistant

Employment rate for those with human services degrees is growing, and job prospects are good. Human services professionals often work for the state and local government, nonprofit organizations and social service agencies. You may work in group homes, halfway houses, mental health centers, family service agencies or addiction programs. Human services professionals have the unique opportunity to improve the lives of those they serve on a daily basis, and a human services degree from Brescia can help get you there.

For more information about the human services degree program and how to apply, visit our Admissions and Requirements page.