Brescia University now offers an Associate of Arts in human services online degree that can help you advance your career and enter the field of human services and social work. You can complete our human services degree and then apply your credits to Brescia’s online bachelor’s degrees in social work, psychology, theology or integrated studies. Your human services degree can get you on the path to the career you want faster.
Brescia’s online human services degree allows students to learn skills associated with human and social services. After completion, you will be qualified for a variety of entry-level human services jobs, allowing you to work with individuals and communities to make a difference. Students who are enrolled in the human services program at Brescia acquire the knowledge needed to work with individuals, groups and communities and will learn to work with people of diverse racial, ethnic and cultural groups. The curriculum is focused on crisis counseling and intervention, theory, case management and other human services areas. Major subject requirements are in the fields of sociology, psychology, biology and social work.
Course Descriptions
Because human services is such an interdisciplinary field, students will take classes in a variety of subjects. This broad approach provides students with a diverse skill set that is valuable for human services careers. Aside from general education requirements, students take a course in introductory biology, complete career electives, and then choose a course in economics, history or political science. The rest of the human services curriculum is made up of the following social and behavioral sciences courses:
Principles of Sociology
This course is an introduction to the major concepts and principles relating to the study of society, social institutions and social interactions.
Introduction to Social Work
This course introduces the student to the social work profession and its value, skill and knowledge bases. Read our blog post on the difference between human services and social work for a taste!
Social Issues in Diversity
Minority Relations, this course is an in-depth investigation of several groups with minority status and their patterns of interaction in the U.S. It focuses on Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, women as a minority group, religious minorities, and the gay and lesbian population. There is an emphasis on social work knowledge, values and practice skills with members of diverse populations.
Introduction to Psychology
This course is a survey of the main fields of psychology: the history and methods of psychology, the nervous and endocrine systems, sensation, perception consciousness, learning, memory, higher cognitive processes, developmental psychology, motivation, emotion, stress, personality theory, sexuality, intelligence, psychological testing, abnormal psychology, psychotherapy, social psychology and applied psychology.
Developmental Psychology
This course focuses on the study of human growth and development, from conception to death. The course deals with physical, social, emotional, intellectual, moral and personality development at all age levels and the respective theories. It also includes a study of the effects of heredity and environment on the developmental process.
Career electives must be two courses in the same discipline (beyond the General Education Requirement), and must be appropriate to student aspirations such as addictions counseling, biology, business, education, modern foreign language, philosophy or theology.
Admissions
Whether you have no previous college experience or would like to transfer less than 42 credit hours, you can complete an associate’s degree in human services online from Brescia. If you are transferring to Brescia, request an official copy of your transcript from every college or university you have attended. For those students who have college credit hours, high school transcripts are not required. Official transcripts should be sent directly from schools you previously attended to the Brescia Admissions office.
Admission to Brescia is taken on an individual basis. Each interested student is assigned an admissions counselor who addresses questions and concerns. Admission to the university is rolling, which means that as soon as an admissions file is complete, it will be reviewed and a decision made. The applicant will be notified of the decision immediately.
Careers
After completing Brescia’s two-year human services degree program, you will be prepared for a variety of positions in the field. Though careers vary, all human services workers strive to improve the lives of those they serve and the communities in which they are employed. Human services professionals often work with state and local government agencies in order to address problems that are common in underserved communities, such as addiction, domestic issues and lack of access to nutrition. In general, human services workers have a strong desire to help others and are both compassionate and caring. Getting your human services degree from Brescia means that you will be able to directly affect real social change. For more information about our human services degree, visit our Online Programs page.