Bachelor
of Science in Human Services
Office: 135 Briggs, McNichols Campus
Faculty: R. Homant (chair); D. Kennedy; M. Witkowski; E. Barnes
Telephone: (313) 578-0362
E-mail: homantr@udmercy.edu
Projected to be one of the fastest growing job fields, Human
Services is a family of careers designed for those who want
to work with people. Whether one’s goal is to try to
make the world a better place, or—more modestly—simply
to help a few people cope better with life, Human Services
equips students with the basic knowledge and skills necessary
to function in a professional capacity.
Course work in Human Services leads to a Bachelor of Science
degree that prepares one for a wide variety of positions in
both public and private service agencies, as well as some
areas of private enterprise. Human Services professionals
work with a wide variety of individuals, including: the unemployed,
the unskilled, the physically and emotionally handicapped,
convicted offenders, substance abusers, troubled youth, the
elderly and the physically ill. They work with individuals,
families, and neighborhood groups in community mental health
centers, hospitals, hospices, correctional facilities, and
other state agencies, as well as in human resources and training
and development in private industry.
Human Services is an interdisciplinary field with many diverse
opportunities and challenges. The Human Services student takes
a basic set of eight core courses that are supported by an
individualized program tailored to the student’s needs.
Flexibility makes the Human Services program attractive
to a broad range of students: service-oriented, traditional
undergraduates; community college graduates who have already
completed a program in a human services specialty area; those
currently employed who wish to enhance their advancement potential;
and students whose goal is post-degree work in counseling
or a related area.
Students are required to complete course requirements in
three general areas:
(a) University Core Curriculum (approximately 45 cr.),
(b) major and
(c) minor concentration.
Note: all courses below are three credits, unless otherwise
noted.
HUS (24 cr.)
HUS 150 Introduction to Human Services
HUS 342 Human Services Leadership
HUS 422 Ethics and Values in Human Services
HUS 437 Counseling Process in Human Services
HUS 441 Multicultural Understanding
HUS 491 Internship in Human Services
HUS 495 Human Resources Development
HUS 499 Integrating Seminar in Human Services
Note: with the permission of their academic advisor and
the department chair, students who demonstrate sufficient
background in one of the above courses may substitute an alternate
HUS course; see the list of Human Services courses for possibilities.
Normally consists of five courses in a human services area.
Some suggested areas include: addiction studies, criminal
justice, corrections, education, legal assistance, psychology,
sociology, and social work. While it is usually preferable
that all five sources come from the same content area (e.g.
all CJS courses), some areas of specialization, such as “family
studies” are cross disciplinary.
The minor concentration is a second area of specialization.
Normally a minor involves six to eight courses in an area.
The minor is not required to be related to the student’s
Human Services specialization. It may be in a traditional
academic subject area (e.g., History, English, Business, etc.)
or it may be a blend of related courses across disciplines,
either within or outside of the human services field. Students
intending to work in a business setting are encouraged to
use the Business Certificate (see page 18) for their area
of concentration. The minor is intended as a flexible requirement
that will enhance the student’s credentials. Students
are encouraged to consult their advisors about various possibilities.
|
