Human Services (MS) — The Program

The Master of Science Program in Human Services is designed to meet the graduate educational needs of practitioners in a broad range of human service jobs. It allows experienced people to acquire the knowledge, skills, and direction necessary for moving into new or more advanced positions in the field of human services. The MS in Human Services Program is unique in that it is outcome-based. This approach to education—in which competencies (defined through learning outcomes) are earned through demonstration of knowledge and skills in a particular area—provides a variety of options for learning, all aimed at assuring that the graduate’s knowledge and skills are relevant to the real world of practice. Students receive grades based on their demonstration of these competencies. Each competency is equivalent to three credit hours.

The curriculum content, carefully constructed to match workforce needs, is designed to provide professional orientation to the context and core values of human services practice as a foundation for planning and managing people, programs, finances, and information systems. The program objectives are to provide professional education that

1. prepares experienced human services professionals for leadership positions that provide opportunities to participate in shaping the future of human services; and

2. prepares competent planners and managers who are knowledgeable about the core values of human services and about the professional, legal, ethical, and policy context of human services practice and who can apply this knowledge in managing and planning human services.

In order to accommodate the needs of the majority of students in the program who are employed full time, most courses and other activities are offered in the evenings and on weekends. Students are admitted to the program only for the fall semester, and are invited to an orientation held during the summer before the fall term begins.