Human Services B.S.

Bachelor of Science Degree
WellStar College of Health and Human Services, Department of Social Work and Human Services
(770) 423-6630

The Human Services (HS) program prepares students to pursue careers in the field of human services in a variety of public, nonprofit, and private human service organizations. All human service majors are required to take a common core, which includes two internship experiences. Students may choose either a concentration in case management or nonprofit administration.

All human service majors are prepared in skill competency areas such as communication, assessment, advocacy, documentation, community networking, cultural competence, social policy, civic engagement, and professional/career development.

Students who select the case management concentration will focus on direct practice with individuals, families, children, and groups. In addition they are prepared to work in crisis intervention settings.

Students pursuing the nonprofit concentration will acquire and develop core competencies that prepare them to work in the nonprofit sector. Highlights of the program include a focus on leadership and management of nonprofit organizations (e.g., governance, budget and finance, nonprofit management, human resource management, program development and evaluation, and nonprofit fundraising and marketing).

HS majors may choose to participate in the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (NPLA) Certification Program (formerly American Humanics). NPLA is a national organization that collaborates with affiliated universities and major nonprofit organizations recruiting, preparing, and placing students in meaningful careers with youth and human service agencies. Students pursuing the certificate must meet academic requirements set by the department. They will acquire the required competencies of the program including: board committee development, human resource development, nonprofit financial management, fund-raising principles and practices, program planning, and nonprofit marketing. Students demonstrate these competencies through completion of appropriate course work, participation in the NPLA student organization, and attendance at the yearly Management Training Institute.

Skill standard competencies for Human Service programs are established by the Council for Standards in Human Service Education (CSHSE). Graduates from the HS program may qualify to earn certification as a Human Service Board Certified Practitioner (HS-BCP).

The Department of Social Work and Human Services also offers two academic certificate programs for degree and nondegree seeking students: The Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (NLA) and the Child Advocacy Studies Training (CAST) Certificates. Both certificate programs offer an experience-based approach to preparing students. Skill standard competencies for NLA are established by the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance’s national organization. Graduates earn certification credentials as a Certified Nonprofit Practitioner. The Child Advocacy Studies Training (CAST) Certificate Program focuses on developing students’ understanding of the various factors that lead to child maltreatment, and of various existing responses to incidents of child maltreatment, in order that they may work more effectively within various systems and institutions that respond to these incidents. Students completing the courses in this certificate will be better equipped to carry out the work of various agencies and systems (health care, criminal justice, social services) as they advocate on behalf of the needs of children as victims and survivors of child abuse.