Belmont Abbey College

The Catholic College of the South

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B. A. in Human Services

Overview

 

The major in Human Services provides students with an academic base of knowledge, theories, and skills needed to ethically assist diverse individuals, families, and communities to thrive through the prevention and remediation of problems in a manner consistent with a Christian worldview.  It emphasizes both theoretical and experiential learning aimed at optimizing human interactions and finding meaningful solutions to individual and social problems.  Such knowledge and skills will assist students seeking careers in diverse professional settings such as in social services, nonprofit agencies, court services, correctional settings, youth facilities, community mental health centers, child and family services, ministry, educational settings, and health care, while also preparing students who wish to enter graduate degree programs in criminal justice, counseling, human services, or social work.

 

Standards for Admission & Graduation:  Prospective majors should meet with the department chair as soon as possible to declare the major.  To be eligible for acceptance into the Human Service Major, students must complete HS110 with a grade of “C-” or higher.  Once declared, students should meet with their departmental advisor to choose their area of concentration.  To graduate with a degree in Human Services, students must earn an average GPA of 2.0 or higher in all program courses with no course grade below a “C-”.  Students receiving a grade below a “C-” in any course may repeat the course no more than twice (for a maximum of three attempts) with the permission of the department chair.  


Curriculum Requirements

Major Program Requirements (44-49) HOURS

The Human Service Major has 2 categories of course requirements:

Major Core requirements (27-31 credits) and

Major Concentration requirements (17-18 credits).

The Major Core requirements are listed first, followed by the options for concentration areas:

HS110Intro to Human Services

3
HS210Helping Skills Theory & Practice

3
HS220Group Dynamics Theory & Practice

3
HS300Ethics and Issues in Human Services

3
HS330Case Management

3
HS335Crisis Assess Intervent Prevent

3
HS340Human Behavior in the Social Context

3
HS370Human Services Management

3
HS493WCapstone in Human Services

3

Major Concentration Requirement

Human Service Majors choose ONE of the following Concentrations:

Addictions Concentration (18 Credits)

The Addictions Concentration is for students interested in becoming addictions professionals.  In addition to addiction-specific coursework aimed at understanding addictions, prevention programs, and treatment, students will complete 360 hours in addiction-specific field placements. 

HS361Substance Abuse & Addictions I

3
HS362Substance Abuse & Addictions II

3
HS365Family Violence

3
HS381Field Experience Preparation in Human Services

1
HS384Field Experience in Human Services 1

4
HS484Field Experience in Human Services 2

4
 
Direct Services Concentration (18 Credits)

The Direct Service Concentration prepares students for service delivery work in human and social service agencies.  In addition to theoretical and skills-based courses, students in this concentration spend at least 360 hours in two or more human service agencies gaining hands-on experience to prepare them to enter direct service positions upon graduation.

HS361Substance Abuse & Addictions I

3
HS365Family Violence

3
HS381Field Experience Preparation in Human Services

1
HS384Field Experience in Human Services 1

4
HS484Field Experience in Human Services 2

4
One of the Following Courses
HS371Program Planning & Evaluation

3
HS372Conflict Resolution

3
HS373Social Policy and Practice

3
HS374Social Justice and Advocacy

3
Generalist Concentration (17 Credits)

This concentration provides a broad base of training, preparing students to work in a wide array of human and social services settings.  It prepares students to work with individuals, families, dyads, and groups.  The concentration provides both theoretical and practical training in areas such as domestic abuse, child abuse, addictions, crisis intervention, family services, and advocacy.  Students in this concentration complete 180 hours in a field placement in a human service setting.

HS361Substance Abuse & Addictions I

3
HS365Family Violence

3
HS372Conflict Resolution

3
HS381Field Experience Preparation in Human Services

1
HS384Field Experience in Human Services 1

4
One of the Following Courses
HS371Program Planning & Evaluation

3
HS373Social Policy and Practice

3
HS374Social Justice and Advocacy

3
Leadership Concentration (18 Credits)

The concentration in Leadership prepares students who are driven to help others for essential roles in administrative, managerial, and policy positions in nonprofit, governmental, or social service agencies. Students choosing this concentration will develop the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill administrative tasks such as planning, organizing, coordinating, and evaluating programs or agencies.  

HS371Program Planning & Evaluation

3
HS372Conflict Resolution

3
HS373Social Policy and Practice

3
HS374Social Justice and Advocacy

3
Approved HS or other Concentration-Specific elective
Approved HS or other Concentration-Specific elective


The Core Curriculum 49-50 hours

Please reference Core Curriculum Traditional Students

Residential Students transferring more than 30 credit hours to Belmont Abbey College are not required to take the First-Year Experience sequence.

Prospective majors in Human Services should wait to take their Social Science core requirement until after they have chosen their Human Service area of Concentration.

Human Service Majors should take HS350 – Applied Statistical & Research Reasoning to fulfill the Empirical Reasoning requirement in the Core Curriculum.