This article describes why you would want to earn a master’s degree in human services, as well as discusses the many job possibilities that are available. Further, the article also provides descriptions of several online degree programs where you can earn a specialized master of human services degree.
Why Earn a Masters in Human Services Degree?
Would you like to make a difference in your community and earn a good income? Then you should consider a master’s degree in human services. Earning a degree in this versatile field will teach you how to apply knowledge, theory and research to professional human services practice. This will put you in a strong position to work in administration or management in many types of social service organizations.
You also will learn how to communicate on a professional basis with stakeholders in many public service fields. All of the skills that you learn will help you to offer highly valuable services in areas that include administrative leadership, family services, addictions and recovery and more.
A human services graduate program is the key to enjoying many exciting career paths. Human services generally is a field that helps others to work towards being self-sufficient and enjoy a better quality of life. Human service workers often help people in need, whether that is helping people who are hungry or helping to run a shelter for the homeless.
People who earn a master’s degree in human services can work in many occupations:
- Social service administrator
- Grant writer
- Housing specialist
- Residential counselor
- Director of community services
Many people who earn a master’s degree in human services may end of working as a type of social and community service manager. This field is going to grow by a solid 10% in the next eight years, so you should be able to find good-paying work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In this field, the median pay is approximately $63,000, so with a master’s degree, you should be able to earn a good living. The highest salaries come in state and local government agencies.
Master’s in Human Services Curriculum Overview
This type of degree is made for graduate students who want to have a better understanding of others and work with individuals, families and communities. Most master’s programs in this field usually cover many social science topics and are designed to prepare students to work in community health and social services organizations.
The major objective of this type of master’s program is to learn about how to meet human needs through an applied base of knowledge and focus on prevention and remediation of problems.
Depending upon which university you select, you can choose a master’s degree in human services program that focuses on many different specializations. For example, Liberty University offers these exciting concentrations:
- Addictions and recovery
- Business
- Criminal justice
- Executive leadership
- Health and wellness
- Life coaching
- Marriage and family
- Military resilience
- Crisis response and trauma
- Family advocacy
Choosing the correct speciality for your interests is obviously of great importance. Most universities that offer a master’s in human services have several concentrations, some of which we highlight below.
Master’s in Human Services – Organizational Management and Leadership
Springfield College offers an online Master of Human Services in Organizational Management and Leadership that will hone your leadership and management skills for the person who has a caring heart and wants to make a difference. You will take courses that will focus on developing your abilities to improve your leadership skills that are needed to bring about changes in organizations.
There also is a concentration on social analysis, critical and creative thinking and development of leadership to enact change.
This program can be completed in 16 months and is specifically tailored to make you into a leader in human services. Classes include:
- Leadership – A Lifelong Journey
- Economics of Change
- Strategic Planning
- Ethical Competence
- Fiscal Management
- Program Evaluation
- Advocacy and Policy Analysis
- Building Multicultural Communities and Organizations
Past graduates of this program have become CEOs of public health organizations, nursing home managers, community health center supervisors, chiefs of police, and managers at Head Start.
Master of Science in Human Services – Non-Profit Management
Students in the Master of Science in Human Services program at Post University gain highly valuable knowledge in the fields of prevention, remediation, psycheducation, diagnosis, assessment and intervention.
This 2.5 year program offers a unique non-profit organization concentration that works to serve neighborhoods, society and communities that we each live in. Coursework is concentrated on the complexity of human problems, cultural and social forces, national policies that affect societal systems and the demands of working on non profit organizations.
In this program, you will hone skills that include writing grants, planning and managing people, writing program budgets and implementing innovative information systems. You also will gain a complete understanding of human behavior systems.
Courses include:
- Human Services Ethics and Diversity
- Human Services Policy
- Human Service Management
- Applied Research Methods in Human Services
- Human Development Through the Lifecycle
- Capstone Research Project I and II
Master of Human Services in Community Health
In this exciting speciality of human services at Concordia University, you will learn how a healthy community helps all people and leads to a more productive society. You also will learn how to design high quality health intervention programs and understand behaviors and how they affect large populations. You also will understand how to apply advanced public health theories to serious health concerns.
Students find that this online specialization provides them with the skills in wellness, nutrition and disease management to make strong communities. People who graduate with this concentration in human services usually work in one of these careers:
- Case manager
- Clinical instructor
- Critical care manager
- Health educator
- Program outreach manager
After you graduate, you will be able to accurately and effective assess health problems in a community and design programs that will improve the health of the community. You will cover health informatics, health behavior and effective communication skills in these classes:
- Principles of Health Behavior
- Community Health
- Programming and Evaluation in Public Health
Master of Human Services – Social Services Administration
With a master’s degree in human services focusing on social services administration from University of Illinois Springfield, you will develop the advanced skills that you need to manage many types of social service agencies. You may work in town, city, county or state government. Many graduates of this program end up working in local government within Illinois
Students who are in this program must examine aspects of their lives in the past as well as their family experiences and have a good understanding of their values, beliefs and biases. This type of self-awareness is important when working with vulnerable groups and populations.
Graduates of this 18 month program online work in planning, administering, consulting and evaluating social service agencies across the state and country. Many graduates work as administrators, planners, consultants and supervisors in social service agencies of all kinds.
Required classes in this specialty include:
- Staff Development and Supervision
- Social Services Administration
- Critical Perspectives in Human Services
- Interviewing and Assessing in Human Services
- Social Policy and Human Services
- Ethics and Professional Development
- Introduction to Nonprofit Management
- Grant Writing in Human Services
The field of human services encompasses many different career areas. If you want to help other people and make a difference in your community, you should be able to find a good career path in the general field of human services. Many universities offer a broad array of specialities within human services, so you can likely find a great fit for your interests.
