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Answers to Your Questions About the Human Services Major

What can I do with a Human Services major?
Will I have a chance to gain some hands-on experience in the field?
In what types of agencies might I do my field work?
Can I major in Human Services and still have time for electives or a minor?
What types of graduate study could I pursue with a Human Services major?

What can I do with a Human Services major?
The Department of Human Services offers you the opportunity to prepare for a career in the helping professions. Graduates may work in agencies and organizations in fields such as crisis intervention services, services for children and families, social services, substance abuse rehabilitation, mental health, services for older adults, and services for the developmentally disabled as well as many others. In the Human Services major, you will gain knowledge and skills that can be applied in a broad array of service settings. Graduates in recent years are employed in positions such as activities director, social worker, juvenile court counselor, psychiatric assistant, counselor, probation officer, agency coordinator, volunteer coordinator, case manager, intake worker and many others.

Will I have a chance to gain some hands-on experience in the field?
The Human Services Department believes that direct experience is an essential part of a Human Services education. The Human Services major requires students to complete at least the following three field experiences in human service agencies:

  • A forty (40) hour of service-learning project is required in HUS 111.
  • Three (3) weeks of full-time service for four (4) hours of course credit are required in the Winter Term of the student's junior or senior year. (HUS 381 Practicum)
  • Eight (8) weeks of full-time service for eight (8) hours of course credit are required in the senior year. (HUS 481 Internship)
In what types of agencies might I do my field work?
The Human Services Department has established working relationships with well over 100 agencies and institutions in Alamance County and surrounding areas. A complete list is available in the department. Some representative types of placements are listed below:
Alamance County Sheriff's Department Together House
Alamance County Health Department Twin Lakes Retirement Center
Western Middle School Women's Resource Center
Burlington Police Department Triad Health Project (Higher Ground)
Greensboro Housing Coalition Greensboro Volunteer Center
Guilford Child Developmental Center Defense Attorney

Can I major in Human Services and still have time for electives or a minor?
Yes. Unless a student decides upon the major very late, a minor or second major is possible. Human Services majors often pursue minors or develop concentrations that are relevant to their personal goals. Particularly relevant areas for minor studies are psychology, sociology, foreign language, business, women?s studies and criminal justice.

What types of graduate study could I pursue with a Human Services major?
Human Services majors in recent years have been accepted into highly respected graduate and professional programs all over the country. Some of these programs are listed below:
  • Columbia University: Social Work
  • Johns Hopkins University: Education
  • Pennsylvania State University: Social Work and Social Planning
  • Texas A&M: Higher Education Administration
  • University of Illinois: Social Work
  • University of Georgia: Higher Education Administration
  • University of Maryland: Counseling, Special Education, Social Work
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Social Work, School Counseling, Law
  • University of North Carolina at Greensboro: Higher Education Administration, School Counseling, Child Development and Family Relations, Community Counseling
  • University of Tennessee - Knoxville: Law
  • Virginia Commonwealth University: Social Work, Health Care Administration
Please contact a member of the Human Services faculty in Alamance 213 if you have further questions.