Bachelor of Arts in Human Services

Empower Yourself for a Career in Service

Strengthen the skills you need to build a professional life focused on helping others. Whitworth Online’s Bachelor of Arts in Human Services program allows you to find your purpose in a variety of human services areas, including child and family services, public service administration, immigration services, and nonprofit leadership. This 100 percent online program is not just a finish line – it’s a catalyst for your future, bridging your experience and passion with an abundance of new professional opportunities.

What Will You Study in the B.A. in Human Services Program?

Lead With Purpose in the Human Services Field

If a bachelor’s degree is the missing piece on your résumé, Whitworth Online can help you complete it and earn the human services job you aspire to. You learn what you need for success in the field, including:

  • Social service agencies’s structure and function in society.
  • How politics inform social policy.
  • An appreciation for human diversity.
  • How to help different populations without harm.
  • Social and political activism.
  • Personal and professional ethics in the helping professions.

This online program features six-week courses and five start dates per year. You move through the program with a small cohort of peers, providing you an enriching community of like-minded students. You also benefit from personalized, one-on-one support from a dedicated academic advisor and faculty who are leaders in their field.

  • A Holistic Approach

    A Holistic Human Services Education

    Gain a holistic understanding of the historical and theoretical foundations of human services in Whitworth’s online human services degree program. Our unique “C5” curriculum philosophy (compassionate, comprehensive, collaborative, classroom-to-community, and cultural humility) prepares you with a holistic, trauma-informed framework.

  • Prepare for Your Future Career

    Strengthen Transferable Skills

    Learn skills and knowledge that are immediately useful in your current job and lay a solid foundation for a career in social services nonprofit leadership and public service administration. You learn skills that are applicable in areas such as client services, social action, community development, advocacy and leadership.

  • Credit for Previous Education and Experience

    Respecting What You’ve Already Accomplished

    At Whitworth Online, we give you the credit you deserve. We maximize your A.A. or A.A.S. transfer credits, as well as give you the chance to earn more credits based on the knowledge you’ve gained through professional experience. We also provide you guidance with a personal advisor and faculty mentor.

    Learn More About Transfer Credits

  • Learning Outcomes

    Become a Well-Rounded Professional

    We’ve designed the bachelor’s in human services with ambitious, working adults in mind. Courses are taught by experts with years of experience. You graduate with the ability to:

    • Articulate and critically assess human services in the context of current practice.
    • Demonstrate personal reflection on one’s role in the context of the helping professions.
    • Apply general theories and practice of group communication.
    • Understand ethical and legal issues specific to social service engagement.
    • Articulate the intersection between faith and social service practice.
    • Demonstrate cultural competence and its benefits to effective stewardship.

Seek the Right Career Path

Choose from Four Human Services Concentrations

As a human services student at Whitworth Online, you have the opportunity to create an educational path that allows you to take your career where you want it to go. You take core courses, and then can choose to focus your degree in one of four concentrations that have been carefully workforce-aligned to the Inland Northwest.

Concentrations include the following: 

Develop your knowledge of the relationship between social services and the children and families they serve. Courses include:
Families & Society
The Nature of Trauma
Delinquency & Juvenile Justice

Strengthen your knowledge of psychology in preparation for a therapy or counseling career. Courses include:
Personality & Individual Differences
Psychopathology
The Nature of Trauma

Build the strategic, fiscal and interpersonal skills you need to succeed as a nonprofit sector leader. Courses include:
Leading Sustainable Organizations
Applied Leadership Theory
Grant Writing & Funding

Prepare for public sector management roles with special emphasis in social and health services as well as finance, human resources and strategic responses to change. Courses include:
Budget Management & Finance
Management of Human Resources
Strategic Leadership in Public Service Organizations

Core courses in the Human Services program include:

  • Group Dynamics
  • Applied Cross-Cultural Communication
  • American Public Policy
  • Lifespan Development
  • Social Identities and Institutions
  • Case Management
  • The Helping Process in Social Services
  • Ethics in Public Services
  • Career Exploration in Human Services
  • Human Services Internship

High Quality at an Affordable Price

Making Degree Completion a Reality

Whitworth Online focuses on offering a quality education for both your heart and mind. We also strive to make it affordable. We understand that earning a bachelor’s degree can make a huge difference in your life. We make it more attainable with generous transfer credits, financial aid, scholarships and grants.

Learn More About Financial Aid, Scholarships and Grants

Potential Careers With a B.A. in Human Services

As a graduate from the human services degree completion program, you have the skills and knowledge to work in a wide variety of human services-related organizations. You may also choose to go on to earn a master’s degree in areas such as counseling and therapy or social work. For those entering the workforce after graduation, potential careers include:

Case Manager
Child Advocate
Crisis Intervention Specialist
Program Coordinator
Refugee & Immigrant Caseworker
Domestic Violence Advocate
Addiction & Recovery Services Specialist
Community Health Worker/Patient Advocate
Foster Care Caseworker Support
Parent Educator
Housing Stabilization Specialist

Group Home or Shelter Care Manager
Independent Living Navigator
Child Protective Services Assistant
Probation or Parole Officer
Senior Care Navigator
Mentor Program Advocate
Special Needs Advocate
Nonprofit Development Professional
Therapeutic Group Facilitator
Truancy Officer
Youth Ministry Director
Disaster Relief Coordinator

Recent Whitworth human services graduates have earned jobs with:

Kaiser Permanente
Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Frontier Behavioral Health
Spokane Community College
Green Gable Children’s Learning
State of Washington

Department of Social and Health Services
Spokane Public Schools
St. Anne’s Children & Family Center
Community Detoxification Services

Admission Requirements and Prerequisites

All B.A. in Human Services students must meet the following requirements. There is no application fee.

The average completion time for the program is 24 to 30 months with an A.A. or applied associate degree (A.A.S. or other) and four to five years with no transfer credits.

You should be a working adult, defined as 23 years or older, with two years of professional work experience. (If you are under the age of 23, review the Supplemental Requirements on the Admissions page).

Unofficial transcripts are allowed for application submission. To register you as a student and for you to qualify for financial aid, we require official transcripts from all colleges or universities you have previously attended. Missing Transcripts?

Because Whitworth’s adult education programs are offered part time, international students are ineligible to apply. We hope you’ll explore Whitworth’s full-time program admissions.

Whitworth University is exploring a new model to enhance this program’s accessibility and efficiency. As part of our commitment to innovation, we have proposed a condensed curriculum to our accreditor. Pending approval, this revised structure will significantly streamline degree requirements — allowing you to reach your academic goals faster and at a lower cost, without sacrificing quality. Continue to check here in the future for updates.

Take the Next Step in Your Human Services Career

Receive the support you need from Whitworth to turn your career ambitions into achievements. We’re hereto help you along every step of your online journey.

Contact Our Team at Whitworth Online

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