What Can You Do With an Online Master of Science in Human Services?

Human services professionals often feel like their career is a calling. Where others focus on pursuing higher salaries and moving up the organizational chart, professionals in human services dedicate themselves to a lifetime of helping others.

Thankfully, those who have a desire to enter this rewarding career also are given many different opportunities in terms of where they can work. This is especially true for people who pursue a Master of Science in Human Services. Doing so sets them up to take on human services leadership positions in a variety of settings.

The Ease of Online Learning

Many of those students seeking a human services degree now decide to go the online route. Why? Because the quality of classes offered through an online program long ago matched that of those offered in a traditional setting.

It’s often easier for students. The typical student in an online master’s program in human services is someone already working professionally in the human services field. They don’t have time to stop their life while earning a degree. Online programs allow students to build their coursework around their life, not the other way around. It also prepares working professionals for human services leadership positions.

Why Earn a Master’s Degree

Why earn a master’s degree in the first place? Because it offers the skills needed to take on top spots in the human service field. It’s designed for those who want to have a significant role in deciding how human service programs are managed. The program at Touro University Worldwide offers students the chance to learn both theoretical concepts and how to apply them in real-world situations, making them better prepared for human services leadership.

Some of the skills honed in the program include professional communications in human services, theories of behavior in human services, professional ethics, non-profit management, financial decision making, research methods for human services and program development and evaluation in human services.

Career Paths in Human Services

In recent years, the expansion of opportunities in the human services field has been an ongoing trend. Human services are now provided in more areas including government programs at the federal, state and local level, medical operations, nonprofit organizations, and the charitable arms of private corporations. The services each organization offers vary widely and include residential facilities to outpatient services in the areas of therapeutic, vocational, and educational support.

The federal government projects an 18% increase in the number of “social and community services managers” jobs by 2026. Some of the potential jobs for someone with a master’s degree in human services include:

  • Community services administrator
  • Health services manager
  • Director of a residential care facility
  • Director of a human services department within a larger healthcare operation
  • Department head for human services within a government agency
  • Director of a geriatric health center
  • Director of a mental health counseling center

Those in the human services profession may also specialize in certain demographic groups, such as children or the elderly.

These opportunities to help others are what draws people to the human services field. A master’s degree can further help them achieve their ambition, giving them the opportunity to serve in a leadership role and find the best ways to give people the support they need.

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