Professional and nontraditional students who have busy schedules and outside responsibilities are often unable to attend campus-based colleges and universities. This has created a large demand for online learning from those who are interested in pursuing an academic degree, but cannot afford to put their lives on hold to do so.
Fortunately, there are a number of human services online degrees available from a number of distance learning universities. This article reviews some of the most established options.
Upper Iowa University – Online Human Services Degree Programs
Upper Iowa University, ranked as the fourth-best online learning university according to rankings from Online Education Database (OEDb), offers a human services bachelor degree program through its academic extension service.
The major program is made up of 36 credits, with 18 of those being in upper division courses. In addition, students must complete the general education core courses required for a bachelor's degree, with 120 total credits needed for graduation.
Upper Iowa University delivers its online courses on an asynchronous schedule, allowing students to log in and view lectures whenever it is most convenient for them. In addition, UIU has open enrollment which allows students to begin classes at any point during the year.
There are no residency requirements for degrees at UIU, and the online system provides ample student support services, including academic advising and access to research resources.
UIU is ranked as one of the top schools for military personnel, and tuition reductions are available for active duty personnel and their families.
For more information on tuition and admissions requirements, contact UIU at 1-800-603-3756.
Walden University – Online Human Services Degree Programs
Walden University offers a PhD in Human Services, one of the few available in the United States. The program has additional specializations in the following areas:
- Community Health Promotion and Education
- Health Management and Policy
The program consists of 132 credit hours, 30 of which are the proposal, dissertation, and defense components. In addition, 20 hours of residency are required in a health facility.
The online learning structure at Walden University is fully asynchronous, giving students the flexibility to log in and learn whenever it is most convenient for them. The online courses give students access to online lectures, readings, library resources, and discussion forums through which students and faculty communicate.
Students also have access to academic support and mentoring services through the online platform.
For more information about tuition, residency requirements, and admissions, contact Walden University at 1-866-492-5336.
Kaplan University – Online Human Services Degree Programs
Kaplan University offers both a human services bachelor degree and an associate degree. While the associate's degree is 90 credits, the bachelor's program is 180 credits.
The bachelor degree program has three concentrations in the following areas:
- Human Services Administration
- Gerontology
- Child and Family Welfare
Kaplan University's online learning platform offers students both live, synchronous classes and archived, asynchronous courses. This provides distance learners which a moderately flexible schedule while providing opportunities for greater interactivity.
The online platform provides students with access to streaming lectures, discussion forums, electronic readings, library resources, and student support services.
For more information on tuition and admissions requirements, contact Kaplan University at 1-866-527-5268.
Accredited Human Services Degree Programs
The Council for Standards in Human Service Education is the accrediting organization which oversees many university programs.
While a number of campus-based programs are accredited by CSHSE, there are very few institutions which are CSHSE-accredited and offer human services online courses.
One such school is the New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, New Hampshire, which offers a range of online courses (though it does not offer a full degree program online).
Benefits of Online Human Services Degree Programs
Online programs offer working students the opportunity to maintain professional careers while pursuing an academic degree. This flexibility gives online students the ability to study without accruing the same debt levels that on-campus students often accrue.
In addition to the schools mentioned above, there are a number of additional online institutions which have human services online degrees, including:
- Ashford University
- University of Phoenix
- Capella University
For more information on the best online schools offering degrees, reference OEDb's online rankings.
David Harris-Gershon - David Harris-Gershon – a blogger for Tikkun magazine and a freelance writer on Israel, the Middle East and America’s role in ...
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