Human Services

Division of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Associate Dean: Deborah Beall

This is a transfer program intended for students who wish to enter the helping professions. The courses provide students with an overview of the human services field along with the communication and documentation skills required. Appropriate selection of electives allows students to tailor the program to specific areas of interest. Students may choose to focus on services to the developmentally or physically challenged, children, youth, the elderly, or to offer help in the areas of domestic violence, child abuse or crisis intervention.

Students in this program must meet 7 of the 10 SUNY Knowledge and Skills areas, 2 core competencies (Critical Thinking and Information Literacy), and have 30 SUNY General Education credits. Please note that of the 7 Knowledge and Skills areas, the following 4 are required: Communication-Written and Oral; Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning; Natural Sciences and Scientific Reasoning; and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice. For more information on the SUNY General Education requirements please see General Education Requirements.

Graduates will be able to:

• Understand the roles and duties of human services professionals;
• Identify areas of employment;
• Use communication skills to facilitate problem solving;
• Fulfill essential case management functions including interviewing, record keeping, gathering intake information, making referrals, and identifying consumer problems and issues;
• Maintain professional and ethical standards of confidentiality;
• Understand and respond to potential crisis issues and situations;
• Identify and contact resources and agencies in community settings;
• Examine the role of diversity in the helping professions.