Program: Human Service Degree Completion Program - Southern Oregon University

Apr 03, 2025

2012-13 Catalog

In collaboration with the sociology program, the Department of Psychology offers an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree program focusing on the needs of human service professionals. Classes are conveniently scheduled at nights in Ashland and Medford to accommodate the schedules of working students. The program is for students who want to better understand their community and social environment, desire to improve their career opportunities and reach educational goals, and wish to enhance specific human relations skills and strengthen their ability to work effectively in social services.

SOU’s small class sizes and friendly learning environment foster close ties among students, faculty, and the community. The length of the degree completion program varies with each individual, depending on prior coursework and employment status.

Requirements

The following is required for the human service major:

1.

Fulfill baccalaureate degree requirements.

2.

Complete the following prerequisites to all upper division core curriculum courses with a C+ or better:

PSY 201 - General Psychology 4 credits
PSY 202 - General Psychology 4 credits
SOC 204 - The Sociological Imagination 4 credits
a Lifespan Development course

Complete the following additional prerequisite for PSY 429:

MTH 243 - Introduction to Statistical Methods 4 credits
or
SOC 241 - Elementary Statistics for the Social Sciences 4 credits
or
SSPC 241 - Elementary Statistics for the Social Sciences 4 credits

3.

Complete a minimum of 49 core curriculum credits from psychology and sociology, including:

a. Psychology (33 credits):

PSY 409 9 credits
PSY 429 - Program Development 4 credits (with a C+ or better)
PSY 438 - Group Dynamics 4 credits (with a C+ or better)
PSY 443 - Behavior Modification 4 credits (with a C+ or better)
PSY 471 - Introduction to Helping Skills 4 credits (with a C+ or better)
PSY 475 - Crisis Intervention Strategies 4 credits (with a C+ or better)
PSY 497 - Human Service Capstone Project 4 credits (with a C+ or better)

b. Sociology (16 credits):

SOC 304 - Poverty, Family, and Policy 4 credits (with a C+ or better)
SOC 310 - Community Studies 4 credits (with a C+ or better)
SOC 312 - Sociology of the Family 4 credits (with a C+ or better)
SOC 444 - Organizational Sociology 4 credits (with a C+ or better)

4.

Complete upper division electives (11 credits) with advisor consent.

5.

A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 in all human service program courses is required for a BA or BS in social science.

6.

Meet writing and research competency through components in:

PSY 429 - Program Development 4 credits
PSY 497 - Human Service Capstone Project 4 credits (Requires successful completion [C+ or better] of PSY 429)

7.

7. A minimum grade of C+ for all courses counted toward the human service program and for Elementary Statistics ( MTH 243 ) or Elementary Statistics for the Social Sciences (SOC 241 or SSPC 241 ).