Human Services: Career Associate

The Human Services associate degree program prepares students to work as human service professionals who are able to provide direct-service delivery to clients in a variety of community-based social service agencies. Students are able to select from one of two tracks: the General Human Services and Drug and Alcohol Services. The General Human Services track promotes a generalist perspective that ensures that students obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to function in most human service settings. The Drug and Alcohol Services track is more specialized and builds upon that perspective by focusing on a specific client group.  The General Human Services track is accredited by the Council for Standards in Human Service Education. The Drug and Alcohol Services track is not currently accredited.  However, it is the goal of the program to achieve this status at the time of the program’s re-accreditation review.  Students are required to complete a Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, FBI Criminal Background Check, and a State Police Criminal Record Check prior to enrollment into the practicum course.  If the student has any questions regarding this, he or she should contact the Program Director or Practicum Coordinator.  The complete program is available at the Harrisburg, Lancaster, and York campuses. Some of the required courses are available at the Gettysburg and Lebanon campuses, as well as through Virtual Learning.

Graduates of the program receive the training and education for entry-level positions in a number of social and human service fields, such as family services, women’s programs, rehabilitation for alcohol dependency, and services for people with intellectual disabilities.

General Education   
ENGL 101 English Composition I  3 
ENGL 102 English Composition II  3 
COMM 101 Effective Speaking  3 
Core A Elective  3 
Core C Elective  3 
Free Electives  15 
Physical Education & Wellness  1 

Major Requirements   
HUMS 100 Introduction to Human Services  3 
HUMS 215 Fieldwork Practicum  4 

Other Required Courses   
PSYC 101 General Psychology (Core B)  3 
SOCI 201 Introduction to Sociology (D)  3 

This curriculum is designed to prepare students to:

General Human Services

Establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients and their families to plan treatments and/or services

Perform case management responsibilities in a variety of settings

Explain the ethics and laws applicable to the human service field

Recognize the characteristics of culturally diverse populations

Drug and Alcohol Services

Establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients and their families to plan treatments and/or services

Discuss the use of drugs and alcohol from a historical, social, biological,  and psychological perspective

Discuss the current models of drug and alcohol prevention and treatment

Conduct effective crisis and brief intervention counseling techniques and strategies

Identify the symptoms and behaviors that constitute the basis for diagnostic assessments

Explain  the ethics and laws applicable to the drug alcohol field

Apply for a Full-Ride Scholarship

Are you a future student and ready to apply to HACC? 
By applying to HACC, you have the opportunity to apply for a full-ride scholarship! HACC will fund two years of your education – enough to complete your associate degree.

Thanks to the support of the HACC Foundation, the College is able to offer FREE money to support future students, like you, in reaching your educational goals. Six full-ride scholarships are available – one from each of the five campuses and one through HACC’s Virtual Learning Program. 

Please note that current students are not eligible for the full-ride scholarships. However, there are more than 250 scholarships available for current students.

What should you know about the full-ride scholarship?

The scholarship covers tuition, books and fees for a full academic year. 

The scholarship will automatically renew each term for up to six consecutive terms if you maintain your eligibility.

Once you apply to the College and receive a HACC ID and email address, you may apply for the full-ride scholarship. You do not have to register for classes before applying for the scholarship.

Are you eligible?

To be eligible, you must:

Apply to HACC

Take 12-15 credits each term for no more than six consecutive terms (two years)

Live in Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, Schuylkill or York county

Have a minimum cumulative high school GPA of 3.0

Provide a 480 SAT reading score, 21 ACT or comparable scores on the College’s placement test

Maintain a GPA of 3.0 while enrolled at HACC

Participate in at least two HACC student organizations