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Lasell University
Lasell University

2014 - 2015 Academic Catalog

Human Services

The Human Services major explores the agencies and community services that impact people's lives as students learn about the relationship between individual behavior, group behavior, and the institutions of human society. The curriculum is anchored in a liberal arts approach to education with the goal of helping students apply critical thinking skills to gain insight into the complex relationships between individual, social and societal questions. Students learn about how small groups operate, the roles of community and family, contemporary social problems, how social policy is formulated, and the impact of economics on social service issues. They are introduced to the research methods important in social service settings. Students learn intervention techniques ranging from counseling skills appropriate for individuals to the implementation of action strategies designed to change social conditions and improve human systems. Equally important, courses in the major emphasize humane and ethical practice through a curriculum designed to increase appreciation of the diversity of human experience and sensitivity to the dynamics of social oppression and the consequences of social change.

Through application of Lasell's Connected Learning philosophy, human services majors have ongoing opportunities to connect theoretical concepts discussed in the classroom with practical application gained by working directly in the field through service learning. In their first year, all students take an introductory course in human service theory and participate in at least one service-learning or social justice project. During their first one-semester internship, students work in a community agency that provides services or a therapeutic environment for its clients. A concurrent seminar provides the academic groundwork for this internship, and a required course in basic counseling skills gives students an introduction to valuable interviewing and intervention techniques. Finally, as the culminating capstone experience in their senior year, students are engaged in a two-semester, intensive internship placement, also accompanied by concurrent seminars each semester. Through their internship experiences and their academic course work, students develop and practice professional skills and master the writing styles for the discipline and the profession.

Skills emphasized in the major are essential to the support of individuals in a wide variety of social service or therapeutic settings in community development, volunteer management, advocacy, fund raising, small group facilitation, child welfare settings, therapeutic environments, and human service agencies in positions such as a counselor, case manager, test administrator, or rehabilitation worker. The undergraduate human services major prepares the capable student for graduate programs in areas such as social work, counseling or human services management.

Academic Standards for Human Services Majors

  1. Students must earn a grade of C or above in each of the following courses:
    PSYC 101 Psychological Perspectives
    SOC101 Sociological Immagination
    HS101 Human Services: Systems & Skills
    HS210 Case Management and Counseling
    SOC331 Research methods in the Social Sciences OR
    PSYC331 Experimental Design in Psychology
  2. Students must receive a grade of C-minus or above in any required Psychology, Sociology, or Human Services course (course with one of these three prefixes) or any course which serves as a substitute or alternative for such a requirement).
  3. The foundation seminar and internship courses (HS215 and HS217) are taken as a unit, and failure to receive at least a C in either of these courses will require the student to repeat both.
  4. The senior level internship courses (HS415 and HS417) and seminar courses (HS425 and 427) form yearlong courses. Failure to receive a minimum grade of C in any one of these courses will result in the student having to repeat the entire sequence, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

The following goals and associated learning outcomes delineate what we strive for students to achieve when they complete the major program of study in Human Services:

Goal 1: Knowledge in the Discipline
Upon completion of the major program of study in Human Services, students will be able to:

  1. Describe key concepts and theories within the fields of Human Services, Psychology, Sociology, and Economics
  2. Use social science theories to explain human behavior on individual, small group, and societal levels
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of professional codes of ethics

Goal 2: Professional social service experience
Upon completion of the major program of study in Human Services, students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate effective skills for interacting with clients
  2. Reflect on the development and practice of their professional roles

Goal 3: Service learning and social justice
Upon completion of the major program of study in Human Services, students will be able to:

  1. Engage in action to address the issues of justice by raising awareness or advocating for change
  2. Reflect on the results of service
  3. Recognize and describe social injustice
  4. Analyze issues that cause social and economic disparities

Goal 4: Scientific reasoning
Upon completion of the major program of study in Human Services, students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate facility with research methodology
  2. Demonstrate ability to apply statistics
  3. Develop a substantiated argument

Goal 5: Communication within the discipline
Upon completion of the major program of study in Human Services, students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate proficiency in professional writing
  2. Write a preliminary grant
  3. Deliver a professional presentation

Course Code Course Title Credits
Core Courses
HS101 Human Services: Systems & Skills 3
HS210 Case Management & Counseling 3
HS215 Foundation Internship 3
HS217 Foundations of Ethical Fieldwork 3
HS415 Advanced Internship I 3
HS417 Field Intervention Strategies 3
HS425 Advanced Internship II 3
HS427 Systems & Organizational Change 3
MATH208 Statistics 3
PSYC101 Psychological Perspectives 3
PSYC218 Dynamics of Small Groups 3
PSYC318 Abnormal Psychology 3
SOC101 Sociological Imagination 3
SOC214 Family Diversity 3
SOC221 Contemporary Social Problems 3
Choose 1 from the following:
ECON101 Principles of Econ-Micro 3
ECON103 Economics of Social Issues 3
Choose 1 from the following:
PSYC331 Experimental Design in Psychology 4
SOC331 Research Methods in the Social Sciences 4
Choose 1 from the following:
POLS320 Policy Making & the Political Process 3
SOC335 Social Policy 3
Choose 1 from the following:
PSYC202 Psychology of Personality 3
PSYC220 Social Psychology 3
Choose 1 from the following:
PSYC111 Generations in America 3
PSYC221 Child Development 3
PSYC223 Adolescent Psychology 3
Choose 1 from the following:
CJ323 Justice, Class, Race & Gender 3
PSYC316 Psychology of Diversity 3
Social Science
POLS320 Policy Making & the Political Process 3
SOC335 Social Policy 3

Additional Requirements: 3-15 credits
Foreign Language: 0-12 credits - The Foreign Language Proficiency requirement is detailed in the Academic Information section.
Social Science Electives: 3 credits

Core Curriculum Requirements and remaining Unrestricted Electives: 41-53 credits

Minimum credits required for graduation: 120

Courses listed below fulfill Knowledge Perspective requirements:
Individuals & Society
PSYC 101 Psychological Perspectives

Math208 fulfills the quantitative literacy requirement of the core curriculum for Human Services.

HS101 - Human Services: Systems & Skills

This course encourages an examination of one’s own value system, motivations and interests in relation to the wish to pursue a career working with people. Students are introduced to the history and development of the field: the concept of the social welfare system; resources and services offered by a range of community agencies; a model to understand social and psychological problems; and interventions to address social needs interventions range from individual case management and counseling to community organizing and planning. The course highlights a social justice basis for human service work. A service learning requirement enables students to examine their interests and apply the concepts learned in class.

HS103 - Navigating Human Service Systems

This course explores the many systems and agencies involved in providing social services. The course brings in guest speakers from several agencies, the Court Clinic, and includes field trips to a Court House, Hospital, and other settings. 1 credit. Pre-requisite: PSYC101, SOC101 or CJ101

HS202X - Talking to Teens

In this Special Topics in Counseling & Case Management Skills course, students will develop interviewing, counseling and case management skills that can be effective with adolescents. Students will be exposed to the unique challenges in assessing and supporting teens and young adults ages 14-25. We will explore some issues of professional ethics and values unique to this age group. Students will further examine cultural contexts as they impact the teen, the counselor/staff person, and the teen-counselor/staff relationship. Some issues may include race, class, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and immigration status. This course relies heavily on in-class exercises. It is strongly recommended but not required that students have taken HS210 (Case Management & Counseling) and PSYC223 (Adolescent Psychology). Pre-req: Psych 101 and HS101 or permission by department chair

HS203X - Trauma and Recovery

Trauma is one of the most powerful categories that we use to understand suffering. This one category encompasses responses to widely diverse experiences, from war and terrorism, to natural disasters, to physical and sexual abuse. Trauma and recovery help us make sense of experiences that may seem unbearable. The shared suffering that sometimes arises from trauma can be a powerful basis for identity and/or a source of marginalized and erased histories. In this way, way trauma helps us frame how we understand our own experiences, and how we recognize the pain of others. This class will examine the following: • The genealogy of psychological trauma as a medical and lay category • The relationship between biological and behavioral responses and social and medical framings • The links between embodied, psychic, emotional, and cultural dimensions of trauma • Trauma diagnosis in war, humanitarian and cross-cultural settings • Collective trauma, memory and memorialization • Alternative ways of talking about feeling, suffering, and memor • Trauma therapies and interviewing Prerequisites: PSYC101 or SOC101

HS210 - Case Management & Counseling

This course introduces students to interviewing skills used by counselors and case managers and to the types of counselor responses that can be effective in human services work. Students learn to assess clients and interventions at the micro, meso and macro levels and explore issues of professional ethics and values. Students also examine cultural contexts as they impact the client, counselor, and client-counselor relationship. Some of the contexts may include race, class, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and immigration status. The course relies heavily on in-class exercises. Prerequisites: PSYC 101, HS 101 with a C or better.

HS215 - Foundation Internship

This internship provides human service students the opportunity to experience field work. Training in the skills by which students can offer direct and indirect assistance to the client population is provided. Prerequisites: HS 210 with a grade of C or better; and permission of Internship Coordinator. Corequisite: HS 217.

HS217 - Foundations of Ethical Fieldwork

This seminar is taken concurrently with the Foundation Internship (HS 215). The seminar provides a forum for discussing common human service experiences, including pathways to professional careers and practice related issues, and includes an introduction to ethical issues such as confidentiality and privacy in the context of an examination of ethical dilemmas. It also gives students an opportunity to build skills necessary to offer direct and indirect assistance to clients at internship sites. Students review professional and research literatures in relation to a topic connected to the internship experience. This is a writing intensive course. Prerequisite: HS 210 with a grade of C or better; and permission of the Internship Coordinator required. Co-requisite: HS 215.

HS415 - Advanced Internship I

Seniors who have met program requirements spend 125 hours in an approved supervised internship. Prerequisites: HS 215, HS 217, with a grade of C or better; and permission of the Internship Coordinator; Co-requisite: HS 417.

HS417 - Field Intervention Strategies

This seminar is taken concurrently with Advanced Internship I (HS 415). Students integrate theory learned throughout their college career with their fieldwork experience. The seminar further develops professional behaviors such as record keeping, creating and maintaining supervisory relationships, conflict resolution, and job effectiveness. Students are also offered an opportunity to analyze cases and tasks assigned to them in their field placements, providing a theoretical framework for understanding them. There is an intensive examination of the ethical considerations involved in working with clients. Students identify and develop a research topic and conduct an extensive review of current literature on a topic related to their internship. This is a writing intensive course. Prerequisites: HS 215, HS 217 with a grade of C or better, and permission of the Internship Coordinator; Co-requisite: HS 415.

HS425 - Advanced Internship II

This seminar is a continuation of HS 415. Students spend 125 hours working in an approved supervised field site. Prerequisite: HS 415 with a grade of C or better; Co-requisite: HS 427.

HS427 - Systems & Organizational Change

This capstone seminar is a continuation of Field Intervention Strategies (HS417) and is taken concurrently with Advanced Internship II (HS425). Building on knowledge and skills gained throughout the Social Sciences program, students continue to integrate theory with practice through seminar discussion and internship-related experiences. There is an increased focus on the delivery of services, examination of ethical dilemmas, and analysis of the broader systems in which services are delivered and policies are formulated. Students also have an opportunity to explore career development issues through examination of the graduate school and employment processes. This course has been designated as a writing intensive course and also has a strong public speaking component. Prerequisites: HS 415, HS 417 with a grade of C or better; and either PSYC 331 or SOC 331. Corequisite: HS 425.

HS101 - Human Services: Systems & Skills

This course encourages an examination of one’s own value system, motivations and interests in relation to the wish to pursue a career working with people. Students are introduced to the history and development of the field: the concept of the social welfare system; resources and services offered by a range of community agencies; a model to understand social and psychological problems; and interventions to address social needs interventions range from individual case management and counseling to community organizing and planning. The course highlights a social justice basis for human service work. A service learning requirement enables students to examine their interests and apply the concepts learned in class.

HS210 - Case Management & Counseling

This course introduces students to interviewing skills used by counselors and case managers and to the types of counselor responses that can be effective in human services work. Students learn to assess clients and interventions at the micro, meso and macro levels and explore issues of professional ethics and values. Students also examine cultural contexts as they impact the client, counselor, and client-counselor relationship. Some of the contexts may include race, class, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and immigration status. The course relies heavily on in-class exercises. Prerequisites: PSYC 101, HS 101 with a C or better.

HS215 - Foundation Internship

This internship provides human service students the opportunity to experience field work. Training in the skills by which students can offer direct and indirect assistance to the client population is provided. Prerequisites: HS 210 with a grade of C or better; and permission of Internship Coordinator. Corequisite: HS 217.

HS217 - Foundations of Ethical Fieldwork

This seminar is taken concurrently with the Foundation Internship (HS 215). The seminar provides a forum for discussing common human service experiences, including pathways to professional careers and practice related issues, and includes an introduction to ethical issues such as confidentiality and privacy in the context of an examination of ethical dilemmas. It also gives students an opportunity to build skills necessary to offer direct and indirect assistance to clients at internship sites. Students review professional and research literatures in relation to a topic connected to the internship experience. This is a writing intensive course. Prerequisite: HS 210 with a grade of C or better; and permission of the Internship Coordinator required. Co-requisite: HS 215.

HS415 - Advanced Internship I

Seniors who have met program requirements spend 125 hours in an approved supervised internship. Prerequisites: HS 215, HS 217, with a grade of C or better; and permission of the Internship Coordinator; Co-requisite: HS 417.

HS417 - Field Intervention Strategies

This seminar is taken concurrently with Advanced Internship I (HS 415). Students integrate theory learned throughout their college career with their fieldwork experience. The seminar further develops professional behaviors such as record keeping, creating and maintaining supervisory relationships, conflict resolution, and job effectiveness. Students are also offered an opportunity to analyze cases and tasks assigned to them in their field placements, providing a theoretical framework for understanding them. There is an intensive examination of the ethical considerations involved in working with clients. Students identify and develop a research topic and conduct an extensive review of current literature on a topic related to their internship. This is a writing intensive course. Prerequisites: HS 215, HS 217 with a grade of C or better, and permission of the Internship Coordinator; Co-requisite: HS 415.

HS425 - Advanced Internship II

This seminar is a continuation of HS 415. Students spend 125 hours working in an approved supervised field site. Prerequisite: HS 415 with a grade of C or better; Co-requisite: HS 427.

HS427 - Systems & Organizational Change

This capstone seminar is a continuation of Field Intervention Strategies (HS417) and is taken concurrently with Advanced Internship II (HS425). Building on knowledge and skills gained throughout the Social Sciences program, students continue to integrate theory with practice through seminar discussion and internship-related experiences. There is an increased focus on the delivery of services, examination of ethical dilemmas, and analysis of the broader systems in which services are delivered and policies are formulated. Students also have an opportunity to explore career development issues through examination of the graduate school and employment processes. This course has been designated as a writing intensive course and also has a strong public speaking component. Prerequisites: HS 415, HS 417 with a grade of C or better; and either PSYC 331 or SOC 331. Corequisite: HS 425.

MATH208 - Statistics

This is an introductory course in descriptive and inferential statistics with an emphasis on applications in business and the social and biological sciences. Topics include: data analysis, and graphical methods of describing data, measures of central tendency and variability, probability, the normal distribution, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression analysis. Prerequisites: MATH 106 with a grade of C or better or demonstrated competency through placement testing and ENG 102.

PSYC101 - Psychological Perspectives

In this course, students learn to think like psychologists as they study classic and contemporary topics in human behavior, feeling, and thought. Students learn to apply psychological perspectives of thought, including biological, cognitive, sociocultural, humanistic, psychodynamic, and behaviorist, to better understand the human experience. Students will learn to use these perspectives to explore how individual behavior is influenced by and influences one’s biology, family, community and society. Topics may include human development, personality, psychopathology, human relationships, language, memory, perceptual processes, and intelligence, among others.

PSYC218 - Dynamics of Small Groups

This class examines the basic theory and application necessary to understand and facilitate small groups. Topics may include group types, formation, roles and stages; group process; cultural awareness; group interventions and ethics within the field of psychology and human service; therapeutic value of groups; and the family, classroom, and peers as small groups. Prerequisite: PSYC 101 or SOC 101.

PSYC318 - Abnormal Psychology

This course examines the wide range of personality and behavioral disorders. Both traditional and contemporary theories of psychopathology are reviewed. Emphasis is also placed on the tools, techniques, and process of both the diagnosis and the treatment of various disorders. Prerequisite: PSYC 202 or PSYC 220.

SOC101 - Sociological Imagination

This course is designed to help students develop their ability to think critically about the world around them using the framework of sociology. Students explore the relationship between individual and society – how personal experience is shaped by social forces, but also how society is created and changed through individual interaction. The focus is on the interrelationships of groups, social organization, and social institutions such as education, religion, family, and the economic and political order.

SOC214 - Family Diversity

This course explores the meaning of "family" in a historical and cross-cultural context - it looks at the way families and households are constructed, and at how these institutions are impacted by social forces including demographic, ideological, and economic changes in societies. Family diversity is discussed in the context of social constructions such as race, class, and gender. Current themes in family sociology that are covered include, amongst others, sexuality, marriage, parenting, violence, divorce and remarriage, and family policy. Prerequisite: SOC 101.

SOC221 - Contemporary Social Problems

This course examines conditions and issues that result in tension and disorder. Examples drawn primarily from American society include: labeling and social control of deviants, oppression of minorities, poverty, violence, ageism, and ecological concerns. Prerequisite: SOC 101.

ECON101 - Principles of Econ-Micro

This course is an introduction to the principles of the economic behavior of individuals, firms, and industries in the mixed economic system. Topics include consumer demand; elasticity; supply and costs of production; the allocation of economic resources; international trade; and the role of government in promoting economic welfare.

ECON103 - Economics of Social Issues

This course examines a broad range of social issues from an economics perspective. Designed for non-business majors, the course provides an introduction to economic reasoning and to some basic economic concepts which are then used to analyze a variety of social problems. Possible topics include poverty, unemployment, agriculture, discrimination, crime, pollution, education, health care, social security, and third world development. .

PSYC331 - Experimental Design in Psychology

This laboratory course covers concepts of the scientific method in psychology including the logic of experimental and correlational designs, issues of control, sampling, measurement of variables, ethical issues in research, use of online professional search procedures, and writing in APA style. As part of the lab, students carry out an experiment and learn to use SPSS to create a database and perform statistical analyses. Prerequisites: MATH 208 and either PSYC 101 or SOC 101 or permission of the instructor. Co-requisite: PSYC 331L

SOC331 - Research Methods in the Social Sciences

This laboratory course introduces students to the basic methods used in sociological research. Topics include scientific method, measurement, sampling, experiments, survey research, and qualitative approaches such as content analysis and field studies, and ethical issues in conducting research. As part of the lab, students learn to use SPSS to perform statistical analysis and to access and draw upon large data sets. Students learn to use professional online search procedures and write reports in accepted professional formats. Prerequisites: MATH 208 and either PSYC 101 or SOC 101 or permission of the Dept Chair. Co-requisite: SOC 331L

POLS320 - Policy Making & the Political Process

This course examines the dynamics of public policy-making in the United States at the national, state, and local levels. The course explores the factors influencing policy formation in a variety of areas: health, education, welfare, and urban planning. An analysis of how policy outcomes are evaluated is also covered.

SOC335 - Social Policy

This course examines historical and contemporary factors influencing the making of social policy and introduces the student to processes used to identify and solve social problems. Special attention is given to the relationships of values to social policy and the impact of social policy decisions on the provision of social and human services. Approaches to the analysis of social policy are examined. Prerequisite: Any 200 Level Sociology course.

PSYC202 - Psychology of Personality

This course introduces students to a variety of the most important theories of personality: i.e., Freud, Jung, Adler, Rogers, and others. Case studies are examined with the intent of making theories more practical and useful. Prerequisite: Any 200 level psychology course.

PSYC220 - Social Psychology

This is an introduction to the study of social interactions from a psychological perspective. Research reviewed focuses on topics such as: social perception, group interaction, attitude formation, attitudinal change, aggression, conflict, and pro-social behavior. Prerequisite: PSYC 101.

PSYC111 - Generations in America

This course offers a social-developmental, multidisciplinary overview of issues related to the expanding age population in the United States. Students examine aging stereotypes, characteristics of aging populations, and the impact of age-related forces on individuals in American society. The course is geared toward students in a variety of disciplines and provides a knowledge base that can be applied to other areas of study.

PSYC221 - Child Development

This course examines the physical, cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional development of the child from birth to adolescence. The contributions of social and cultural experiences as well as the role of biological factors in development are examined as are major theories of development. Students are introduced to the research approaches used to study human development and may be required to carry out observations in various settings. Prerequisite: PSYC 101.

PSYC223 - Adolescent Psychology

This course provides a survey of contemporary knowledge of the human brain, examining normal developmental brain processes and common brain functions. The course also covers common disorders and emphasizes understanding the impact of atypical brain development and the consequences of brain trauma. Intervention strategies and treatment are included. Prerequisite: PSYC101

CJ323 - Justice, Class, Race & Gender

This course explores issues unique to individuals of different classes, gender, and/or races or ethnic groups. The course focuses on these issues specifically in the context of the American criminal justice and legal systems. Issues of diversity relevant to all aspects of the criminal justice system are examined. Prerequisites: CJ 101, LS 101, PSYC 101 or SOC 101, Sophomore standing.

PSYC316 - Psychology of Diversity

This course explores diversity and its relation to identity, relationship, and power. Areas of diversity that may be a focus of the course include race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, disabilities, aging and/or health status. Students study diversity on micro, meso and macro levels including perspectives on individual and group identity, prejudice and discrimination, and psychological well-being. Students are challenged to explore their own identities and the assumptions they make about various forms of diversity. Prerequisites: Any 200 level Social Science course.

POLS320 - Policy Making & the Political Process

This course examines the dynamics of public policy-making in the United States at the national, state, and local levels. The course explores the factors influencing policy formation in a variety of areas: health, education, welfare, and urban planning. An analysis of how policy outcomes are evaluated is also covered.

SOC335 - Social Policy

This course examines historical and contemporary factors influencing the making of social policy and introduces the student to processes used to identify and solve social problems. Special attention is given to the relationships of values to social policy and the impact of social policy decisions on the provision of social and human services. Approaches to the analysis of social policy are examined. Prerequisite: Any 200 Level Sociology course.