Human Services

Types of Degrees Human Services Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many human services graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,153
Doctor’s Degree	82
Graduate Certificate	42

What Human Services Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to human services and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Human Services Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in human services should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for Human Services Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to human services:

• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Human Services Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a human services student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Human Services Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with human services:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Community and Social Service Specialists	13.2%	$42,620
Social and Community Service Managers	18.0%	$65,320
Social and Human Service Assistants	16.4%	$33,750

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Human Services?

This major is dominated by women with about 88% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of human services majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	12
Black or African American	532
Hispanic or Latino	112
White	380
International Students	10
Other Races/Ethnicities	107

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Human Services, too. About 0.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Nigeria
• China
• South Korea
• Saudi Arabia
• Canada

How Much Do Human Services Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in human services made a median starting salary of $37,890 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $36,924 (25th percentile) and $41,064 (75th percentile).

Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a human services degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Human Services majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $35,830 to $71,670 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Human Services

Some careers associated with human services require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for human services careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	15.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.8%
Some College Courses	4.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	10.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	36.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.5%
Master’s Degree	20.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	10.5%

Online Human Services Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 476 schools offered some type of human services program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	70	15
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	264	35
Bachelor’s Degree	13	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	54	23
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	4	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Human Services Worth It?

The median salary for a human services grad is $46,050 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 15% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $123,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Human Services

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to human services.

Major	Number of Grads
Social Work	33,631
Public Administration	13,571
Public Policy	3,737
Community Organization & Advocacy	741
Other Public Administration	295

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By University of the Fraser Valley under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.