Health and Human Services
The new Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Human Services (HHS) was designed with professional preparation and graduate school success in mind.
Our students are interested in meaningful careers right out of college and many go on to pursue additional graduate training. Students enrolled in this program are interested in public health, social work, child life, health policy and administration, child and family services, addiction and recovery services as well as specialized health care professions including medicine, physician assistant studies, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dentistry, optometry, and second-degree nursing.
Using evidence-based best practices, our graduates can develop, implement, and evaluate programs to help people and groups function more effectively and overcome individual and social challenges. Students are free to choose between 3 specialized concentrations that best aligns with their personal and professional goals.
What will I Learn?
The overall goals of the Health and Human Services program are to prepare students to:
- Promote health, wellness, and effective functioning in individual, family, group, community, and organizational settings;
- Demonstrate knowledge of the many determinants of individual and population health including specific risk factors for physical and mental illness, substance use and addiction, poverty and income inequality, attitudes and behaviors, and their impacts on the health and human services delivery system; and
- Employ appropriate research methods, data analytic techniques, and human subjects protections to enhance our understanding and delivery of effective public health programs and human services.
Visit the University Catalog to learn more about required coursework for the Health and Human Services major. If you are a transfer student, learn more about how your AAS degree can be applied to one of our HHS undergraduate degrees.
General Program Information
- Bachelor of Science - Major
- Course Requirements
- Scholarships Available
Concentration Areas
Students in all 3 concentrations will be grounded in multidisciplinary, ethnical, and state-of-the-art approaches to the delivery of public health intervention, human services, and medical care. The HHS degree program is rooted in strong academics, innovative research, and active learning through community engagement.
Students in the Public Health concentration are interested in helping individuals and communities achieve optimal health. Public health professionals do this by promoting healthy lifestyles, helping change risky behaviors, improving social conditions, extending health care access and services, and reducing health disparities and inequalities. Students interested in this concentration may go on to positions in government agencies, hospitals and health care institutions, community organizations and non-profit agencies, foundations and philanthropies, among many others.
The required courses in the major were carefully chosen to help Public Health students develop highly desired skills necessary for working successfully in the field, including Health Communication, Principles of Epidemiology, Program Planning and Implementation, Program Evaluation, Fundraising and Grant Writing, and Community Organizing for Health.
Students selecting the Human Services concentration are interested in helping individuals, families, and communities function effectively and overcome considerable obstacles and challenges. Human services professionals work for social justice, community engagement, improved conditions, better infrastructure and support services. Our graduates go on to jobs that help reduce the obstacles and impediments that keep individuals and groups from thriving in our society. Our students find work or pursue graduate training in child life organizations and hospitals; social work, community and social service organizations; government agencies; addiction, recovery, and counseling centers; youth, family, and senior centers; community organizations and non-profit agencies, among many others.
The required courses in this concentration were carefully chosen to help Human Services students develop highly desired skills necessary for working successfully in the field, including Introduction to Social Work, System of Care, Introduction to Therapeutic Play, Working with Vulnerable Populations, Family Preservation and Recovery, and Fundraising and Grant Writing.
Students interested in working as Child Life Professionals are able to complete all ten (10) of the courses required by the Association of Child Life Professionals as part of their Human Services concentration. The plan of study clearly indicates the necessary coursework including, but not limited to, Working with Children in Healthcare Settings, Introduction to Therapeutic Play, and Death, Dying, and Bereavement.
Students are also able to pursue credentialing in Applied Behavior Analysis. These professionals work with children and adults having a variety of social, behavioral, academic, and adaptive behavior needs. Certification as a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, completion of an 8-course Verified Course Sequence, supervised practical experience, and passing the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s BCaBA examination. The required Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) training course allows students to earn certification as an RBT. The employment opportunities available to an RBT allow students to accrue hours toward the required BCaBA supervised experience while completing the remaining BCaBA and HHS coursework.
Students in the Pre-Health Professions concentration are interested in helping individuals, families, and communities by improving access to and the delivery of specialized health and medical care services. Pre-Health Professions students are most often interested in completing all of the prerequisite courses needed to apply for further graduate training in medicine, physician assistant studies, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dentistry, optometry, and second-degree nursing.
The required courses in the major were carefully chosen to help Pre-Health Professions students develop highly desired skills necessary for working successfully in medicine with a broad range of patients, including Medical Terminology, Medical Ethics, Health Communication, Working with Vulnerable Populations, Principles of Epidemiology, and Health Care and the Law.
Course requirements for Pre-Health Professions concentration.
Did you know the UM-Dearborn Health and Human Services department has a partnership with the UM-Ann Arbor School of Social Work?
UM-Dearborn students in the Health and Human Services major with a concentration in Human Services can apply for admission to U-M’s MSW program in their junior year and begin taking courses that double count as undergraduate college-wide elective credits and MSW requirements in their senior year, saving time and money! Learn more about HHS at UM-Dearborn and MSW at UM-Ann Arbor.
Contact Information
CEHHS Office for Student Success
262 (2nd Floor) Fairlane Center South (FCS)
19000 Hubbard Drive Dearborn, MI 48126
[email protected]
313-593-5090