Best Online Associate in Human Services

Best Online Associate in Human Services

Find top-ranked online associate in human services degree programs for students wanting to pursue entry-level positions, including jobs as casework aides, family service assistants, addiction counselor assistants, and clinical social work aides.

Top 10 Online Human Services Associate Degrees

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Frequently Asked Questions About Human Services Degrees

Online degree programs can be a more flexible and convenient way to get a degree. Many online degree programs allow you to start the program anytime and complete your studies at your own pace.

Community colleges can also be cheaper than attending college at a traditional four-year school because you avoid on-campus housing fees and commuting costs.

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Earning an online associates degree in human services is the first step toward a gratifying career spent helping others.

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Students in an online associate’s degree in human services program will take introductory classes in sociology and psychology as well as more focused courses like Understanding Addiction, Methods of Social Casework, Issues in Child Maltreatment, and Human Sexuality.

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Most online associate’s degree in human services programs require 60 to 64 credits and can be completed on campus or online.

If you have your high school diploma and need help paying for college, check out our handy Guide to Financial Aid in Higher Education.

In fact, we have a number of financial aid resources available for you:

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Though further education can help secure upper-level positions in the field, graduates can secure entry level positions in human services jobs, such as casework aides, family service assistants, addiction counselor assistants, and clinical social work aides.

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Learn more about how to major in social work.

Best Online Associate in Human Services Degree Programs

Median Salaries of Similar Careers in the U.S.

The following graph depicts the average salaries of similar occupations to Social and Human Service Assistants in the U.S.

Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Annual Salary
40460Social and Human Service Assistants
47780Community Health Workers
50510Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other
63290Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
64930Health Education Specialists

Best Online Associate Degrees in Human Services

  1. Tuition + fees

    $7K

    Student body

    4K

    Online Degrees

    AA in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  2. #2

    Union University

    Jackson , TN

    Tuition + fees

    $36K

    Acceptance

    53%

    Graduation

    68%

    Student body

    3K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1200/26

    Online Degrees

    AS in Professional Studies

    Concentrations

    • Christian Leadership
    • Organizational Leadership
    • Human Services: Accelerated BSN
    • Human Services- Social Work
    • Required Credits: 28-32
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  3. Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    27%

    Student body

    2K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Service
    • Required Credits: 63-64
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  4. #4

    Purdue University Global

    West Lafayette , IN

    Tuition + fees

    $10K

    Graduation

    29%

    Student body

    49K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 90
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
    AAS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 90
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  5. Tuition + fees

    $7K

    Graduation

    16%

    Student body

    10K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Services Counseling
    • Required Credits: None Reported
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  6. #6

    Columbia College

    Columbia , MO

    Tuition + fees

    $24K

    Graduation

    33%

    Student body

    6K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  7. Tuition + fees

    $27K

    Acceptance

    78%

    Graduation

    49%

    Student body

    3K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1146/22

    Online Degrees

    AA in Community and Human Services
    • Required Credits: None Reported
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  8. Tuition + fees

    $23K

    Acceptance

    81%

    Graduation

    37%

    Student body

    1K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1055/21

    Online Degrees

    AS in Social Science

    Concentrations

    • Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 24 months
    • Format: Online
  9. #9

    Sheridan College

    Sheridan , WY

    Tuition + fees

    $5K

    Graduation

    40%

    Student body

    2K

    Online Degrees

    AA in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  10. Tuition + fees

    $6K

    Graduation

    33%

    Student body

    3K

    Online Degrees

    AA in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  11. Tuition + fees

    $5K

    Graduation

    35%

    Student body

    6K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  12. #12

    Coastline Community College

    Fountain Valley , CA

    Tuition + fees

    $1K

    Graduation

    25%

    Student body

    4K

    Online Degrees

    AA in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  13. #13

    Madisonville Community College

    Madisonville , KY

    Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    52%

    Student body

    2K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  14. Tuition + fees

    $6K

    Graduation

    23%

    Student body

    5K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60-62
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  15. Tuition + fees

    $17K

    Acceptance

    85%

    Graduation

    43%

    Student body

    2K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1010/19

    Online Degrees

    AS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 61
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  16. #16

    Empire State College

    Saratoga Springs , NY

    Tuition + fees

    $8K

    Graduation

    24%

    Student body

    7K

    Online Degrees

    AA in Community and Human Services
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
    AS in Community and Human Services
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  17. Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    28%

    Student body

    15K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Services Technology

    Concentrations

    • Substance Abuse
    • Required Credits: 69
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  18. Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    11%

    Student body

    3K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Allied Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  19. #19

    University of the Cumberlands

    Williamsburg , KY
    Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $10K

    Acceptance

    85%

    Graduation

    48%

    Student body

    16K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1035/21

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 61
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  20. Tuition + fees

    $6K

    Graduation

    39%

    Student body

    2K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  21. #21

    Cornerstone University

    Grand Rapids , MI

    Tuition + fees

    $27K

    Acceptance

    91%

    Graduation

    59%

    Student body

    2K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1050/22

    Online Degrees

    AS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 62
    • Completion time: 28 months
    • Format: Online
  22. Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    41%

    Student body

    3K

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  23. #23

    New England College

    Henniker , NH

    Tuition + fees

    $41K

    Acceptance

    100%

    Graduation

    21%

    Student body

    4K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  24. #24

    Brescia University

    Owensboro , KY

    Tuition + fees

    $27K

    Acceptance

    53%

    Graduation

    49%

    Student body

    <1K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1035/22

    Online Degrees

    AA in Human Services
    • Required Credits: 63
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  25. Tuition + fees

    $6K

    Graduation

    33%

    Student body

    2K

    Online Degrees

    AS in Arts And Sciences

    Concentrations

    • Human Services
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
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Online Human Services Programs Looking for You

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Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?

If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.

In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).

While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Resources for Online College-Bound Students

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.

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