Best Online Associate in Human Services

Badge for BEST ONLINE ASSOCIATE'S IN HUMAN SERVICES

Published: Jul 2, 2021
Updated: Nov 22, 2023

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

Thomas Edison State University
Union University
Central Maine Community College
Purdue University Global
Community College of Baltimore County
Columbia College
Trevecca Nazarene University
Shorter University
Sheridan College
Niagara County Community College

New England College
Purdue University Global
Southwestern Assemblies of God University
Union University
Empire State University
Trevecca Nazarene University
Thomas Edison State University
University of the Cumberlands
Cornerstone University
Columbia College

New England College 100%
Shorter University 97%
Southwestern Assemblies of God University 86%
University of the Cumberlands 83%
Cornerstone University 82%
Trevecca Nazarene University 71%
Union University 53%
Brescia University 50%

Coastline Community College 30 to 1
Purdue University Global 26 to 1
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College 23 to 1
Trevecca Nazarene University 22 to 1
Columbia College 20 to 1
Bluegrass Community and Technical College 18 to 1
Wake Technical Community College 18 to 1
Central Maine Community College 18 to 1
University of the Cumberlands 18 to 1
Sheridan College 17 to 1

New England College $41,518
Union University $36,880
Trevecca Nazarene University $28,200
Brescia University $27,950
Cornerstone University $27,880
Columbia College $24,326
Shorter University $22,810
Southwestern Assemblies of God University $17,782
Purdue University Global $10,080
University of the Cumberlands $9,875

Shorter University $16,800
Brescia University $15,500
Cornerstone University $14,160
New England College $13,678
Union University $12,360
Thomas Edison State University $12,150
Trevecca Nazarene University $11,424
Empire State University $11,310
Purdue University Global $9,472
Columbia College $8,826

Hagerstown Community College
Brescia University
New England College
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Cornerstone University
Herkimer County Community College
University of the Cumberlands
Baltimore City Community College
Wake Technical Community College
Empire State University

Sheridan College
Madisonville Community College
Central Maine Community College
Hagerstown Community College
Niagara County Community College
Herkimer County Community College
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Wake Technical Community College
Community College of Baltimore County

Brescia University 50%
Union University 53%
Trevecca Nazarene University 71%
Cornerstone University 82%
University of the Cumberlands 83%
Southwestern Assemblies of God University 86%
Shorter University 97%
New England College 100%

New England College 7 to 1
Union University 8 to 1
Brescia University 9 to 1
Baltimore City Community College 12 to 1
Community College of Baltimore County 14 to 1
Niagara County Community College 15 to 1
Shorter University 15 to 1
Thomas Edison State University 15 to 1
Cornerstone University 15 to 1
Hagerstown Community College 16 to 1

Coastline Community College $1,104
Wake Technical Community College $2,432
Baltimore City Community College $2,640
Central Maine Community College $2,880
Sheridan College $3,150
Bluegrass Community and Technical College $4,368
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College $4,368
Madisonville Community College $4,368
Niagara County Community College $5,040
Onondaga Community College $5,190

University of the Cumberlands $4,282
Southwestern Assemblies of God University $8,280
Columbia College $8,826
Purdue University Global $9,472
Empire State University $11,310
Trevecca Nazarene University $11,424
Thomas Edison State University $12,150
Union University $12,360
New England College $13,678
Cornerstone University $14,160

Table of Contents

Featured Programs

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.

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

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.

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:

A step-by-step guide to applying for financial aid
A guide to applying for federal grants, which offer the highest level of financial aid to students with the biggest need
A look at work study programs, which serve as a supplement to federal financial aid.

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.

Learn more about how to major in social work.

How do we determine the best online human services associate degree programs?

Methodology

Pursuing your degree online doesn’t mean you need to settle for an inferior school. Today, most universities and colleges offer online degrees, and many respected schools are seeing significant growth in their numbers of online students.

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why influence — i.e., the academic impact of faculty and alumni associated with a school — gets at the heart of what is truly best in education. The combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers is the best indicator of academic excellence. For our online degree rankings, we focus on the academic influence of faculty and alumni in the specific disciplines we’re ranking.

If you are serious about finding the best online colleges, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching, and whether their graduates themselves are advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence. Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Influence, as measured by our InfluenceRanking engine, provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

Best Online Associate Degrees in Human Services

Career Outlook for Students with Human Services Degree

Go to Degree Finder tool

Human Services

Degree Level: Associate's

Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
Avg. Starting Salary*: $30,875
Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $34,005
* denotes ‘annually’

Career Salaries

Career	Job Growth	Avg. Salary
Social and Community Service Managers	8.22%	$77,030
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other	5.98%	$49,690
Social and Human Service Assistants	7.94%	$41,410

Top Industries

Industry	Avg. Salary
Social and Community Service Managers	$77,030
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other	$49,690
Social and Human Service Assistants	$41,410

Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Department of Education College Scorecard, The Department of Education NCES, and The Council for Community and Economic Research.

Online Human Services Programs Looking for You

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.

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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Best Online Associate in Human Services

Top 10 Online Human Services Associate Degrees

Featured Programs

Frequently Asked Questions About Human Services Degrees

Why should you consider an online degree program?

Why get an online associate’s degree in human services?

What classes are required while getting an online associate’s degree in human services?

How many credits are needed to get an online associate’s degree in human services?

What can you do with an associate in human services?

Best Online Associate Degrees in Human Services

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Thomas Edison State University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Union University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Central Maine Community College

Online Degrees

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Community College of Baltimore County

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Columbia College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Trevecca Nazarene University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Shorter University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Sheridan College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Niagara County Community College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Bluegrass Community and Technical College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Coastline Community College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Madisonville Community College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Onondaga Community College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Southwestern Assemblies of God University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Empire State University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Wake Technical Community College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Baltimore City Community College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at University of the Cumberlands

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Herkimer County Community College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Cornerstone University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at New England College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Brescia University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Services degree at Hagerstown Community College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Students with Human Services Degree

Human Services

Degree Level: Associate's

Career Salaries

Top Industries

Online Human Services Programs Looking for You

Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

What can I expect from an online college course?+

Is online college easier than campus-based college?+

Why does accreditation matter in online college?+

Will I be able to transfer my online college degree?+

Will employers respect my online degree?+

What are the disadvantages of online classes?+

What are the advantages of online classes?+

Resources for Online College-Bound Students