Best Online Master’s in Human Services

Best Online Master’s in Human Services

By James Barham

Published: Jul 2, 2021
Updated: Mar 13, 2023

Find top-ranked online master’s in human services degree programs for students wanting to go into fields like long-term care, government, grant writing, and child welfare. Students will also qualify to work in clinical settings and serve as executive directors, grants management specialists, advocacy directors, teen center directors, and human services business analysts.

Top 10 Online Master's in Human Services Degrees

California State University, Northridge

44%

Nova Southeastern University

37%

Youngstown State University

36%

East Tennessee State University

33%

Regent University

32%

Eastern Illinois University

31%

Stephen F. Austin State University

30%

Saint Leo University

29%

Prescott College

29%

Purdue University Global

28%

Prescott College

99%

Nova Southeastern University

93%

Plymouth State University

92%

Mount Aloysius College

92%

California State University, Northridge

88%

Concordia University Chicago

88%

East Tennessee State University

87%

Lenoir–Rhyne University

86%

Houston Christian University

85%

Southwestern Assemblies of God University

85%

Southeastern University

28 to 1

California State University, Northridge

28 to 1

Purdue University Global

28 to 1

Regent University

19 to 1

Youngstown State University

18 to 1

Southwestern Assemblies of God University

18 to 1

Nova Southeastern University

17 to 1

Plymouth State University

17 to 1

Saint Leo University

17 to 1

East Tennessee State University

16 to 1

Lenoir–Rhyne University

$41,500

Saint Joseph's College of Maine

$39,986

Albertus Magnus College

$36,442

Houston Christian University

$35,500

Prescott College

$34,701

Nova Southeastern University

$34,570

Concordia University Chicago

$34,310

St. Joseph's University

$30,576

Southeastern University

$28,320

Saint Leo University

$26,050

Albertus Magnus College

$21,744

Nova Southeastern University

$21,153

St. Joseph's University

$20,250

Mount Aloysius College

$15,660

Regent University

$15,590

Saint Leo University

$15,218

Prescott College

$14,880

Shorter University

$12,600

Lenoir–Rhyne University

$12,060

Southeastern University

$12,000

St. Joseph's University

11%

Touro University Worldwide

14%

Lenoir–Rhyne University

15%

Saint Joseph's College of Maine

18%

Southeastern University

18%

Mount Aloysius College

18%

Shorter University

18%

Concordia University Chicago

20%

20%

Southwestern Assemblies of God University

22%

Regent University

41%

Southeastern University

45%

Saint Leo University

71%

Eastern Illinois University

72%

Youngstown State University

78%

St. Joseph's University

80%

Shorter University

81%

Saint Joseph's College of Maine

81%

Albertus Magnus College

82%

Stephen F. Austin State University

83%

Prescott College

9 to 1

Touro University Worldwide

10 to 1

Mount Aloysius College

11 to 1

Concordia University Chicago

12 to 1

Wilmington University

12 to 1

12 to 1

Saint Joseph's College of Maine

12 to 1

St. Joseph's University

12 to 1

Lenoir–Rhyne University

13 to 1

Eastern Illinois University

14 to 1

California State University, Northridge

$5,742

East Tennessee State University

$7,486

Stephen F. Austin State University

$7,842

Bellevue University

$8,310

Youngstown State University

$9,196

Eastern Illinois University

$9,207

Purdue University Global

$10,080

Wilmington University

$11,760

Plymouth State University

$11,870

Touro University Worldwide

$14,600

Stephen F. Austin State University

$5,262

Youngstown State University

$6,453

California State University, Northridge

$7,176

Southwestern Assemblies of God University

$7,650

Eastern Illinois University

$7,691

Purdue University Global

$8,730

East Tennessee State University

$8,784

Wilmington University

$9,000

Touro University Worldwide

$9,000

Concordia University Chicago

$9,090

Featured Programs

Frequently Asked Questions About Human Services Degrees

Professionals looking to acquire advanced skills and expand career opportunities can earn a master’s in human services either online or on campus. With the ultimate goal of making a positive difference for people, graduate students will focus their learning in specializations like community and social services, gerontology, human services nonprofit administration, and family studies and interventions.

Programs range from 30 to 45 credits and typically take students two to three years to complete.

Depending on their concentration, graduates can work in a variety of fields, including long-term care, government, grant writing, and child welfare. Upon graduation, students will qualify to work in clinical settings and serve as executive directors, grants management specialists, advocacy directors, teen center directors, and human services business analysts.

Learn more about what you can do with a master’s degree in social work.

Best Online Master's in Human Services Degree Programs

How do we determine the best online human services master's degree programs?

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 Master’s in Human Services Degree Programs

Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require some adjustment. While you’ll generally learn the same content and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, the medium will likely require you to manage much of this experience independently. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, your ability to harness the technology at your fingertips, and your ability to focus on the lectures, lessons, and assignments at hand. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take it upon yourself to build 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 is actually getting there. Taking the commute out of the equation means getting to class should be a lot more manageable. But that’s where it ends. In general, your online courses will incorporate the very same materials, concepts, and testing methods as would a traditional classroom.

And 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 or working with remote learning technology for the first time, online college may even be a little more challenging for you. For a few insights on how to manage this new 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 institutions and less-than-reputable for-profit schools. Accreditation gives you the power to differentiate between the two. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency which indicates that a college or university is meeting standards of quality, credibility, and currency. 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 which is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. When seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that students 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.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited, 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. In many cases, you will be required to navigate a bureaucracy in which some of your credits will be transferred and others will be jettisoned. However, provided that you have attended an online school with the proper regional accreditation, you should have plenty of options for transfer.

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 resume 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.

While some employers may express concern about making the adjustment from online education to in-person workplace collaboration, many other employers will 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 require some adjustment.

While there is much that can be supplanted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing which can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual classroom setting. As you make the adjustment to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face is overcoming this difference in order to the get the most out of your classes. Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. First and foremost, 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 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.

Image Attributions

Image Source for Purdue University Global