You never think twice to lend a hand when you see someone in distress. It’s just in your nature to pay attention to others and treat them with respect. And you’ve always stood up for those who were bullied, marginalized or otherwise mistreated.
So, when it comes to career options, you’re mostly drawn to roles that will let you do exactly that.
Everyone knows psychologists and therapists play a huge role in how we care for our mental health. Whether they’re seeing patients or conducting research, psychologists make major contributions to advancements in mental healthcare—and that’s beneficial for everyone.
At the same time, psychology has a very particular realm of focus.2 As a field, it tends to approach the human brain from a scientific perspective—then uses that perspective to inform counseling techniques and therapies.
But when it comes to mental health or all the human needs that impact mental health, demand seriously surpasses what counseling and psychology provide.
This is where human services come in.1
Human services professionals provide a broad range of resources to their communities. Working in human services could mean spending your days ensuring those in need have access to basic necessities, like food, healthcare and housing.3 Or, you might find yourself working as a client or child advocate.4
In human services, professionals tend to adapt their roles and jobs to communal needs. Maybe in your area, that will include public health education or access to language and literacy resources. Maybe it will involve voting rights, interventions before incarceration or early childcare access. It can look so different from organization to organization—but human services always involves helping people in need.
When you can come home from work every day knowing you’ve made someone else’s life better, then you’ll know you’ve landed your dream job. So, let’s take a look at two different degree options that can help you achieve your career goals!
Human services vs. psychology: the basics
It’s easy to understand why you might be torn between these two disciplines: both psychology and human services majors examine human behavior and the inner workings of the human mind.
Professionals in both fields need to understand how people think and what motivates the decisions people make.
Some of the same professional standards even apply to careers in both fields. For instance, if you work in psychology or human services, you’ll need to create a genuine connection with the people you serve—while, simultaneously, maintaining firm professional boundaries.
Still, despite all the similarities between psychology and human services roles, each respective field of study offers a unique learning experience.
What is human services?
The National Organization for Human Services defines human services as the goal to meet human needs through interdisciplinary understanding and work. This is one of the things that differentiates it most from psychology.
If you study human services, you won’t just look into the human brain—you’ll study how many different factors impact people. Sociology, history, economics, politics, law, healthcare, finances, education…all of these influences have huge impacts on people’s lives. They shape communities and they shape society.
Human services can focus on prevention. It can focus on alleviating or reducing problems. But no matter where and when human services organizations target their efforts, the point is to improve the quality of life for a group of people or an entire community.
Think of human services as the field that encompasses everything dedicated to helping people who don’t have the resources they need. A human services professional may work with individual clients, children and families or spearhead advocacy initiatives for underrepresented groups.
What is psychology?
The American Psychological Association defines “psychology” simply as the study of the mind and behavior.5 While it’s worth noting that many branches of psychology exist within the field (including forensic psychology, clinical psychology and biological psychology), for the purposes of our comparison, we’ll focus on general psychology.
Psychology is often a degree choice for people who want to become mental health professionals or social workers. Many of these roles require a master’s degree, so students might choose psychology for their bachelor’s degree in preparation for more education.
There are many other ways to utilize this degree, but its focus is typically on the individual human mind and how that influences behavior.
Nothing about the brain is simple, and humans are social creatures—so psychology can also involve studying different populations of people, and the influence of societal forces on the individual.
Human services vs. psychology: the career options
Human services professionals may “work under the direction of social workers, psychologists, or other community and social service workers,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Many of them work in non-profit or local organizations dedicated to meeting human needs. The roles can vary substantially.
Some example human services job titles include… case work aide, clinical social work aide, family service assistant, social work assistant, addictions counselor assistant, and human service worker.6
Career options for psychology at the bachelor’s level can go in many different directions also. According to the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2017, about half of psych majors at the bachelor’s degree level went on to graduate school and the other half went into the workforce.7
The reason for this is likely the advanced degrees required for psychologists, therapists and clinical practice. In other words, practicing psychology generally requires first earning a master's degree or even a doctoral degree. And most states require special licensing, as well.8
Roles like “licensed social workers, therapists and counselors require a minimum of a Master’s degree,” says Dr. Rikkisha Gilmore-Byrd, Education and Social Sciences Dean at Rasmussen University.
But Gilmore-Byrd points out that students who plan on getting advanced degrees can also apply to those programs with a major in human services.1 Before enrolling in an undergraduate program, it is important to check the educational requirements of any graduate program you wish to apply to.
If you hope to start working with your bachelor’s degree in psychology, career options are often not strictly about psychology, but will utilize that education towards other disciplines. APA offers a list of many careers people with bachelors degrees in psychology get into.
Human services vs. psychology: the education
You can study human services in an associates or a bachelors program. The main difference between these two options is the length of time they take to complete and the amount of information they can cover.
Human services associate’s degree program
If you pursue a human services associate’s degree, you’ll gain foundational knowledge of human development, human behavior and how to work with various populations as a human services professional. The Associate’s degree in Human Services at Rasmussen University also examines legal and ethical considerations, as well as strategies for crisis intervention.
Basically, you can think of an Associate’s degree program as a great jumping-off point for anyone looking to learn the basics of human services. This degree will prepare you to start work in a non-profit or human services-assisting role.
Human services bachelor’s degree program
On the other hand, a Bachelor’s-level human services program provides a much deeper dive into the discipline. And because this field centers around providing essential services to people from all walks of life, this deeper dive can prove invaluable, in terms of its real-world applications.
For example, when you pursue a Human Services Bachelor’s degree at Rasmussen, you will gain the knowledge necessary for working with children, families, and individuals in all types of circumstances. The Human Services Bachelor’s degree program covers everything from social advocacy to case management and overcoming personal biases.
In a way, you can think of a Human Services Bachelor’s degree program as an all-encompassing bootcamp to prepare you to handle nearly any situation with professionalism, confidence and poise.
Psychology bachelor’s degree program
Undergraduate psychology programs introduce students to human behavior and mental health. Bachelor’s-level psychology degree programs could be beneficial for students “with little or no college-level education who seek a strong foundational curriculum in psychology,” according to psychology.org.
And, as the organization points out, “bachelor’s in psychology may be the minimum degree required by an employer, meaning applicants with more advanced degrees or specializations will be favored.”9
Human services vs. psychology: Which degree is right for you?
While both majors offer a rewarding educational experience, there are, of course, some key differences to consider before you make your decision.
Most notably, careers in the human services field generally do not require additional education beyond a bachelor’s degree.10 They will help you get started in non-clinical roles that connect people in need to important resources.
When it comes to careers in psychology, however, you’ll most likely need an advanced degree if you want to help people as a clinician or social worker. Or you could use the degree to work in other areas, like in a corporate environment.
Earning your degree in Human Services could be advantageous for two reasons, then: first, you may be able to pursue a rewarding human services career upon graduation. And second, you’ll still have the option to attend graduate school and earn your advanced degree in psychology. Talk about a win-win!
Rasmussen does not offer programs in psychology, so if that option most interest you, you’ll need to look into other schools.
If a human services degree sounds interesting to you, get some more details on the roles and job titles you can pursue with those degrees at “What Can You Do With a Human Services Degree?”
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1Rasmussen University’s Human Services Associate’s degree and Human Services Bachelor’s degree programs are not designed to prepare graduates for any state-issued professional license or certification, and has not been approved by any state professional licensing agency. For further information on professional licensing requirements, please contact the appropriate board or agency in your state of residence
2Rasmussen University does not offer any undergraduate or graduate programs in psychology
3American Public Human Services Association, (accessed February 2024), About APHSA
4What is Human Services?, (accessed February 2024), What is Human Services? (nationalhumanservices.org)
5APA Dictionary of Psychology, (accessed February 2024), APA Dictionary of Psychology
6Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Social and Human Services Assistants, (accessed March 2024), www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social-and-human-service-assistants.htm#tab-2
7R. Eric Landrom, PhD, What can you do with a bachelor’s degree in psychology? Like this title, the actual answer is complicated, (accessed March 2024), www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psn/2018/01/bachelors-degree
8Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Psychologists, (accessed March 2024), www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm#tab-4
9Psychology.org Staff, Bachelor’s Degrees in Psychology, (accessed March 2024), www.psychology.org/degrees/bachelors/
10Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Social and Human Services Assistants, (accessed March 2024), www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social-and-human-service-assistants.htm#tab-4
