Human Services Concentration
Additional information for students in the human services concentration:
Here is the class schedule for human services courses:
| Fall of Junior Year (or earlier) | Spring of Junior Year |
| PS 272 Abnormal Psychology | PS 371 Clinical Psychology |
| Fall of Senior Year | Spring of Senior Year |
| PS 391 Human Services Seminar | PS 394 Fieldwork in Human Services |
PS 393 Human Services Fieldwork |
Special note for students who plan to study away in the Spring of their junior year: PS 371 is only taught during spring semesters. Thus, students planning to be at another institution in the spring of their junior year need to take PS 272 by the fall of their sophomore year and PS 371 in the spring of their sophomore year in order to complete the requirements for the human services concentration. Students in this situation should contact the coordinator of the human services concentration early on in the fall semester of their sophomore year to be pre-registered for PS 371 to ensure that they can obtain a spot in PS 371 before it fills with other students during registration.
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Human Services Concentration:
Q. What are PS 393 and PS 394 like?
A. PS 393 and PS 394 consist of fieldwork where students spend 12 hours per week at an internship. They are graded on a pass/fail basis. Students complete learning contracts with their own unique goals for each semester.
Q. What is PS 391 like?
A. The Human Services Seminar is typically a small seminar where students sit in a circle with the professor. Students “check in” regarding their internship experiences on a regular basis. In addition, lectures and discussions occur related to human services topics. Students will have some common readings and will also complete readings related to their specific learning goals. Students keep journals, take an ethics quiz, and also give oral presentations in the course. Students often learn much from one another.
Q. How do I officially declare that I want to complete the concentration in human services?
A. You respond to the email that is sent out to psychology majors regarding concentrations in the fall of your junior year and let the person in charge of the concentration know to place you into PS 371. Note that this would need to happen in your sophomore year if you plan to study away in the spring of your junior year. PS 371 is offered only in spring semesters and must be taken prior to the senior year for students in the human services concentration.
Q. Can PS 371 count as an applied psych class (or as a psych free elective if I have already taken an applied psych class)?
A. YES
Q. Can PS 391 and PS 393 count as psych free electives?
A. YES
Q. Can I intern at the same place for PS 393 and PS 394 or do I need to switch internship sites mid-year?
A. You can do either! You make the choice based on your learning goals.
Q. Am I placed into an internship automatically or do I need to find one myself?
A. You will not be placed directly into an internship. A meeting is held for juniors in the spring semester each year to orient them about how to obtain an internship at a site that interests them for the following semester. You will be provided with a list of potential sites and will be allowed to find additional possible sites based on your own learning goals. You will contact sites and interview with them prior to accepting an internship.
Q. What kinds of internships do human services students have?
A. Students have interned at all kinds of places! Here is a sample list: inpatient psychiatry units, group homes, residential substance abuse facilities, child guidance clinics, high school guidance departments, elementary schools, special needs schools, domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, sexual assault crisis centers, head start programs, day treatment programs, clubhouses for people with chronic mental illnesses, juvenile detention centers, veterans’ hospitals working on Posttraumatic Stress research, the CT Community Mental Health Center working on Schizophrenia research, and the Yale Child Study Center working on child trauma research. Please note that students interested in obtaining a Ph.D. after graduating from Quinnipiac are strongly advised to obtain a research-based internship. In addition to their human services research-based internship, they are encouraged to do independent research with a faculty member from Quinnipiac or with faculty at a nearby institution as early as possible in their college years.
Q. What do students in the concentration do after they graduate?
A. Most go to graduate school to obtain a Masters in Social Work; our graduates often gain admission to some of the very best social work (MSW) programs in the country. Graduates have also pursued degrees in the following areas: counseling, clinical psychology, school psychology, law school, health psychology, education, nursing, and community counseling. Students who have chosen to work immediately following graduation from QU have obtained employment as case managers, residential counselors, therapeutic mentors, education support specialists, and research associates.
Q. What are the advantages of completing the human services concentration?
A. You will become part of a close-knit group of students who all have similar career aspirations. You will receive guidance in finding an internship that matches your learning goals. You will obtain significant experience in the field prior to graduation which, will be a benefit to you when you apply for jobs or for admission into graduate school. You will receive significant mentoring and training regarding careers in human services as part of the human services seminar.
Q. Can I gain experience within the human services field in other ways if I choose NOT to complete the human services concentration?
A. Yes: 1. You can seek out volunteer opportunities – try looking at your local United Way chapter’s website, which you can find from the national webpage www.unitedway.org. 2. You can also seek out paid employment – try looking at job ads in the newspaper or online. Keep in mind, though, that internships are educational in nature and specific steps and rules are in place to protect the safety of interns. Your job requirements and demands as an employee would differ from those of an intern. For example, as an employee on an inpatient psychiatric unit you could be required to physically restrain patients. As an intern you would never be allowed or expected to restrain patients. 3. You could contact Annalisa Zinn about possibly taking her Career Practicum course (CAR 295) for one pass/fail credit, but keep in mind that this would not provide you with a Quinnipiac psychology faculty mentor for your internship.