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Home » 2022-2024 Graduate Bulletin » Programs » Human Services Leadership

Human Services Leadership

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION

Toni House, Department Chair
Office: Swart 242
Telephone: (920) 424-7238
Web Site: https://uwosh.edu/coehs/departments/hsl/masters/
E-mail: mshsl@uwosh.edu

 

FACULTY/GRADUATE INSTRUCTIONAL ACADEMIC STAFF

Fonkem, Hagen, House, Kaufman, Lefeber, Yang

 

PURPOSE

The Master of Science (M.S.) in Human Services Leadership prepares graduates to be internationally-minded but locally focused. The curriculum centers on empowering leaders to drive change through sustainable organizations providing a positive impact to clients and communities. Upon program completion, graduates will be able to seek senior leadership positions in their area of practice within a global context.

 

DEGREES/CERTIFICATES

Completion of the program will lead to the degree: Master of Science (M.S.)

Advanced Certificate in Human Services Leadership

 

ADDITIONAL ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS INFORMATION

In addition to the requirements of the Office of Graduate Studies specified in the first section of this Bulletin, applicants and students must adhere to policies and procedures established by the program.

  • Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university (official transcripts required)
  • Minimum GPA 2.75
  • 500-word essay
  • Complete online application at apply.wisconsin.edu

 

SUMMARY

  1. Structure
    The program is comprised of core courses and electives.
  2. Academic Plans of Study
    The Human Services Leadership program offers a single plan of study that can be customized through elective coursework.
  3. Minimum Unit (Cr.) Requirements
    30 credits applicable to the graduate degree constitute the minimal requirement for all students who choose to write a thesis or complete the seminar.
  4. Admission to Candidacy
    Students must satisfy fully the Office of Graduate Studies requirements for advancement to candidacy as stated in the POLICIES section of this Bulletin. Students must confer with their program coordinator/advisor to plan and receive program approval for their admission to candidacy. Students should apply for Admission to Candidacy after completing 9-21 credits. The Office of Graduate Studies gives final approval to Admission to Candidacy.
  5. Graduation Requirements
    Candidates must satisfy all program and Office of Graduate Studies academic, culminating, and degree requirements to be eligible for graduation and degree conferral.

 

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Core Courses

30 credits:

Human Services Leadership
720 3 Foundations of Human Services Management
721 3 Global Issues in Local Communities
722 3 Transcultural Leadership
723 3 Social Marketing in Human Services
724 3 Planning and Implementing for Community Change
725 3 Transnational Fiscal Management
726 3 Staffing and Supervision in a Diverse World
727 3 Applied Research Methods in Human Services
730 3 Seminar in Community-Oriented Human Services Management
OR
731 3 Master’s Thesis

Students will also select one of the following electives:

Human Services Leadership
728 3 Comparative Trends in Global Human Services Agencies
729 3 Models of Social Change and Human Services

 

CERTIFICATE

Advanced Certificate in Human Services Leadership

Any 9 credits from the following:

720 3 Foundations of Human Services Management
721 3 Global Issues in Local Communities
722 3 Transcultural Leadership
723 3 Social Marketing in Human Services
724 3 Planning and Implementing for Community Change
725 3 Transnational Fiscal Management
726 3 Staffing and Supervision in a Diverse World
727 3 Applied Research Methods in Human Services
728 3 Comparative Trends in Glonal Human Service Agencies
729 3 Models of Social Change and Human Services
730 Seminar in Community-Oriented Human Service Management

 

COURSE OFFERING(S)

Human Services    577 3 (crs.)
Family and Community Advocacy
Studies the knowledge and develops the skills for acquiring power for families and communities through advocacy processes.  Skills include outreach, use of public and private records, interacting with agency staff, documenting and analyzing problems, use of census reports and state and federal statutes writing press releases, letters to the editor and networking with other activists. 377/577
 
 
Human Services    586 1 – 3 (crs.)
Drug Abuse and Behavior
Surveys the psychological, sociological, medical, and legal facets of the drug use and abuse problem as it affects our society today. Emphasis upon societal presses which contribute to the problem, personality characteristics of drug abusers, and the drugs most commonly abused. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.  386/586.
 
 
Human Services    720 3 (crs.)
Foundations of Human Service Management
This course explores the challenges of leading and working in today’s human service agencies with an appreciation of the theory, history and development of the human service profession, human service administration and management, non-government organizations in various industrialized and developing countries. Topics to be covered will include current issues, community-based and faith-based organizations, national non-government organizations (NGOs) and international non-government organizations, organizational leadership, management, ethics and values, board governances, human resources management, and constituency building. Prerequisites: Admitted to MS-THSL program. Course must be taken during initial semester in the program.
 
 
Human Services    721 3 (crs.)
Global Issues in Local Communities
This course will analyze the global economic, environmental, social, and cultural issues targeted in the mission statements, programs and activities of human service agencies and non-government organizations (NGOs) worldwide. The course will examine the global economic and social issues that affect people in local communities of both developing and industrialized countries. Furthermore, the course will introduce the application of fundamental concepts in macroeconomics and microeconomics to facilitate and inform managerial decision-making in human service agencies and non-government organizations (NGOS). Topics to be covered include poverty, inequality, gender, discrimination, unemployment, prejudice, stereotype, aging, disease, and community health, community organizing and development, implications of government regulations and policies in decision-making, policy analysis, cost-benefit analysis and project evaluation. Prerequisites: Admitted to MS-THSL program. Course must be taken during initial semester in the program.
 
 
Human Services    722 3 (crs.)
Transcultural Leadership
This course will prepare students to provide leadership in human services agencies and non-government organizations at the local, national, international, and transnational level using a broad cultural framework. Students will be able to evaluate and apply leadership theories and organizational development strategies from around the world, tailoring an approach that best suits their local needs and organizational interests. This course is intended to develop leaders who think creatively and analytically. Coursework will focus at the “macro level”, defined as the application and extension of human services deliver, organizational strategies and management, to interface with agencies and non-government entities across regional, state national and global boundaries.
 
 
Human Services    723 3 (crs.)
Social Marketing in Human Services
Social marketing involves the use of audience research to determine target audience segmentation into groups with common issues, risk behaviors, motivations, and information channel preferences, in order to develop products and/or services targeting the needs or behavior change of the target population. The course will examine current theory and knowledge in the field of social marketing and analyze the components and applications of marketing used for promoting behavior change strategies in local communities. It will provide a social, transcultural, and community perspective in marketing for responding and helping in the needs of society and local communities. Topics include: Use of social marketing to develop culturally innovative and low-cost based interventions, increase recruitment in programs, and increase public awareness on critical issues.
 
 
Human Services    724 3 (crs.)
Planning and Implementation for Community Change
This course will introduce the students to methods used in planning and implementing community change in either developed or developing countries, as well as theories of difference and diversity, gender-based analysis, different ways of knowing, and social learning. IT will examine approaches to community building and social servicing in the context of economic and physical development and how they may marginalize social concerns at the national, international and transnational levels. Also, the course will explore knowledge of community development studies, community-based empowerment, and social planning and development theories. Furthermore, the course will examine participatory development and other approaches related to issues of social and economic justice and the dynamics of international and community-based organizations.
 
 
Human Services    725 3 (crs.)
Transnational Fiscal Management
This course will examine financial issues related to the funding of operations and services of human services agencies and non-profit organizations based on various regulations and accounting practices across nations and states. The course will explore global and national taxation structures and government budgetary operations from legal, economic and political perspectives. Furthermore, the course will provide a comprehensive approach to successfully managing the finances of nonprofit organizations, with particular attention to the principles of budgeting (capital and operating), financial statements, cash management, basic accounting and auditing principles, and investment practices. Topics to be covered include global and national economic trends affecting the finances of non-profit organizations, financial sustainability, budgeting process, fundraising, financial reporting, analysis of financial statements, internal control and fraud prevention.
 
 
Human Services    726 3 (crs.)
Staffing and Supervision in a Diverse World
This course focuses on various aspects of staffing and supervision in national, international, and transnational human service agencies and non-government organization. Students will be introduced to theories, tools, and research relevant to effective human resource management practices, especially in cross-cultural and diversity contexts. Students will explore critical issues and practices regarding agencies managing their human resources both at home and abroad. Topics will include legal implications in staffing and supervision, challenges of human resources planning, diversity and hiring, talent management and cultural differences, and localization and performance management practices.
 
 
Human Services    727 3 (crs.)
Applied Research Methods in Human Services
This course applies the methods of social research to the evaluation of micro and macro human service practices, including individual practices and programs. It examines issues related to the design, monitoring, and assessment of human service programs and interventions, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The course will focus on foundations of inquiry, quantitative and qualitative methods designs, needs assessment, action research, appreciative inquiry, community-based participatory research, and program evaluation.
 
 
Human Services    728 3 (crs.)
Comparative Trends in Global Human Service Agencies
This course focuses on the trends and challenges of effective human service leadership in a global environment. The course discusses the theories and models of human service administration in relation to context and culture, and the roles and responsibilities of administrators in global human service agencies (i.e. Non-Governmental Organizations). The course examines, through comparative analysis, the models that best fit the goals for community groups and organizations given the context, culture, social, economic, political, and environmental issues opportunities for change. From a comparative perspective, topics in this course will include systems approaches in human service administration in global, national, and local contexts, managing cycles, creative administration, organizational transformation and innovation, managing data and information.
 
 
Human Services    729 3 (crs.)
Models of Social Change and Human Services
This course presents multiple perspectives of various agencies of social change, including governmental, nonprofit (or non-governmental), local and transnational agencies not only in the social cultural evolution toward a global cultural society, but also in the local community change and continuity. It highlights how various human services agencies have been impacted by change in World politics, economics, society and the environment and how such change and continuity trigger the issues that affect division-making in local, state, national and transnational human service agencies. It discusses trends and development during the pre-industrial, industrial, post-industrial and during the contemporary post-modern era, and demonstrates how this impacted decision-making in human service agencies in the U.S. and in other nations around the world. The course will explore the history, the economics, the politics, the cultures and religious movements, which play such important roles in these changing societies.
 
 
Human Services    730 3 (crs.)
Seminar in Community-Oriented Human Service Management
This seminar is envisioned as the capstone course integrating learning from all course work in the transnational human service leadership program. The seminar will focus on real-time leadership, management, and community issues and the capacity of leaders and managers in the human service and nonprofit sectors to deal effectively with community issues while illuminating the relationships between management practices and community change. The seminar will integrate discussions, exercises, and case studies on the relationships between theories and practices of leadership and management of human  services and non-government organizations. Topics will include problem diagnosis, political and economic environment, tensions between internal and external factors affecting organizational leadership, and management of human, fiscal, and technological resources in transnational settings or contexts. Prerequisite: Completion of all Program courses.
 
 
Human Services    731 3 (crs.)
Master’s Thesis
The Master’s Thesis seminar is an option for students in the Master’s in Transnational Human Service Leadership program, and aims to provide participants with guidance to develop an original and independent trans-disciplinary research project, carry out the study through systematic inquiry procedures, synthesize the research findings, and successfully defending the research report on a virtual platform. The seminar will help the student display the ability to independently and critically identify issues related to human service leadership, and integrate theoretical knowledge and empirical data to make scholarly contributions for human service agencies and non-government organizations in transnational or transcultural contexts. Prerequisite: Completion of all Program courses.
 
 
Human Services    732 1 – 3 (crs.)
Independent Study
The Independent Study courses provides an avenue for MS-HSL students to explore interests that are not available through a current course offering. 1 to 3 credits are allowed each registration with a maximum accumulation of 6 cr. Registration for independent study for Master of Science – Human Services Leadership 732. Students must submit Independent Study Topic and Instructor Approval Form with their registration. Prerequisites: Student in the MS-HSL program.