Bachelor of Arts in Human Services

at National Louis University - Illinois Campus USA

National Louis University’s Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice program prepares you to work in fields addressing the effects of criminality on individuals, communities and society. The program offers two concentrations: Criminal Justice Administration and Forensic Social Justice. Throughout the program, you’ll become equipped to serve in law enforcement, courts or corrections systems, or to work in related private industries.

Program Highlights

Real-World Expertise

• Directed by a former homicide detective, our program features faculty members with years of experience in criminal justice. Our program was designed in consultation with leaders in law enforcement, so you’ll be exposed to the most current techniques and theories in the field.

Hands-On Learning

• Expand your learning beyond the classroom through case studies, class trips, guest lectures, and internships. Learn how to apply theories and knowledge learned in class to the field.

Flexible Class Options

• Choose between fully online or on-campus course formats and fit your degree around your busy schedule.

Well-Rounded Curriculum

• Engage in a program that combines psychology, sociology, public policy, and organizational management, preparing you for a broad set of career options.

Customizable Degree

• Specialize your degree with concentrations in Criminal Justice Administration (focusing on how criminal justice agencies operate) or Forensic Social Justice (focusing on the role of human services and intervention in criminal justice). You can also select from a variety of minors to further enhance your degree.

Our Bachelor of Arts in Human Services degree program prepares you to support the needs of individuals, families, and communities. You’ll develop the capacity to understand and assess the functioning of individuals and the dynamics of families, groups, and communities and train to be a successful employee in organizations that provide support, service, and other general human services related activities for individuals, families, and communities in need. The B.A. in Human Services offers an array of internship experiences that will give you a taste of working in the field, and the B.A. in Human Services/Psychology combines human services coursework with classes in behavioral sciences to give you a stronger understanding of human behavior and motivation. This degree prepares you for entry-level positions at social service agencies, community health centers, health clinics, and more.

Program Highlights

Real-World Internship Experience

• Explore what it’s like to work in the human services field with over 300 hours of internship experience built into your coursework, allowing you to hone your career interests and gain work expeirience in a professional setting.

Expert Faculty

• Learn from professors who have real-world experience in the human services field and bring their hands-on teaching practices to the classroom.

Customizable Degree

• Enhance your degree with a variety of concentrations and minors, including our Entrepreneurship Concentration, which will give you the knowledge and skills you need to start your own business or organization after you graduate.

Flexible Classes

• Choose from online, campus-based, and blended class formats, including evening class options, which allow you to fit your degree around your busy schedule.

Our Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree program prepares you to support the needs of individuals, families, and communities. You will gain the knowledge, skills and experience in social work processes, collaborative problem-solving, direct practice, advocacy and community organizing that leverages the strengths and capacities of individuals, families, groups and communities. The Social Work major engages students through inclusive, community-centered educational experiences to develop and practice professional Social Work competencies necessary for effectively serving in diverse practice roles and communities, and successful application to Social Work graduate education pathways.

Program Highlights

Real-World Field Experience

• Community engagement opportunities are integrated into coursework and student experiences through community-based assignments, interactions with faculty practitioners and professional networks, case conceptualization, ‘lived experiences’ sources, and organizational highlights. Social Work students complete 400 hours of practica with an integrated seminar in their senior year, supported by field education faculty.

Expert Faculty

• Learn from professors who have real-world experience as Social Work practitioners in the field, bringing years of expertise in various roles and organizations and engaging, evidence-based practices to the classroom.

Customizable Degree

• Enhance your degree with a variety of concentrations and minors, including our Child and Family Studies, Psychology, Criminal Justice, Business and Humanities minors among others, which will allow you to tailor your degree to your passion and interest.

Flexible Classes

• Choose from online, campus-based, and blended class formats, including evening class options, which allow you to fit your degree around your busy schedule.

The Master of Science (M.S.) in Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship graduate program prepares you to create your own entrepreneurial business opportunities or innovate from within an organization as a corporate entrepreneur. Focusing on women’s entrepreneurship, you’ll learn human-centered approaches to innovation that will encourage you to develop a deep understanding of users, think broadly about problems, and recognize the value in the contributions of others. You’ll cultivate your own unique leadership style and learn how to overcome barriers facing women entrepreneurs today, such as earning funding from investors. Additionally, you’ll grow your business network in Chicago, a city with the highest concentration of women-owned startups and women-focused investors in the country.

• Do you want to develop a deep understanding of users, think broadly about problems, and recognize the value in the contributions of others?
• Do you want to learn design thinking and business acumen to hone creative thinking, problem-solving, and analytical thinking skills and build a viable opportunity for today's emerging markets?
• Do you want to learn more about the opportunities and challenges facing women entrepreneurs and how to overcome these common barriers?
• Do you value one-on-one guidance from a business mentor and opportunities to grow your business network and relationships with funders?
• Are you looking for a flexible degree program schedule in an executive format, meeting one Saturday a month?

Our four-year Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration program is perfect for students with solutions-driven minds and the desire to contribute to small- and medium-sized businesses. We’ll provide you with the necessary tools to solve challenging business problems, build your confidence as an entrepreneur so you can start your own business, and give you the skill set to thrive within a variety of business-related roles.

Program Highlights

Flexible Classes

• Choose from both online and campus-based class formats, as well as weekday, evening, and weekend options, allowing you to customize your degree to your schedule and preferences.

Experienced Faculty

• Learn from faculty who are thought leaders in the industry and bring years of experience in the business world to the classroom. Their hands-on teaching practices ensure you’ll become a well-rounded business professional.

Career Preparation

• Gain real-world business experience through a required internship during your senior year, which will give you a leg up in the job market. Use our new Start-Up Incubator to grow your ideas into viable businesses under the guidance of faculty.

Practical Curriculum

• Acquire the tools necessary to solve challenging business problems through our curriculum that emphasizes hands-on learning. Apply business theories and concepts to case studies and real-world situations.

Customizable Experience

• Select from a variety of different concentrations and minors to enhance your marketability, including our new Entrepreneurship Minor, which allows you to explore the unique strategies and challenges inherent in starting your own business.

National Louis University’s Bachelor of Arts in Infant-Toddler Studies program is designed for students who want a well-rounded knowledge base and skill set for working as leaders in the field of infant and toddler care and education, but who do not wish to be licensed teachers.

Coursework includes advanced topics such as trauma-informed practice, ECE mental health and specialized focus on infant/toddler early brain development and responsive caregiving. All courses lead to the ECE and Infant/Toddler Gateways Credentials, with additional options to obtain the Illinois Director Level II and the Illinois Early Intervention/Developmental Therapy (EI/DT) Credentials.

Choose Our Infant-Toddler Studies Bachelor's Degree if You:

• Want to work in child care, infant/toddler care, early childhood social service or other settings that do not require state licensure.
• Want to obtain up to three statewide, widely-recognized Gateways to Professional Opportunity credentials, including the ECE Level5, Infant Toddler Care Level 5 and the Family Child Care Level 5, and/or the Illinois Director Credential Level II.
• Are looking for a well-established and highly regarded program with a history of preparing excellent education professionals.
• Would like to study with a group of students who will work together and support one another throughout the program.

National Louis has a 130-year-old reputation for its teacher training programs, and is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). In addition, this program is aligned with the standards determined by the State of Illinois’ Professional Development System, the Gateways to Opportunity Credentialing system, which is, in effect, aligned with National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Standards, to foster the ongoing professional development of teachers.

Our Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree program prepares you to use psychological concepts and theories, and provides a foundation for working in community or business settings, as well as furthering your study in a graduate program. You'll gain an understanding of human thought and behavior while honing marketable skills, such as strong communication, the ability to think critically, analyze information, and the ability to be objective and flexible in thinking. Career paths include Substance Abuse Counselor, Psychiatric Technician, and Human Resources Advisor.

Program Highlights

A Foundation in Theory and Practice

• Learn about the workings of the human mind and human behavior with our innovative program that blends psychological theory with hands-on practice, preparing you for a broad range of careers and future graduate study.

Classes at Your Convenience

• Choose from both campus-based and online course offerings, as well as a variety of minors to compliment your marketability once you graduate.

Real-World Training

• Learn from expert faculty and industry professionals who have years of experience in the field. Get hands-on experience during your psychology internship, which will give you a leg-up when you enter the job market.

An Edge in the Business World

• Gain an understanding of interpersonal relationships and motivation, which you can use to effectively work with, or manage, peers and clients in the business world.

The Master of Science in Counseling degree program at National Louis University prepares you to work as a counselor in a variety of settings, including schools, private practices and mental health clinics. You’ll delve into the study of human behavior and development, acquire professional counseling skills and engage with scholarly research. The program fulfills the educational requirements necessary to sit for both the National Board for Certified Counselors exam to become a Nationally Certified Counselor and the State of Illinois’ exam to become a Licensed Professional Counselor.

You’ll be able to customize your degree by choosing a concentration in Addictions, School or Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Our Illinois program is CACREP accredited and campus-based.

Program Highlights

Professional Licensure

• Become a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCP), a Licensed Professional Counselor (LCP) or a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), as the program fulfills the educational requirements to sit for all of these exams. For those wishing to become a licensed school counselor in Illinois, the program also prepares you to receive your Professional Educator License (PEL).

Hands-On Experience

• Apply your classroom knowledge to the field with a 600-hour internship that allows you to gain counseling experience under the supervision of a qualified mentor. You’ll receive weekly feedback from your supervisor and be able to hone your counseling skills before you graduate.

Customized Degree

• Choose between concentrations in Addictions, School Counseling, and Clinical Mental Health Counseling, as well as different licensure options. Shape your degree to match your career interests and goals.

Expert Faculty

• Learn from faculty who bring years of real-world counseling experience to the classroom and who are also active researchers in the field. You’ll be learning the most current theories and best practices so you can meet the needs of today’s employers.

Our Bachelor of Arts in Applied Educational Studies degree program prepares you to work with children in schools or community-based settings without a Professional Educator's License. The program is offered both fully online and in blended formats.

This major is ideal for students that want to work with children and families in education adjacent roles such as ECE social service, community-based family support, and home visiting.

The program provides a solid foundation in education preparation with options to study family services, infant and toddler care and education or psychology. Coursework includes topics in management and leadership, working with children and families under stress, special education and English as an additional language in educational settings.

The goal of this program is to provide a pathway for students who want to work in education adjacent roles such as family specialist, child family life educator, home visitor or social service roles related to serving children and families.

Coursework completed in this program will lead to the State of Illinois’ Gateways Level 5 Family Specialist Credential (FSC) as well as prepare students to take the exam for the National Council on Family Relations’ (NCFR) Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) certification.

The following three specific social and behavior studies courses are needed, as elective credit, in order to achieve the FSC Level 5 and prepare for the CFLE exam: PSY 450, PSY 311 and HSM 306.

Our Bachelor of Arts in Communications degree program prepares you for the dynamic and competitive field of workplace communication. We'll prepare you to become a well-rounded and well-informed professional by creating real-world experiences in the classroom that allow you to exercise your creativity while meeting the demands of fast-paced businesses. You’ll enter the job market as a savvy verbal, written, and visual communicator with a portfolio of work to showcase to potential employers.

Program Highlights

Customizable Experience

• Shape your degree to meet your interests and professional goals by choosing from courses in digital, video, verbal, and written communication, as well as pairing your degree with a minor, such as our new Marketing minor.

Flexible Class Options

• Choose from multiple different modalities to fit your coursework around your schedule, including campus-based, blended, online, and a new accelerated online option with condensed six-week terms (normally 12 weeks).

Professional Portfolio

• Prepare yourself for the job market by composing an e-portfolio of your best work from the program and presenting it at a capstone symposium your senior year.

Real-World Expertise

• Learn from faculty who bring years of experience in professional communications to the classroom. Become skilled in contemporary communication practices that employers are looking for, like devising a communications plan.