Effective Fall 2025

The Human Services and Restorative Justice program is designed to prepare students for careers in a variety of Human Services and Restorative Justice fields: services for persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness, services for individuals who have been adjudicated in the criminal justice system, services for individuals and families in crisis, services for older individuals, and services for individuals with a chemical dependency. The major provides students with a solid grounding in the general theories and principles of assessing human needs and responding to those needs in the least restrictive environment. Students can customize their curriculum to emphasize their intended field of employment: human service theory and practice targeted for specific populations, the administration of human services-as opposed to direct care, or restorative practice in criminal justice settings. Students will complete a general core of math, social and natural science, art, history, computer science and communications. This liberal arts core and the human services specialization reflect a recognition that strong written and oral communication skills are critical to ethical human service practice and successful tenure in the field, that practical experience is equally as important as theoretical knowledge to serve others competently, and that an understanding of how technology can assist human service recipients often equips providers with useful and marketable tools.

Career Opportunities

Social services caseworker, child protective services worker, drug and alcohol counselor, probation officer, residential services worker, youth development counselor, corrections officer, police officer, crisis-line worker, and shelter worker, restorative justice coordinator, among others.

Special Equipment Needs

Laptop Computer Required 

  • Windows 11 or higher (recommended).
  • Intel Core i5 or i7 (generation 10 or higher) processor (recommended).
  • 8+ GB RAM (recommended).
  • 250+ GB Solid State Disk (SSD) drive (recommended).
  • Laptop must include a webcam and microphone (required).
  • Laptop must include a wireless network card (required).
  • Broadband Internet connection when working off campus (required).
  • Additional plug-ins may be required (Information Technology Services Service Desk available for assistance).
  • Chromebooks and other devices running Chrome OS are prohibited.

Remediation Strategies

All incoming students must meet placement requirements in math. Students are expected to remediate any deficiencies as explained in the College Catalog (see https://www.pct.edu/catalog/admissions-policy).

Program Goals

A graduate of this major should be able to:
  • provide intermediate therapeutic, supportive, and preventive services for people with emotional, developmental, social, or physical problems in a variety of restorative justice and/or social or human service settings.
  • demonstrate skilled use of verbal and nonverbal skills to establish empathy, trust, and rapport within an interview setting.
  • demonstrate knowledge of restorative justice, social, and human services delivery systems and their role within the local and national community.
  • develop a process for identifying community resources that appropriately respond to the needs of persons served.
  • serve as a client advocate, facilitating movement of clients through social service and restorative justice systems, within a variety of agency settings.
  • apply mathematical skills to reports, agency budgets, and statistical interpretations.
  • contribute to effective agency planning, budgeting, and management.
  • demonstrate strong ethical behavior and decision making consistent with the ethical guidelines and standards proposed by the National Organization for Human Service Education.
  • demonstrate cultural sensitivity in both direct and indirect human service and restorative justice practice.
  • draft reports, case studies, grants, and proposals that include appropriate documentation and that demonstrate mastery of the full range of writing skills.
  • evaluate the funding streams that pervade this profession and be able to apply statistical analysis to the design and administration of budgets.
  • gain familiarity with the technology available to restorative justice and human services providers and clients, recognizing its uses and limitations, applications, and sources.

Performance Standards

Students must complete all HSJ-designated courses and ENL-designated courses with a grade of 'C' or above. Failure to achieve a grade of 'C' or above in a course after the maximum attempts allowed by College policy, results in withdrawal from the major. Students should work closely with their academic advisors and program faculty to ensure that they are meeting all criteria for satisfactory progress in the program.

Continued progression in the program, to include eligibility for internship courses and graduation, is predicated not only upon satisfactory academic performance, but also upon satisfactory demonstration of professional and ethical responsibility, personal responsibility, and satisfactory demonstration of skills and abilities prerequisite to the ethical delivery of services in the field. For more specific information about the criteria used to evaluate students' progress, a copy of the program manual can be obtained from the School of Business, Arts & Sciences.

The following grading system applies to all HSJ-designated courses for students in the
Human Services & Restorative Justice major:

A= 90-100%
B= 80-89.99%
C= 70 –79.99%
F= Below 70%

Curriculum

First SemesterCreditsNotesLectureLab/ClinicalM/SType
FYE101First Year Experience 1.0.50 1.50 SREQ
HSJ115Introduction to Human Services & Restorative Justice 3.03 MREQ
CSC124Information, Technology & Society 3.03 SREQ
ENL111English Composition I 3.03 MREQ
PSY111General Psychology 3.03 SREQ
SOC111Introduction to Sociology 3.03 SREQ
or
ANT113Introduction to Cultural Anthropology 3.0Cultural Diversity Requirement3 SREQ
TOTAL CREDITS 16.0
Second SemesterCreditsNotesLectureLab/ClinicalM/SType
HSJ120Introduction to Interviewing Skills & Intake Processes 3.03 MREQ
HSJ212Diversity & Inclusive Practices 3.03 MREQ
HSJHuman Services & Restorative Justice Application Elective 3.0 SHSJ
ENL201Technical & Professional Communication 3.03 MREQ
MTHMathematics Elective 3.0 SMTH
TOTAL CREDITS 15.0
Third SemesterCreditsNotesLectureLab/ClinicalM/SType
HSJ223Assessment, Case Management & Crisis Intervention 3.03 MREQ
HSJ263Criminal Justice 3.03 MREQ
HSJHuman Services & Restorative Justice Application Elective 3.0 SHSJ
PSY203Developmental Psychology 3.03 SREQ
SCIScience Elective 3.0 SSCI
TOTAL CREDITS 15.0
Fourth SemesterCreditsNotesLectureLab/ClinicalM/SType
HSJ225Counseling Theories & Techniques 3.03 MREQ
HSJ255Internship I 3.01 MREQ
HSJ275Serving & Surviving in Human Services 3.03 MREQ
HSJ261Families in Crisis 3.03 MREQ
SPC101Fundamentals of Speech 3.03 SREQ
TOTAL CREDITS 15.0
Fifth SemesterCreditsNotesLectureLab/ClinicalM/SType
HSJ304Management & Administration in Government & Non-profit Agencies 3.03 MREQ
HSAHuman Services Application Elective - 300 Level 3.0 SHSA
HIPCore Historical Perspective 3.0 SHIP
MTH153Topics in Mathematics 3.03 SREQ
or
MTH157Business Statistics 3.03 SREQ
or
MTH159Statistics for Health & Behavioral Sciences 3.03 SREQ
or
MTH161Statistics for STEM Fields with Computer Applications 3.53 1.50 SREQ
SCLScience Elective with lab 4.0 SSCL
TOTAL CREDITS 16.0
Sixth SemesterCreditsNotesLectureLab/ClinicalM/SType
HSJ302Trauma-Informed Care 3.03 MREQ
HSJ312Community, Advocacy & Change 3.03 MREQ
HSBHuman Services Application Elective - 400 Level 3.0 SHSB
OEEExploration Elective 3.0 SOEE
ARPCore Arts Perspective 3.0 SARP
PSC141State & Local Government 3.03 SREQ
TOTAL CREDITS 18.0
Seventh SemesterCreditsNotesLectureLab/ClinicalM/SType
HSJ420Contemporary Issues in Human Services & Restorative Justice 3.03 MREQ
HSJ401Legal Advocacy 3.03 MREQ
OEAOpen Elective 3.0 SOEA
OEEExploration Elective 3.0 SOEE
SOC313Research Methods 3.03 MREQ
TOTAL CREDITS 15.0
Eighth SemesterCreditsNotesLectureLab/ClinicalM/SType
HSJ455Internship II 6.02 MREQ
HSJ495Capstone 3.03 MREQ
OEAOpen Elective 3.0 SOEA
TOTAL CREDITS 12.0