Health and Human Services
"I wanted to help people," said one of our students, explaining why they chose this major. UB's health and human services program is designed for people who care about others in need and want to make a real difference for individuals and communities. At UB, you'll get the science-based knowledge and broad interdisciplinary experience to be an effective advocate for others—whether you want to help children, seniors, people with mental health issues or other groups.
What will I learn?
You'll typically start with intro classes in subjects like psychology, human services and medical ethics, then move on to more advanced classes in related areas such as communications, sociology and global gender studies. By your junior year, you’ll usually choose a concentration and focus on electives within that area. Throughout the program, you may also take a number of interdisciplinary courses designed to show you how to combine expertise from different areas to solve complex challenges.
What can I do with a health and human services degree?
Management analyst for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Senior director of hospital operations at the John R. Oishei Children's Hospital. Program manager for a county-wide health education center. These are just a few of the jobs that our grads have held.
In fact, our students have enjoyed careers at a wide variety of private institutions, nonprofit groups and government agencies, including:
- Boys & Girls Club.
- Buffalo Board of Education.
- Buffalo City Mission.
- Child & Family Services.
- GrandeVille Senior Living Community.
- JCC of Greater Buffalo.
- Just for Kids.
- Memorial Sloan Kettering.
- New Directions Youth & Family Services.
- People, Inc.
- Queens District Attorney’s Office.
- Rochester General Health System.
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
- Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital.
- Teach for America.
- Victims Assistance Center.
- Western New York Independent Living, Inc.
- YWCA.
Many students also choose to go to graduate school and get an advanced degree in a related field such as social work, public health, health care administration, psychology, counseling or education.
Want to be a teacher?
Be prepared to teach grades 5-12 by getting your bachelor's and master's in just five years through our UB Teach program.
- Save time and money.
- No need to apply to graduate school.
- Be eligible for New York State professional teaching certification.
Visit the department website (at the top of this page) for more details, or see the for a list of all available majors.
By the Numbers
Check out salary ranges and career outlooks straight from the U.S. Department of Labor to see the return on investment for your degree.
| Occupation Title | Mean Annual Wage | Mean Hourly Wage | Future Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managers, All Other | $47,950.00 | $23.05 | Rapid Growth, Many Openings |
| Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other | $88,640.00 | $42.62 | |
| Social Science Research Assistants | $93,610.00 | $45.01 | Rapid Growth |
| Social Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, All Other | $65,900.00 | $31.69 | |
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $78,500.00 | N/A |
Data provided by the and DOL data from 2024.