Department of Behavioral Sciences

Bachelor of Arts in Rehabilitation Science

The Rehabilitation Science curriculum is designed to produce undergraduate rehabilitation generalists who have training and experience conducive to successful careers in various rehabilitation service programs. Within the Rehabilitation Science major seven minors are offered: 1) Addictions, 2) Aging, 3) Child Welfare, 4) Corrections, 5) Social Services,  6) Disabilities Studies, and 7) Recreation Services. Students must choose at least one of these minors in order to complete the requirements for the degree.

The Rehabilitation Science Program is dedicated to nurturing the scholastic development, respect for diversity, ethical behavior, passion for advocacy, and professionalism of future rehabilitation practitioners.  The graduates from the program will effectively serve the needs of the community, individuals with disabilities, and other human service populations.  In order to accomplish this mission, the program has a primary objective to develop personnel for careers with public and private agencies that provide rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities.  The program prepares scholars to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation or to pursue additional educational training in graduate school.

Upon graduation from the program students may work in a variety of roles such as case worker, case manager, parole officer, probation officer, juvenile intake officer, children and family service worker, addictions professional, or a number of rehabilitation service provider roles in direct service settings. Examples of these settings are state rehabilitation services, developmental disability centers, psychiatric treatment facilities, correctional settings, nursing homes, halfway houses, community based rehabilitation facilities, workforce centers, disability determination units, senior centers, addictions treatment facilities, and occupational training schools.

Graduates from the program who elect to attend graduate school typically pursue degrees in rehabilitation counseling, other counseling specialties, psychology related fields, social work, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and other human service related fields of study. Entry into some of these graduate programs require specific electives that will be explained during advising. 

The student majoring in rehabilitation science must, in addition to completing the general education requirements:

• complete the rehabilitation and related core, including 12 hours credit (1 class) of internship or one service learning course plus two field placement courses (3 classes for a total of 12 hours credit).
• complete a minimum of 18 non-field placement/internship hours in an RS minor. Minors available are: 1)Addictions, 2)Aging, 3)Child Welfare, 4)Corrections, 5)Social Services, 6)Disability Studies, 7)Recreation Services.

Curriculum

The matrix below is a sample plan for all coursework required for this program.

•  Freshman

  Fall		Spring
  ENGL 1013 Composition I1	3	ENGL 1023 Composition II1	3
  Mathematics1	3	Science with Lab1	4
  SOC 1003 Introductory Sociology	3	ANTH 1213 Introduction to Anthropology or ANTH 2003 Cultural Anthropology	3
  TECH 1001 Orientation to the University	1	PSY 2003 General Psychology	3
  RS 2003 Introduction to Rehabilitation Science4	3	PSY/SOC 2053 Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences	3
  Elective	2
  Total Hours	15	Total Hours	16

•  Sophomore

  Fall		Spring
  Science with Lab1	4	Fine Arts & Humanities1	3
  PSY 3063 Developmental Psychology I OR PSY 3813 Lifespan Development	3	PSY/SOC 2063 Research Design for the Behavioral Sciences	3
  RS 3133 Diversity and Inclusion in Human Services Settings	3	RS 3004 Medical and Psychosocial Aspects of Disability	4
  RS 4123 Survey of Counseling Theories	3	RS 3123 Ethics and Professional Development4	3
  Elective	3	Elective or Minor2	3
  Total Hours	16	Total Hours	16

•  Junior

  Fall		Spring
  Fine Arts & Humanities1	3	PSY 3003 Abnormal Psychology OR RS 3183 Mental Issues in Rehabilitation Settings	3
  U.S. History/Government1	3	RS 4023 Case Management and Strategies4	3
  RS 3203 Interviewing Skills4	3	RS 4104 Service Learning in Rehabilitation Science3,4	4
  Elective or Minor2	6	Elective or Minor2	6
  Total Hours	15	Total Hours	16

•  Senior

  Fall		Spring
  RS 4194 Field Placement I3,4	4	RS 4294 Field Placement II3,4	4
  Elective or Minor2	10	Elective or Minor2	8
  Total Hours	14	Total Hours	12

¹See appropriate alternatives or substitutions in "General Education Requirements".
²A minor must be completed in one of the following areas: Addictions, Aging, Child Welfare, Corrections, Social Services, Disability Studies, Recreation Services..
³Students who choose to complete a 12 hour internship (RS 4012) will do so either their last or next to last semester and will not take RS 4104 Service Learning in Rehabilitation Science, RS 4194 Field Placement I, and RS 4294 Field Placement II.
⁴A grade of C or better required for Rehabilitation Science Majors.