online bachelor's degree of behavioral science

This course prepares students for success in their academic and professional careers in behavioral science. The foundation for learning is established for professional skill development through practical experience. Learner strengths are assessed and analytical, relational, and resilience skills are developed.

This course introduces the human services profession and the foundational knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for effective helping. Students explore the roles and responsibilities of human service professionals, self-awareness, personal values, the helping process, and major helping theories. The course also introduces ethical and legal issues, professional boundaries, supervision, self-care, and the various settings in which human service professionals serve individuals, groups, and communities.

This course introduces students to the role of research in behavioral science and human services. Students will learn how to locate, evaluate, and apply scholarly research to support evidence-based practice. Topics include research ethics, qualitative and quantitative research methods, developing research questions, reviewing the scholarly literature, data collection, research design, and evaluating research quality. Through applied, real-world scenarios, students will build the foundational skills needed to understand research and use evidence to support professional decision-making.

This course examines cultural, social, religious, economic, and identity-based factors that shape human behavior, perception, and interaction within diverse populations. Emphasis is placed on both individual and systemic perspectives, including how cognitive processes such as categorization and stereotyping influence bias, prejudice, and social perception. Students explore the development of self-awareness and culturally responsive practice within human services contexts. Contemporary psychological theories of diversity and social identity are applied to real-world experiences of inequality, stigma, and oppression. The role of human service professionals in advocacy, equity, and systems-level change is also examined.

This course examines social deviance, psychopathology, and behavioral health through theoretical, cultural, and evidence-based perspectives. Students explore the historical development and classification of mental disorders, the role of diagnosis and treatment across the lifespan, and the influence of social, cultural, and systemic factors on behavioral health and access to care.

This course provides structured opportunities to develop and practice foundational interviewing and counseling microskills used in helping relationships. Students will learn and apply core helping skills drawn from major counseling approaches, with an emphasis on Motivational Interviewing as an integrative framework for engaging clients, building rapport, and supporting behavior change. Skill development focuses on sequencing and combining microskills to support effective communication, client understanding, and purposeful helping interactions.

This course provides an integrated understanding of human development across the lifespan within diverse cultural and social contexts. Individual and family developmental theories, lifespan transitions, and learning and personality development are examined, with particular attention to the biological, psychological, and environmental influences that shape human growth. Human behavior is explored in relation to developmental transitions, stress, trauma, disability, and the social and cultural factors associated with both typical and atypical patterns of development.

This course introduces major counseling theories, including psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, existential, Gestalt, family systems, and integrative approaches. Students explore the strengths and limitations of each theory while examining multicultural, ethical, and reflective counseling practice. Through case conceptualization and application to realistic counseling scenarios, students develop foundational knowledge of counseling techniques and theory-informed decision-making.

This course examines evidence-informed treatment strategies and ethical considerations used by human services professionals to support individuals across the lifespan. Students explore prevention, intervention, and support approaches related to behavioral health concerns, life transitions, relationships, and mental health challenges. Emphasis is placed on applying research-informed practices, developing appropriate intervention strategies, and evaluating the ethical and cultural factors that influence effective service delivery.

In this course, students integrate and apply Behavioral Science knowledge and skills in an applied Family Life Education experience. Students examine the role of education, prevention, and skill development in strengthening individuals, families, and communities. Emphasis is placed on research-informed practice, ethical decision-making, cultural responsiveness, program development, and evaluation. The course culminates in a project demonstrating students’ ability to apply behavioral science knowledge in professional and community-based settings.

This course focuses on the political and philosophical traditions of the American republic, especially as embedded in the ideals, values, traditions, founding documents, and institutions of the United States , and considers how these traditions relate to individual citizenship and global society. Prerequisite: 60 Credit Hours

This course focuses on the creative tensions that exist between the forces of tradition and change as the country undergoes social, cultural, and political change. It considers the manner in which change can renew the vitality of a republic. Prerequisite: 60 Credit Hours

This course examines civic engagement in relation to individual freedoms and responsibilities. It fosters engaged citizens, empowered to effect positive change. Prerequisite: 60 Credit Hours