Advising guidelines for the Bachelor of Professional Studies (B.P.S.) degree with a concentration in Disability Studies and Rehabilitation Services are designed for students seeking to be academically and professionally grounded in a thorough understanding of the social, psychological, economic, physical, medical, and other environmental problems faced by individuals seeking disability services. The history, philosophy, legal issues, ethical issues, and agencies/facilities are also addressed through the courses within these guidelines. Students will also be exposed to the theme of employment – including vocational adjustment and appropriate job placement – and independent living outcomes as reaffirmed in the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992. Rehabilitation depends heavily upon communication between both the consumer and professional and among various professionals; consequently, communication will be stressed, as well as an understanding of the potential influence of cultural diversity and individual lifestyle choices. Courses will also enable students to understand the methods used in disability services to solve consumer problems and how to utilize available resources to improve consumer access, quality of services, and decision making. Finally, a well-supervised field experience component will provide students the opportunity to integrate classroom principles and develop entry-level skills in a work setting.

Program Summary

See Graduation from the University for the University General Education Program requirements. Students who have completed one year of American History in high school are exempted from the six credit-hour American Heritage General Education Program requirement; otherwise, students will have to meet the American Heritage requirement.

B. Coordinated Study (58-59 hours)

Professional Core (19 hours)

COUN 4901 Principles and Techniques of Rehabilitation Counseling

COUN 4 913 Medical and Psychosocial Aspects of Rehabilitation

COUN 4921 Vocational Development & Occupational Information Service

SWRK 3902 Human Behavior & Social Environment

SWRK 3903 Social Work Practice I

Choose one:

SWRK 2910 Social Work Profession and Practice

SWRK 2911 Social Response to Human Need

Statistics and Research Methods (6-7 hours)

1. Statistics (select 1)

PSYC 3001 Psychological Statistics

SOCI 3311 Social Statistics

2. Research Methods (select 1)

PSYC 3000 Introduction to Psychological Research

SOCI 3322 Methods of Social Research

Rehabilitation Delivery (12 hours)

COUN 4611 Introduction to Counseling

COUN 4781 Strategies for Crisis Intervention

COUN 4783 Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services

HADM 4101 Health Systems

PADM 4207 Health Politics and Policy

PETE 3308 Exceptional Learners in Physical Education

PSYC 3512 Health Psychology

SLS 3905 Leisure and Recreation for People with Disabilities

SWRK 3920 Social Welfare Policies & Programs: Theory & Application

THEA 4503 Creative Dramatics

Management Services (9 hours)

ACCT 2010 Fundamentals of Accounting I

MGMT 3110 Organization and Management

MGMT 3215 Management of Human Resources

PADM 3601 Public Administration

PADM 4226 Introduction to Nonprofit Organizations

PADM 4227 Issues in Nonprofit Administration

Communications (6 hours)

1. Professional Communications (3 hours)

MGMT 3510 Business Communications

ENGL 3601 Technical & Professional Writing

ENGL 3604 Persuasive Writing

COMM 3342 Communication and Leadership

COMM 4011 Communications in Organizations

2. Interpersonal Communications (3 hours)

COMM 4012 Health Communications

COMM 4373 Interracial Communications

COMM 4375 Intercultural Communications

COUN 4621 Human Interactions

Development and Aging (6 hours)

E DPR 2111 Development Across the Life Span

HPRO 2100 Wellness Concepts and Practices

HMSE 4305 Problems in Human Movement Sciences & Education

LEAD 3350 The Adult Learner

NUTR 2202 Nutrition

SOCI 3112 Contemporary Social Problems

SOCI 4541 Sociology of Aging

SOCI 4851 Medical Sociology

SOCI 4852 Sociology of Mental Illness

SOCI 4923 Social Institutions and the Life Cycle

SPED 2000 Issues Human Diversity

UNIV 4527 The Developing Adult

C. Internship (3 hours, Optional)

UNIV 2110 Field Experience

UNIV 4110 Internship

UNIV 3900 Advanced Experiential Learning

Persons with prior experience in the disability services field may apply for credit through the Experiential Learning process. For information, visit: http://www.uc.memphis.edu/experiential.htm

D. College Requirements (10 hours)

Thematic Studies (6 hours )

Any UNIV 3500-3599 or UNIV 4500-4599

Students complete a total of 6 hours in a University College thematic studies course(s) of their choosing. These courses are designed to broaden a student's knowledge of significant themes in social, political, and religious history. Only specifically designated courses will meet this requirement. For a complete list of courses: http://www.uc.memphis.edu/thematic.htm

Senior Project (3 hours)

UNIV 4995 Senior Project

The Senior Project is a student's culminating experience or capstone designed to synthesize and integrate the content of a students program of study. The senior project is intended to fuse together the two or more academic areas that comprise your coordinated study (major) into an academically-relevant example of scholarship. Students will complete a thesis, task based or artistic project on a topic of their choice with approval of their Senior Project instructor. Students must select a topic by the end of their Junior year.

UNIV 4990 must be completed before UNIV 4995. The Senior Project is completed during a student's final semester. UNIV 4990 and UNIV 4995 can not be taken during the same semester. For more information on the Senior Project and to request a registration permit, visit this website: http://www.uc.memphis.edu/Senior_Project.htm

E. Electives may be chosen to bring the total number of hours to 120 with a minimum of 42 upper-division hours.

Students who have earned the “Home Manager” technical certificate from Southwest Tennessee Community College can receive 15 hours of credit to be applied to the concentration as follows: 12 hours in Rehabilitation Delivery and 3 hours of Internship.

Students who hold this certification need to inform their advisor in University College in order for the hours to be posted to the students' University of Memphis transcript.

Typical 4-Year Disability Studies and Rehabilitation Services Concentration Sequence

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

Total Hours: 120

Total Hours Required for Graduation: 120

*Must satisfy University General Education Program Requirement

**Students may opt to do an internship in place of a general elective in their senior year. An internship is not required to meet degree requirements.