Counseling and Addiction Recovery Sciences, B.S. - Online

About the Counseling and Addiction Recovery Sciences Bachelor’s Program

The B.S. in Counseling and Addiction Recovery Sciences (CARS) prepares students for future careers in counseling, couple and family therapy, addiction counseling, or other human services fields. The CARS major also provides a strong foundation for students planning to pursue graduate-level education or health careers such as nursing, medicine, or physical therapy. Traditional face-to-face and online degree options are available. This plan of study places emphasis on professional readiness, development of basic clinical skills, and service delivery. All coursework is grounded in family systems theory and its applications in human services settings. An understanding of addiction in its various manifestations and the development of multicultural competence are also core elements of the curriculum.

CARS graduates develop a unique combination of skills in entry-level counseling, counseling theories, leadership, administration, professional ethics, and cultural competence. They are also trained to understand addiction, including prevention, assessment, treatment, and relationship dynamics.

Communication Literacy Requirement. In the CARS major, Communication Literacy is demonstrated by the use of verbal, aural, and written communication to create systemic change across a wide variety of contexts. For example, graduates will use focused oral and aural skills when working with clients, and professional writing skills to accomplish goals such as securing funding for an agency, developing new programs, or composing psychoeducational curriculum. The Communication Literacy courses are senior-level classes in which students synthesize knowledge and skills introduced throughout the curriculum to complete tasks that will be a part of their future career. In order to fulfill the CARS Communication Literacy requirement, majors must complete the following courses with a grade of C or higher. Courses in the Communication Literacy plan are CARS 3324 , CARS 3325 , and CARS 4390 .

All upper-division CARS courses have a prerequisite of a 2.5 GPA. Students must earn a final letter grade of C or better in all CARS and ADRS courses, as well as any course accepted for CARS and ADRS courses that will be applied to graduation requirements. The program also requires a practicum in which students work with an existing human service organization during the summer between the junior and senior years.

Concentrations. The department offers two concentrations within the CARS major, (1) Applied Relational Counseling or (2) Addictive Disorders and Recovery Studies. All concentration courses must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher. Concentrations are only available to CARS majors.

Applied Relational Counseling. The Applied Relational Counseling Concentration provides a deeper exploration of relationship dynamics. This concentration is perfect for students who want to pursue a career in counseling, couple and family therapy, or other human services fields. Students may choose to complete a concentration in Applied Relational Counseling by completing CARS 3325 , CARS 4314 , and CARS 4331 , then HDFS 2322  and HDFS 3324  as guided electives.

Addictive Disorders and Recovery Studies. By completing this concentration, students interested in a career as a Chemical Dependency Counselor will gain a practical foundation for working with clients as they pursue recovery. The Addictive Disorders and Recovery Studies Concentration requires ADRS 3327 , ADRS 3329 , ADRS 4324 , ADRS 4325 , and ADRS 4329  as guided electives.