Master of Science in Assistive Technology Studies and Human Services

This two-year, 10-course, 30-unit program will provide you with cutting-edge preparation for building a career that will enhance the quality of life for individuals who use assistive technology.

Why Should You Consider a Graduate Degree in Assistive Technology and Human Services (ATHS)?

Locally, regionally, nationally and globally, individuals with assistive technology needs are not only increasing in number but also in the complexity of their needs. As a result, the demand for master’s-level trained practitioners in assistive and recuperative services and technologies has never been greater.

In California alone, the state service-provider agencies that serve children and adults who have physical and developmental needs have seen their clientele double in the past 20 years. In addition, greater numbers of the elderly also require increasing amounts of care. On a national level, the U.S. Department of Labor predicts long-term growth in the healthcare and social assistance professions, the related scientific and technical service professions, and in the health education and health services industries, including the areas of assistive/adaptive technologies.

CSUN’s Innovative Approach to Meeting the Assistive Technology Human Services Need

Over the last decade, a new academic discipline has emerged to prepare human services professionals to provide a variety of services related to the use and evaluation of assistive, adaptive, habilitative and rehabilitative devices designed to improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. These professionals are often employed as physical, adaptive and occupational therapists; counselors; or human resources experts. They work not only in healthcare settings but also in educational and corporate environments where their participation is critical to fulfilling the goal of making accessibility universal. What has been lacking – until now – is a program that enables assistive technology students who are focused on human services to study and collaborate with those students whose focus is the design and manufacture of assistive technology devices. The Master’s degree in Assistive Technology and Human Services at CSUN does just that.

Choose This Program Because...

• CSUN’s Assistive Technology and Human Services (ATHS) master’s program is linked to the CSUN’s master’s program in Assistive and Rehabilitative Technology. Because these new programs were conceived and developed simultaneously to work synergistically, you – as a student in the ATHS program – will benefit from an exceptional opportunity to develop a deep understanding of current and future technological possibilities and how the makers of assistive technology devices think. As a graduate, you will enjoy significant professional competitive advantages that stem from being better prepared not only to use existing technologies but also to interact with assistive technology designers and manufacturers in order to expand and improve user options.
• This program will prepare you to apply your assistive technology acumen to a variety of environments. Because the program utilizes a multidisciplinary, multicultural and multigenerational approach to assistive technology assessment, advocacy and counseling – as well as to new product development – it also multiplies the career options open to you.
• This program is tailored for busy midcareer professionals like yourself. Designed for working adults, the ATHS program can be completed in two years by attending class meetings one evening per week plus the occasional Saturday. Individual courses vary in length from eight to 16 weeks.
• This program is taught in the “cohort format” – a delivery format that typically leads to on-time and successful program completion. In CSUN’s cohort-format programs, all participants enter at the same time and proceed through the course of instruction as a group. Advantages of this format:
  • Each course builds on those that precede.
  • All courses are scheduled from the outset, allowing participants to plan ahead and manage their work and family responsibilities more easily.
  • The group-learning process facilitates the development of powerful support networks among faculty and fellow students who come to know one another well.
    As for program completion, nearly 75 percent of students in CSUN cohort programs offered through The Tseng College graduate successfully and on time. This graduation rate is well above the national average.
• Also contributing to your success will be the exceptionally high level of student support services for which The Tseng College is well-known.
• This program is taught by a blend of distinguished faculty from CSUN’s College of Health and Human Development, College of Engineering and Computer Science and accomplished assistive technology industry professionals. (See pages 5–7 for faculty biographies.)
• CSUN is widely recognized for its expertise and resources in disabilities services, including physical and exercise therapy, deafness education, communication disorders, biotechnology engineering and design, computer science and psychology. These resources provided the framework for the Master of Science in Assistive Technology and Human Services – the first dedicated program of its kind in Southern California.