Why Major in RHS?
The RHS major trains students interested in improving quality of life for persons impacted by disabilities. RHS professionals work with a variety of people across the lifespan who experience problems in psychosocial, physical, mental, educational, vocational, and recreational aspects of their lives.
Examples of client groups RHS professionals work with include people with mental, cognitive, developmental, addiction, sensory, and/or physical disabilities and chronic illness; people experiencing violence; people living in poverty; and people who are homeless.
Summer 2022, Fall 2022 Internship Funding Opportunity
There is funding to offer monetary stipends to Penn State Abington students who will be completing internships at local agencies that treat substance use disorders (or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders)!
This opportunity is available to all RHS majors, but preference will be given to students who are concurrently enrolled in the Chemical Dependency Prevention and Counseling Certificate. This funding will also allow students to visit various agencies in the area to learn more about the treatment of substance use disorders.
For more information, contact Professor Lavetsky ([email protected]).
Your Experience as an RHS Major
We are committed to a student-centered approach to education that fosters success through close interaction with faculty and peers. The proximity of our suburban campus to Philadelphia creates unique opportunities for students to make career connections through internships and other partnerships.
Student honored for academics, work with trans, gender nonconforming populations
Penn State Abington junior Angelea Francesco earned the Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award for her academic achievements and her impact in the community.
Careers in RHS
Penn State Abington RHS graduates pursue employment in a variety of settings:
- rehabilitation centers
- drug and alcohol programs
- senior citizens centers
- community mental health programs
- corrections systems
- hospitals
Increasing opportunities are available in private for-profit insurance programs for the industrially injured, and in employee assistance programs within business and industry.
Student Profile: Dominic
“My own experience going through rehabilitation had formed a new foundation in my life”
Dominic eventually withdrew from Penn State after realizing electrical engineering was not his passion, and began working as an aide at a rehabilitation center. Having found his career path, he re-enrolled at Abington and changed his major to Rehabilitation & Human Services. He will graduate from Abington Spring 2018 while working as an activities director at a nursing home in Philadelphia.
Faculty member discusses solutions to national addiction crisis
“Within the addiction field, there has been a real shift to bring recovery into the light and to understand what helps people not only access recovery, but also what helps them sustain and grow their recovery over the long haul.”
Stacey Conway, Assistant Teaching Professor of Biobehavioral Health, examines addiction from a rehabilitation perspective.