When, in May of 1981, Eagleville terminated its contract with the university, the MHS Program became officially known as the Lincoln University Master of Human Services Program. Lincoln University is a state-related university in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education, chartered by the state to offer both baccalaureate and graduate degrees. Lincoln is accredited by the Middle States Association; this accreditation covers all degree programs granted by the university, including the performance-based MHS degree.

The impetus for the creation of the MHS Program came from its founders' realization that many individuals without advanced academic degrees have become highly skilled practitioners in the human services field. With their experience and personal qualities, non-degreed workers have made enormous contributions to the field and have helped to keep their agencies responsive to the needs of the citizens they serve.

Many professional schools, however, are unwilling or unable to credit the demonstrated skills and knowledge of this group and have maintained the baccalaureate degree as a condition for admission. This practice effectively prevents a group of skilled practitioners from continuing their academic education and from acquiring needed credentials for career advancement.

The MHS Program offers a solution to this problem. Affiliated human service agencies help identify candidates with demonstrated work experience. Lincoln tests their academic skills and admits both degreed and non-degreed qualified candidates. The two-year program is competency-based, applying relevant academic theory to problems encountered in agency practice. This approach has made it an attractive alternative to traditional graduate programs for both the degreed and non-degreed professional. In 1987, an undergraduate-level Pre-Master's Program in Writing and Critical Thinking Skills was added to the curriculum, for students wishing to strengthen their academic skills before beginning graduate study.
 

 The following mission statement was adopted by MHS faculty in 1991:

The Lincoln University Master of Human services Program provides non-traditional graduate study to adult human service practitioners from both the public and private sectors. The culturally diverse students for whom the program was designed are characterized by successful experience in human service work, the potential to complete graduate study, the need for professional credentials at the master's level, and the motivation to achieve academic excellence. Students earn their master's degree through a combination of classroom and performance-based field experiences stressing action research and problem solving skills.

 Dedicated to the idea of positive social change, the MHS Program seeks to advance its students' personal and professional development, increase the number of qualified human service professionals, and improve the nation's social service delivery system, as well as the lives of its beneficiaries.