Master of Science in Human Resource Management

The Master of Science in Human Resource Management program is designed to prepare professionals to advance their careers in the field of human resources (HR). The program emphasizes the strategic role that human resources plays in the performance of global organizations, providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to be effective HR leaders.

In addition to core HR principles, students examine the full spectrum of human capital management concepts, including talent acquisition and retention, employee motivation, change management, and organizational culture. Students will learn about key HR processes, including talent management, total rewards, performance management, learning and development, employee relations, and HR analytics.

Finally, students will explore key topics that are increasingly important to HR, including managing in a global context, diversity and inclusion, principled leadership, HR technology, and corporate social responsibility.

Learning Outcomes

Design effective HR strategies that strengthen organizations.

Interpret HR policies, procedure, key documentation, and considerations needed to manage risks and achieve organizational objectives.

Create plans to recruit, hire, train, retain, and motivate a diverse and global workforce.

Use research methodology and data collection methods needed for strategic HR decision-making.

Evaluate HR practices to ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

Incorporate ethical practice into all aspects of HR management.

Develop leadership skills that accentuate personal strengths while addressing interpersonal relationships and organization development and change.

Assess drivers and organizational factors to ensure HR alignment with the organization’s mission, vision, and values.

Incorporate diversity and inclusion practice into all aspects of HR management.

Curriculum

A Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management requires 24 units of coursework offered in the fall, spring, and summer semesters. The program may be completed on a 1- or 2-year track. Students attending the program on the 1-year track can earn the degree within 12 months and those on the 2-year track can complete the program in less than two years.

Our curriculum was designed by industry leaders who are at the forefront of the future direction of the field. Our engaging faculty will prepare you to be future leaders of the profession and will give you increased confidence in your skills and knowledge that will serve you throughout the rest of your career.

Human Resource Strategy (2 units)

Explores the strategic role that HR management plays in providing organizations with sustained competitive advantages by unlocking the productive potential of employees’ human and social capital.

• Link organizational resources and practices to performance outcomes.
• Align human resource practices with organizational strategy and the external environment.
• Develop and implement a holistic framework for organizational human resource activities.
• Demonstrate how human resource management decisions influence the effectiveness of human and social capital within firms.
• Analyze the complexities associated with managing human resources in a multi-national context.

Organizational Culture and Employee Outcomes (2 units)

Prepares students to create, foster, and manage organizations in which people thrive and perform at their best in order to retain talent and reduce costs in a sustainable way.

• Describe the factors that influence the development of human and social capital in organizations.
• Develop and implement a theory of practice to create and manage organizations, departments, and jobs that foster excellence.
• Recognize the impact of leadership on a team’s process, culture, and outcomes.
• Lead to develop greater trust and psychological safety to foster effective teams.
• Enrich a portfolio of effective tools and ideas for putting of practice into use.

Leadership in Human Resources (2 units)

Focuses on developing the critical social intelligence skills needed to lead people and change through increased self-awareness, understanding of interpersonal differences, and greater influence.

• Self-assess critical traits, skills, and behaviors typical of successful leaders.
• Articulate an effective strategic plan for individual leadership development through exercises, assessments, and simulations.
• Map your network and develop strategies growing and maintaining your network to be more effective.
• Examine how interpersonal interactions and non-verbal communication affects you (and other leaders’) power and influence.
• Gain insight into how to lead change and how to overcome resistance from individuals and groups.

Talent Management (2 units)

Examines talent management processes that impact employee experience and engagement and explores ways to improve data driven decision making processes including workforce and succession planning.

• Detail a process to align a talent strategy with an organization’s business strategy, yielding a pipeline of talent to help achieve organizational goals.
• Identify aspects of an organization’s talent management processes that impact employee experience and engagement and adapt processes accordingly.
• Improve approaches to making data-based, individual-, and group-level decisions about talent (e.g., workforce planning, hiring, performance reviews, and promotions).
• Broaden approaches to develop capabilities of talent in organizations, including training interventions, learning from experience, and enabling managers to effectively coach and develop employees.
• Design and facilitate talent processes to identify high potential leaders and build a robust succession pipeline.

Total Rewards (2 units)

Provides a comprehensive look at the employee rewards strategies that human resource practitioners promote and manage including compensation, performance management, benefits, and non-monetary rewards.

• Develop a rewards strategy that is consistent with the needs of specific organizations.
• Assess the effectiveness of reward programs in motivating, attracting, and retaining employees.
• Determine the mix of rewards that is most likely to be effective in a specific organization.
• Distinguish the major types of compensation and benefit programs and their advantages and limitations.
• Communicate rewards programs to employees in an organization.

Learning and Development (2 units)

Prepares students to identify, design, and implement effective learning and development interventions and strategies that drive results and enhance organizational competitiveness.

• Examine theoretical and organizational factors that affect the ability of learning and development departments, functions, and initiatives to enhance individual and organizational performance.
• Compare and contrast a variety of historical, current, and future-focused learning and development concepts and examine applied practices.
• Critique the design and implementation of applied learning and development interventions.
• Develop a portfolio of practical tools and ideas for identifying needs, designing experiences, and evaluating outcomes of learning and development interventions.
• Create a project plan for a learning or development intervention that can be applied within an organizational context.
• Apply effective reflection and feedback processes to enhance personal learning and development.

Employee Relations (2 units)

Applies practical approaches to building positive employee and labor relations and solving related problems through increased employee motivation, effectiveness, and retention.

• Examine the dilemmas and strategies for managing effective relationships with employees, bosses, and labor unions.
• Effectively manage disruptive employee behavior that challenges organizational norms and goals.
• Recognize how gender, cultural, and generational differences affect employee relations. Practice managing these differences effectively.
• Use data-driven, evidence-based approaches to improve the practice of management within organizations.
• Utilize performance management evaluations to coach, counsel, and correct employee behavior.

Human Resources Analytics (2 units)

Examines and emphasizes strategies and techniques to enable improved organizational and human capital decisions by directing the organizational analytics for more actionable insights.

• Recommend effective ways to measure and improve employee engagement to support the organization.
• Change the paradigm from perfecting HR processes to improving results.
• Distinguish the right way to scorecard and measure HR from the usual turnover and safety metrics.
• Avoid the dangers of HR data mining.
• Improve organizational effectiveness by asking the right questions, selecting the appropriate data and analyses needed to answer these questions, and using the results to drive change.

Management of Diverse and Global Human Resources (2 units)

Analyzes global diversity in today’s environment, fostering a broad understanding of diversity and inclusion and the impact of diversity, inclusion, and inclusive behaviors on organizations.

Completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Articulate concepts of diversity and inclusion as they apply to society and to the organization and argue the business case for diversity and inclusion as a critical strategy.
• Recommend diversity and inclusion best practices and develop strategies to position diversity and inclusion in an organization for maximum effectiveness.
• Evaluate measures to assess the effectiveness of diversity and inclusion strategies.
• Examine three global diversity and inclusion patterns: gender, LGBT and generations.
• Determine the implications of cultural competence and unconscious bias.

Organization Design (2 units)

Equips students with a deeper understanding of how to design and develop organizations to increase performance and effectiveness and includes sections on strategy, work, and management processes.

• Describe organization design and the importance of its alignment to organizational performance and effectiveness.
• Distinguish major differences and capability requirements for a variety of organizational structures.
• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of alternative design choices.
• Articulate culture and identity’s role in organization design and organization development.
• Originate the re-design process and develop practical abilities to lead an organization through a re-design process.

Change Management and Organization Development (2 units)

Identifies the common challenges in organizational change management and explores the limitations and opportunities of different models of organizational change.

• Explore prevailing change theories and perspectives.
• Describe the effect leadership can have on organizational change.
• Identify and correct the common challenges in change management.
• Explore the limitations and opportunities of different models of organizational change and change management.
• Formulate strategies and tactics to prevent or address resistance to change.

Anticipating the Future of Human Resources (2 units)

Explores the forces and emerging trends that are reshaping work, the workforce and workplace – and how to address these transformational changes and be effective as an HR leader.

• Recognize the forces of change and trends that are reshaping work, the workforce, and the workplace.
• Prioritize the capabilities and actions that are required to address and resolve these transformational changes, challenges, and opportunities.
• Draw concrete, specific, and practical connections among what it means to be an effective HR leader: what a leader needs to know and do, what questions to ask, and how to learn from critical developmental inflection points that are essential for HR future-readiness.
• Master the foundational and accelerating capabilities that are central to the future of HR.
• Enrich your personal portfolio of practical tools, frameworks, and ways of thinking about and resolving future HR issues.