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MSc Human Resource Management

Gain crucial skills, knowledge and understanding to prepare for your career as an HR professional

Year of entry: 2024 (September)

Length

1 year full-time

Start date

September 2024 (semester dates)

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This course will introduce you to advanced concepts and techniques in the field of human resource management.

Our research-led teaching gives you access to the latest thinking in business leadership, employment relations, organisational growth and sustainability, and the societal impacts of emerging employment practices. You'll consider global and local perspectives, with a particular focus on how organisations can manage their employee resources to gain a competitive advantage.

You'll gain internationally-relevant skills that create career opportunities in consultancy, recruitment, training and other HR roles which facilitate global business.

Accreditation

This course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). This is a guarantee of the quality of our programme.

While on this course you can register as a student member of CIPD (CIPD.org), which is the first step towards professional membership. A membership fee is payable if you choose to register.

CIPD Logo reading CIPD Approved Centre

Church Lane building, on the edge of Campus West, has been re-envisioned as a modern, light-filled building with bespoke teaching and learning spaces.

Masterclasses

Alongside your formal classes, we arrange an extensive programme of guest speakers. Visitors from large multinational companies, small businesses and public sector organisations lead discussions on issues linked to their own businesses or past experiences.

Course content

Your taught modules will give you a solid grasp of theory, current research and contemporary issues in human resource management, organisational behaviour, work and society, and employment relations on the world stage.

You'll also develop your independent research skills before focusing your efforts on a final 12,000-word dissertation.

Dissertation

You'll write a 12,000-word dissertation, based on an independent research project. You'll investigate a human resource management issue and propose recommendations for tackling it.

You can choose to focus your research on a topic that interests you. It could be a chance to explore a previous topic in greater depth, or investigate an organisational challenge in an industry close to your heart. Recent titles include:

  • An Investigation of HRM Practice in SMEs in the Service Sector in China: a Qualitative Study
  • An Exploratory Analysis of the Relationship Between HRM Practices and Employee Commitment: Evidence from Titicaca Travel Agency
  • Talent Management in The Norwegian Tax Authority: An Institutionalist Perspective

You'll work with a personal supervisor who will support and guide you. They'll help you develop research questions and identify methods and theories to investigate and analyse your topic.

The York approach

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

  • Analyse and evaluate the full spectrum of contemporary HR functions, using knowledge of cutting-edge HRM theories, approaches and methods (and by critically considering historical, social and ethical factors at play in contemporary organisations) in order to support the workforce to facilitate improved organisational performance.
  • Demonstrate an advanced understanding of skills and knowledge relevant to international HR contexts in order to uphold the professional principles of HR in diverse contexts, both within and across organisations and cultures.
  • Provide clear and accurate information on contemporary HR issues to a range of stakeholders by defining, managing, synthesising and interpreting complex organisational data from multiple sources.
  • Appropriately identify and apply problem-solving processes and a range of HR metrics to tailor HR solutions to address complex business problems.
  • Assess and manage multi-faceted individual and organisational HR challenges so as to nurture a supportive work environment by respecting the employment relationship, and balance the demands of complex HR operations.
  • Identify, evaluate and actively promote the role of HRM in developing and shaping strategies to encourage sustainable and ethical practices within organisations.
  • Critically reflect on the learning process in order to identify areas to be targeted in order to achieve continuing personal and professional development goals.
  • Identify and independently investigate a significant problem in the domain of HRM, deploying appropriate research methods to present a substantial, in-depth critical analysis of the problem in written form.
I learned to focus on the essentials and to work more systematically in order to obtain high quality outputs within very limited time. I am now working as a market researcher collecting data and writing reports - just like I used to do when writing my Masters dissertation.
Former student, MSc Human Resource Management

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2024/25

Study modeUK (home)International and EU
Full-time (1 year) £13,750£28,680

Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

Fees information

UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.

Funding information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2024/25 throughout the year.

If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.

Funding opportunities

We offer a number of subject-specific funding opportunities for home and overseas students.

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics and experienced HR practitioners who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.

Teaching format

You'll be taught via a mix of lectures, seminars and practical workshops. We'll help you develop skills of research and investigation to support your independent learning.

Our tutors are subject experts in their respective fields and many have professional experience in HR management. Previous students have praised our staff for their professionalism, friendly and welcoming manner, and enthusiasm for their subject.

Teaching location

You will be based in the School of Business & Society on Campus West. Most of your teaching will take place in the Church Lane Building, with additional contact hours elsewhere on Campus East and Campus West.

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.

Assessment and feedback

Your modules are assessed with a mixture of exams, essays and presentations. You'll also complete formative assignments including presentations and literature reviews. You'll receive feedback on all the work you submit, helping you to understand your strengths and identify areas for improvement.

Your final assessment is a 12,000-word dissertation, which makes up a third of your overall grade.

Careers and skills

Our specialist HR academics are supported by practitioners who work closely with professional bodies to ensure our courses reflect the needs of industry.

Our graduates are pursuing HR careers in a wide range of sectors and industries, in the UK and internationally. The understanding of human resource management that this course will give you is essential to businesses around the world.

Career opportunities

  • HR advisor
  • HR consultant
  • Events manager
  • Peer researcher
  • Recruitment co-ordinator
  • Employee relations manager

Transferable skills

  • Interviewing
  • Negotiation
  • Continuous professional development
  • Independent research
  • Writing business reports
  • Financial management
  • Critical analysis
  • Problem solving
  • Decision making
  • Visual, oral and written presentation skills
  • Computer literacy

Entry requirements

Typical offer
Undergraduate degree 2:1 or equivalent in a social science subject. Previous tuition in management is desirable but not essential. Alternatively, we may accept a 2:2 undergraduate degree supported by professional qualifications or at least one year of relevant work experience.
International pre-masters programme Pre-masters from our International Pathway College
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator) 6.5, minimum 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in all other components
Cambridge CEFR B2 First: 176, with a minimum of 176 in Writing and no less than 169 in all other components
Oxford ELLT 7, minimum of 7 in writing and no less than 6 in all other components
Duolingo 120, minimum 120 in production and 105 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT B2 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic 70 with a minimum of 70 in Writing and no less than 65 in all other components
KITE 459-494, with 459-494 in writing and 426-458 in all other components
Skills for English B2: Merit overall, with Merit in writing and Pass with Merit in all other components
PTE Academic 61, minimum 61 in Writing and 55 in all other components
TOEFL 87, minimum 23 in Writing and 21 in all other components
Trinity ISE III Merit in all components

For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

If you haven't met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

You can apply and send all your documentation online. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.

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