Human Resource Management MA

Course summary

In a turbulent, rapidly changing business environment, the demand for HR professionals who can strategically manage and develop staff potential – while overcoming issues such as redundancy, flexible working and the recent challenges of furloughed staff and social distancing – has never been more fundamental to business success.

Our career-focused MA is fully accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), the only professional body in the world that can award Chartered status to HRM or Learning and Development professionals. It is designed to build your understanding of the theory, practices and policies associated with evidence-based Human Resource Management (HRM) as they relate to real-world situations, equipping you with the knowledge, competencies and analytical skills to effectively manage organisational strategy and operations from an HR perspective.

Our problem-based approach to teaching means you’ll get to apply what you learn to management problems through assignments and projects based on actual situations. We’ll draw on everyday HR issues in the news, case studies and current examples, at times addressing some of our own students’ workplace experiences. You’ll learn to collect and analyse relevant data and information, developing your ability to identify, evaluate and propose the most appropriate solutions looking at issues ranging from flexible working to employee engagement, managing change or reward management.

Our annual HRM conference offers you the chance to hear direct from a range of guest speakers, who have previously covered issues such as immigration and labour supply, and the impact of EU legislation on employee relations post-Brexit. You’ll also can develop essential HR practitioner skills through a series of practical workshops in areas such as finance, employment law, interviewing, disciplinary and grievance handling, counselling and negotiating. Working in teams, you might simulate dealing with a disciplinary hearing, for example, or conducting a job evaluation exercise. When studying people resourcing, you may participate in an assessment centre or practise your interviewing skills.

Whether you’re a graduate intending to work in HR or a current practitioner seeking to advance, our course, with its focus on professional practice, will help you progress your career. With working professionals in mind, this course can be studied both full-time and part-time. Part-time study is either evenings only or a combination of evening and half-day study. Past graduates have secured jobs as consultants (internal and external), HR managers, compensation and benefits managers, change management specialists, HR business partners/operations managers, civil servants and mediators.

This course will enhance your career prospects and marketability in the professional practice of HRM. As a postgraduate, you can look forward to excellent career prospects in managerial or organisational roles, either here in the UK or abroad, which focus on human resources or people development. You’ll be particularly well placed to pursue people-focused career opportunities in areas such as change management, industrial/employment relations and reward management.

Past students have become consultants (internal and external), HR managers, compensation and benefits managers, change management specialists, HR business partners/operations managers, civil servants and mediators. Employers of our students include the BBC, Capgemini, Linklaters, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Royal Household.