Master of Science In Human Resources

Build your know-how and skills around HR processes and cutting-edge practices to be a leader in the management of human resources in your organization. Learn how to link your business strategy to talent strategy, conduct workforce planning, design effective talent recruitment, and select top talent in addition to training, compensation, retention, HR technology, and contemporary issues in HR.

Analytics is the new “electrical current” of business today. HR leaders are increasingly expected to be literate in the basics of business analytics. This course reviews statistical concepts, with an emphasis on real-world data analytics and visualizations, descriptive statistics, regression, pivot tables, and other Excel and R programming analytical tools.

All organizations need to attract, hire, motivate, and retain superior talent — both individual performers and teams. HR leaders are on the frontlines in the design and management of attractive compensation (wages, base pay, incentives, total rewards, etc.) and benefits (health care insurance, personal time off, retirement, EAP, etc.). Learn about the plans that are essential to talent management and competitive advantage.

Learn about this rapidly developing field of HR practice — diversity in the workplace and the impact of changing workforce demographics (race, ethnicity, religion, sexual-orientation, culture, education, etc.) on current and future productivity and competitiveness of organizations. Learn about the various forms of bias and methods for overcoming negative impact as well as the implementation of diversity programs.

HR leaders need to develop an understanding of the various state and federal statutes governing the employment relationship. Topics learned in this course include: discrimination in the workplace, disability issues, the investigation of sexual harassment claims, workplace safety and health compliance, employee privacy issues, employee discharge and discipline procedures, and the nature of employee rights.

HR leaders can have enormous impact on their organizations with deep knowledge from research on the psychology of individuals, groups/teams, organization structure, and culture. This course covers the psychological aspects of organizations, including employee attitudes, personality, motivation, team dynamics, engagement, work design, incentives, leader behaviors, interpersonal communication, influence, conflict, change/OD, and transforming organizations.

Candidates for completion of the M.S. in Human Resources degree will complete an independent project demonstrating their conceptual, analytical, research, and practical HR management skills. This capstone project — usually focused on their own work organization — is a rigorous experience resulting in both a practical report/plan and oral presentation that demonstrates the student’s ability to synthesize and use the skills and knowledge gained in previous courses in the M.S. in Human Resources program.

The essence of leadership is being able to influence followers. But how? You’ll learn the impact of key approaches and research findings relevant to leadership and team building in organizations. In this course, the role of the leader and teams in organizations is experienced, the knowledge and skills required for successful leadership and team building are analyzed, and an assessment of your own leadership and team- building capabilities is completed.

Organizations must innovate, change, or die. HR plays a leadership role and draws on the intersection between business strategy, organizational leadership, and organizational change. Building on the disciplines of business strategy, human resources management, organizational development, and leadership, this upper-level course engages learners from the corporate executive’s perspective.

HR professionals and leaders are looked upon to help mediate and resolve inevitable interpersonal conflict in their organizations. You will learn about the constructive management of conflict at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Research on the origin of conflict, as well as various conflict resolution models, will be examined. You will experience how the role of communication, emotions, power, identity, and culture in the constructive resolution of conflict can lead to productive results.

The University of New Haven offers a wide variety of in-depth courses that create a transformational educational experience for our students. To view the complete list of courses you'll take while pursuing a M.S. in Human Resources, check out the Academic Catalog:

Human Resources, M.S., Employee Relations Concentration
Human Resources, M.S., Organizational Leadership Concentration
Human Resources, M.S., Talent Management Concentration
Human Resources Management Certificate