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Human Resource Management

MSc

Key facts
Overview
How to apply
Tuition fees
Learning and assessment
Research
After you graduate
Our Staff

Key facts

Start dates

September 2020

Location

Headington

Course length

Full time: 12 months

Part time: 24 months

Department

Oxford Brookes Business School

Accreditation(s)

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

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  • Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

Overview

With our Human Resources Management MSc you’ll be prepared for a successful international career in a range of commercial, public sector and not-for-profit organisations. Our course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) to Advanced Diploma knowledge standards.

You will build your professional HR knowledge while developing your core HR skills with:

  • skills development workshops
  • visits to organisations to examine their HR practice. 

You will become a member of the Chartered Association of Personnel and Development, the premier HR professional body, and you will:

  • attend the Oxford CIPD monthly meetings
  • receive briefings on the latest HR developments, including local and global employers.

While studying you'll have opportunities to apply for internships or volunteering roles. Past students have found placements with HR teams at Blenheim Palace and Oxfam.

You may also be interested in:

Two students comparing notes

How to apply

Entry requirements

Specific entry requirements

This course attracts students from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities. A minimum of a second class honours degree (2:2) in any academic discipline, or equivalent overseas degree from a recognised institution or equivalent professional or other qualification is required.

Applicants who possess a diploma rather than a good degree may be eligible for entry provided they have compensatory work experience and can demonstrate career development.

Applications are welcome from those in work and seeking continuing professional development.

Entry will also be subject to two satisfactory references (one of these must be an academic reference).

Please also see the University's general entry requirements.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language you will need to have the following level of English language competency:

  • minimum 6.0 (with a minimum of 6.0 in reading and writing and 5.5 in listening and speaking).
  • if you have completed your undergraduate degree in the UK (at least one full year of study) you will automatically meet our English language requirements.

Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.

International qualifications and equivalences

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English requirements for visas

If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.

Pathways courses for international and EU students

We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK.

Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course.

If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.

Terms and Conditions of Enrolment

When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.

Application process

Apply now

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
2020 / 21
Home/EU full time
£9,500
Home/EU part time
£4,750
International full time
£15,400

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2020 / 21
Home/EU full time
£9,500
Home/EU part time
£4,750
International full time
£15,400

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year your fees will increase each year.

Financial support and scholarships

For general sources of financial support, see our Fees and funding pages.

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course, if any, are detailed below.

We offer an International Business in Practice Study Trip module. This study trip is voluntary and all costs associated with the trip will need to be funded by you. 

The destination varies from year to year, so it is not possible to give a precise cost. As an example, the fee for the Boston USA field trip in July 2019 was £1580 and included: accommodation for 7 nights in the Boston area insurance company visits (e.g. Facebook, Dunkin Brands, Trip Advisor, Microsoft, Bank of America) group transportation for all activities and some of the meals. This fee did not include international airfare, visa application fee (if relevant), dinners and activities during your free time.

Learning and assessment

Over the duration of the course you will take eight compulsory modules, one which provides you with practical experience of human resource management practice. You will also complete a dissertation.

Lecturer presenting to class

Study modules

Taught modules

Compulsory modules

Human Resource Management in Context

This will develop your understanding of the main internal and external environmental contexts within which organisations operate. You will compare the role of the Human Resource (HR) manager with other functions to show how these integrate with general management and drive organisational success. You will examine how those in the HR function, and line managers with HR responsibilities, need to recognise this wider perspective. You will become aware of how managers and HR professionals in different organisation types have varying opportunities and constraints when taking organisational and HR decisions.

Leading, Managing and Developing People

You will become familiar with research evidence on employment and effective approaches to human resource (HR) and learning and development (L&D) practice. You will consider significant debates in leadership, flexibility and change management to help you become an effective manager and HR specialist. You will learn to manage others effectively and increase levels of engagement, commitment, motivation and performance.

Resourcing, Talent and Performance Management

A major objective of the human resources function is the mobilisation of a workforce. Organisations can only function if they are able to assemble teams of people with the necessary skills to meet their goals and retain effective performers. This module focuses on the practical aspects of recruitment, selection, employee retention and exiting. You will develop the knowledge and skills required for resourcing and talent management within a global context. You will also gain an understanding of how performance management can support the strategic objectives of an organisation, how the performance of people can be enhanced and inspired by leadership, and how this contributes to high-performance work organisations.

Managing Employment Relations

This will develop your understanding of managing employment relations within different types of organisation. Employment relations is a changing subject which is influenced by external factors (political and economic) and internal factors (management and management style). You will explore the impact of different national environments on employment and the roles of different stakeholders in employment relation systems. You will also critically review employment relations in an organisation and make suggestions to drive improvements to Human Resource Management. This module like many others includes a practical skills workshop.

Organisational Design and Organisational Development

This will enable you to acquire an understanding of organisations with particular reference to job design, cultural dynamics, organisational change, leadership, power and politics. The module will develop expertise in organisational development (OD) aspects of HR management.

International Human Resource Management (IHRM)

This module develops your understanding of the theoretical origins of HRM. You will explore the links between business strategy and international HRM, and study the relationship between achieving strategic objectives and the implementation of appropriate and coherent HR strategies. As the pace of globalisation has gathered momentum, IHRM is now a discipline in its own right, attracting attention from researchers and practitioners.

Developing Skills for Business Leadership

Successful leaders have different approaches to their work, sharing a range of diverse personality traits, attributes and beliefs. They are central determinants of an individual manager's effectiveness and are developed consciously over time and with an awareness of the differing cultural contexts and operating environments. A key purpose of this module is thus to encourage learners to develop a strong sense of self-awareness and of their own strengths and weaknesses as managers and colleagues. In addition it seeks to help learners to develop and improve a range of specific skills which are pivotal to successful management practice and to effective leadership in particular.

Researching Organisations

This module prepares you for completing high quality, systematic business and management research, drawing upon a range of secondary and primary data sources in preparation for your research project. You will be introduced to a range of tools required for research including methodological issues, data collection techniques and different approaches to data analysis.

Optional modules

Human Resource Management in Practice

This provides the opportunity to visit a range of organisations and learn about Human Resource Management (HRM) in practice, so giving you a valuable practical insights and enhancing your employability. Prior to visiting you will research the organisations and prepare questions for them and afterwards you will capture your reflections on your learning in writing.

Final project

Compulsory modules

Dissertation

You will investigate a HR management or organisational practice issue using primary and/or secondary data, justified and supported by detailed reference to relevant theories and concepts from literature and a relevant research design. You will also make recommendations for improved future practice.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from that shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Download course structure chart

Learning and teaching

We use a range of teaching methods, including:

  • lectures
  • seminar discussions
  • practical workshops
  • online learning, through our virtual learning platform.

You'll understand the challenges of HR in practice through a stimulating mix of theoretical and practical inputs. 

Our teaching staff are active researchers. Some have an industry background with practical experience of HR and wider business and management issues. 

We also organise visiting speakers from:

  • business
  • industry
  • consultancies
  • research bodies. 

We offer an International Business in Practice Study Trip module.

Field trips

The International Business in Practice Study Trip module allows you to experience ideas and practices of global business. During the trip you will have direct interaction with management executives and practices. You will: attend presentations from local management executives and experts go on site visits to major corporations and agencies. This study trip is voluntary and you will need to fund all costs associated with the trip. It is not linked to university assessments in any way.

We also run a study trip to Chengdu, China. If you choose the study trip (which runs in July), we will give you all the details by March so that you can make your decisions ahead of the trip in July.

If you successfully complete this non-credit bearing module, it will be recorded on your transcript as P58335 International Business in Practice: Study Trip.

Assessment

Assessment methods used on this course

We use a range of assessment methods, such as:

  • examinations
  • assignments
  • individual or group reports
  • group presentations.

Throughout the course you'll develop the analytical and presentation skills that employers look for. 

Research

An annual HR Research conference is jointly hosted with Oxford CIPD. 

There are two research clusters in the International Centre for Coaching and Mentoring Studies and the Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice which relate to this subject:

  • Work and Organisations
  • Management and Entrepreneurship Education.
Presenting research

After you graduate

Career prospects

Experience shows that our MSc HRM graduates are highly employable. They can follow a number of different career routes. Many graduates (alumni) are in HR departments across a wide spectrum of organisations, including;

  • small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
  • governmental bodies
  • large global commercial organisations
  • non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Some students develop academic careers and others follow consultancy opportunities or go into general management.

Our Staff

Dr Andrea Bernardi

My main research contributions relate to the co-operative sector, including Chinese co-operatives. I also work on employment relations and inequality and I have further interests in the study of time, the past, and history in management and organizational studies.

Read more about Andrea

Birgit den Outer

Brigit supervises MA dissertation students studying Human Resource Management and teaches Understanding and Researching Organisations and Work, Employment, and Globalisation.

Read more about Birgit

Dr Andrea Bernardi

My main research contributions relate to the co-operative sector, including Chinese co-operatives. I also work on employment relations and inequality and I have further interests in the study of time, the past, and history in management and organizational studies.

Read more about Andrea

Birgit den Outer

Brigit supervises MA dissertation students studying Human Resource Management and teaches Understanding and Researching Organisations and Work, Employment, and Globalisation.

Read more about Birgit

Programme Changes: On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website.

For more information, please visit our Changes to programmes page.