Labor and Human Resources

Every day, 135 million Americans go to work and surprising stuff happens. Welcome to the world of human resources and labor relations! Labor and Human Resources focuses on subjects ranging from globalization and talent management, to unions and social justice, to gender equity and workers' rights. It encompasses a variety of growing career areas, all of which address the complex social, cultural, and professional issues one is likely to encounter in modern workplaces. You will learn in a highly student-centered program with great faculty, wonderful resources, and an in-house career counselor for help as you approach completion.

You Might Like This Program If...

You want to earn a first-rate liberal arts education and a ticket to a satisfying, remunerative, and fascinating career, or continued study in one of our baccalaureate programs. Our great student groups are fun, encourage student professional development, and explore issues like voting rights, student debt, and immigration reform.

This Associate of Science (A.S.) degree in Labor and Human Resources permits students to undertake a study of work and the employment relationship in the context of a liberal arts education. An introductory foundation of theoretical and professional knowledge is provided through a multidisciplinary approach. The degree draws on the perspectives of disciplines such as industrial relations, economics, history, law, sociology, and psychology.

Graduates of the Labor and Human Resources A.S. degree program are equipped for employment in business, government, and labor organizations as labor relations assistants, personnel and human resource assistants, and payroll assistants. The degree is also appropriate preparation for the B.A. or B.S degree in Labor and Human Resources, or other social science or business Bachelors' degrees.

If you are a first year student applying to Penn State:

Click Apply to start your Penn State application. Before starting, you can also review the Applying Online Worksheet for more details and helpful hints about the application.

Your application work can be saved at each step of the process by clicking the Save and Continue button at the bottom of the page. This feature will allow you to move back and forth within the application or log off and return to complete your application at a later time.

After completing your Academic History, you will need to provide your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR). As you begin the SRAR process, a new window will open allowing you to complete your SRAR. SRAR will focus on your high school coursework. It is important that this step is a complete and accurate representation of your school record. Therefore, have a copy of your secondary school records available as you complete your SRAR. You will need to enter every class and every grade earned for the last three years, as well as those classes in progress.

After completing your SRAR, you will be directed back to the Penn State application in order to complete the Program of Study portion of the application. Here, you will indicate your desired starting semester, your intended program of study, and your starting and ending campus. For further details on how to complete this portion based on your applicant type, please see the steps to apply for first-year students.

After completing this section of the application, you will provide some additional information, an activities resume, and a personal statement. You will be able to paste in this information from other sources, but note that the formatting may not always paste in as intended.

If you are a transfer student applying to Penn State:

All international transfer students will be required to submit official high school transcripts in order to complete the application. International transfer students will not complete the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) for either their high school or college coursework.

If you have accepted your offer of admission to Penn State:

If you completed SRAR and are accepted to Penn State, please provide the following for grade verification:

• Official transcript from years 9, 10, 11, and 12. If the transcript is issued in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.
• Official copy of the Tawjihi, accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.

A Labor and Human Resources education prepares students for many career opportunities and graduate studies. The majority of our grads work as human resource and employment relations (HRER) specialists–a growing field according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Others have gone on to work as labor union organizers, labor arbitrators, and professionals in non-profit careers. Virtually every employer--multinational corporations, small companies, hospitals, non-profit agencies, universities, and federal, state, and local governments--employ HRER professionals.

Labor and Human Resources grads do exceedingly well in the job market, and have been hired by a long list of companies (link below). For students interested in social and economic justice at work, a career with a union provides an opportunity to put your beliefs into actions. Our alums have gone on to work for national and international labor organizations and unions such as the AFL-CIO, United Steelworkers, and the American Federation of Teachers to name a few. Government agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board and the U.S. and state Departments of Labor regularly hire Penn State LER School grads.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS FOR GRADUATES OF THE LABOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES PROGRAM

Opportunities for Graduate Studies

Along with three top Masters programs (M.S. and M.P.S. degrees in Human Resources and Employment Relations and an M.P.S. in Labor and Global Workers Rights, we offer a five-year Integrated Undergraduate Graduate (IUG) program through which you can earn your Bachelors and Masters degrees in a total of five years, instead of six years as can otherwise be needed. Students with a Masters degree land much better paying jobs in coveted. Many of our top performing IUG students receive assistantships that helps to pay their tuition.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDIES

Professional Resources

• Society for Human Resource Management
• Penn State World Campus
• The LABOR School at Penn State
• Academy of Human Capital Development
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)