Management, Business Administration, Human Resource Management Concentration

This program is designed to develop in students a comprehensive knowledge of human resource (HR) management along with the skills necessary for implementing strategic, effective, and legally defensible HR practices in contemporary business organizations. Human resource professionals operate in a dynamic and changing world, managing the organization's relationship with its employees. They develop and manage people, practices, and policies to ensure that they produce employee attitudes, skills, behaviors, and performance that companies need to achieve their strategic goals. They are commonly responsible for recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training and developing, evaluating performance, compensating, providing benefits, counseling, and terminating employees. HR Professionals are employed in every industry and are an essential partner in an organization's strategic vision for the future and for ensuring the right people are in place. It is essential that an HR professional learn and master key knowledge, skills, and abilities including critical thinking, confidentiality, change management, communication, negotiation and conflict management, business acumen, interpersonal skills, organizational skills, and fairness. In addition to the All-University Core Curriculum, course work for a concentration in Human Resource Management includes the College of Business Core and various management electives that allow the student to structure a program around his or her educational and/or career interests.

Students will demonstrate:

• Knowledge and skills necessary to assume entry-level HR positions in preparation for pursuing careers in a wide variety of organizations and industries
• Knowledge and skills to develop and implement HR practices in a strategic, legal, and ethical manner
• Understanding of HR's role in the efficient and effective operations of organizations and their human resources
• The ability to create and manage HR practices that respect and encourage diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Some examples include, but are not limited to the following: Compensation Analyst, Employee Benefits Manager, Employee Relations Manager, Health & Safety Manager, Human Resource Assistant, Human Resource Consultant, HR Information Systems Manager, HR Metrics Analyst, Human Resource Manager, Job Analyst, Labor Relations Specialist, Orientation Specialist, Recruiter, Training and Development Specialist, Wellness Program Administrator, Workforce Planning Specialist.

Application Materials

All applicants for admission must submit an online application, $50 application fee or fee waiver request, and academic transcripts. Freshman/first-year applicants are required to submit a personal statement. The application includes an optional Academic Explanation section for applicants to provide more context for their performance and/or enrollment history. Recommendations and ACT/SAT scores are not required. The Office of Admissions may request additional information before completing a full review of an applicant’s application file.

Refer to the appropriate application guides for details.

Application Fee or Fee Waiver

An application fee is required as part of a complete application; a decision cannot be rendered without it. If payment of the application fee presents a financial hardship, applicants can request a fee waiver.

Refer to the Office of Admissions website for the application fee refund policy.

High School Transcript and proof of graduation (or equivalent)

High school performance, as reflected on a student's transcript(s), is an essential component of the admission decision for all freshman/first-year applicants and for transfer applicants with fewer than 30 post-high school credits.

High school transcripts for transfer applicants with more than 30 post-high school credits are considered only when needed to satisfy the admission requirement in mathematics.

All freshman/first year applicants and all transfers with fewer than 60 post-high school college credits must submit proof of high school graduation or equivalent prior to the start of their first semester of enrollment.

ACT/SAT results

ACT or SAT test scores are not required. Our review process is individualized, includes a range of academic and personal factors and emphasizes students’ efforts and achievement demonstrated over 3-4 years. Test scores are not given much weight in the admission decision and are not considered at all for scholarships. Students who wish to have their scores considered in the admission decision should email [email protected] with this request.

ACT or SAT results can be used for composition placement purposes and thus can be helpful to submit by any incoming student before orientation/registration.

College Transcript(s)

Freshman/first-year applicants typically are required to submit an official college transcript at the point of application only if college enrollment is being used as their full-time high school curriculum (such as early college, ASCENT and fifth-year programs, and some homeschool curricula). Refer to College-Level Courses Completed by High School Students for additional information.

Transfer applicants must submit an official college transcript from each college attended, regardless of the type of institution, amount or type of credit earned, and age of the credential, even if the work will be reflected in transfer on another transcript. No part of the previous collegiate record may be disregarded. Failure to include all institutions previously attended may result in the rescinding of admission, loss of credit, or disenrollment. Transcripts reflecting courses taken at vocational-technical institutes or colleges that are not regionally accredited can be helpful documentation and may be required, though they do not qualify an applicant for transfer applicant status or advanced-standing credit. 

Second Bachelor applicants are only required to submit an official transcript from the college/university from which they earned their first (or most recent) bachelor's degree. Official transcripts from other colleges/universities attended (if applicable) are encouraged if an applicant is seeking a competitive major or to demonstrate explicit pre-requisites for their new degree program.

Advanced standing credit (transfer credit) is only awarded from an official transcript.

International Applicants: Additional Requirements

In addition to the documents outlined above, applicants who have completed part or all of their education outside of the US also may be prompted to submit the following:

• A certified English translation of any academic credentials not in English
• Evidence of English Proficiency to be considered for direct admission
• An Immigration Information Form, financial support documentation and a copy of the passport identification page for immigration documentation

Application Timelines 

Students can begin their enrollment during fall semester (August start), spring semester (January start) or summer term (May/June start; not recommended for freshman/first-year students).

Applicants are encouraged to apply 6-12 months prior to the start of the term. Freshman/first-year applicants must have completed at least 75% of their high school curriculum (through junior year equivalent) before a decision can be rendered; transfer applicants must have no more than one academic term in progress when a decision is rendered. Second bachelor’s/post-bachelor candidates must be finished with their first degree or in their final term of enrollment with degree pending for a decision to be rendered.

Refer to the appropriate application guides for more detail about application dates and timelines.