Human Resource Management

A highly relevant course, producing HR professionals of the future. This course will provide you with people management development and business knowledge, for an immediate impact on your organisation. Modules include resourcing and talent management, organisation design and change, HR analytics, employee relations and engagement, and employment law. The Labour Relation Agency acknowledges high-achieving students with an award for best dissertation, the research for which delivers people management and development business solutions.

Multiple students from this course have won the prestigious CIPD NI Award for Outstanding Student (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022).

Professional membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) is vital for employability in the HR profession. Get professional membership alongside your MSc HRM. CIPD is a recognised global brand for people management and development, championing work and working lives. Employers want people who can do the job and make a difference - get the academic and professional recognition you deserve!

For further course details please see "Course Web Page" below.

Year one
Strategic HRM in Context
This module will provide the learner with opportunities to identify and analyse the major contexts in which organisations operate. This will better equip the students as HR professionals in responding to their internal and external contexts. Topical issues and current academic theory will be explored and supported with case study examples. Learning and teaching methods are varied and assessment is via two pieces of assessed coursework.

Organisational Behaviour and HRM
This module provides the learner with a wide range of theoretical perspectives on individual, team and organisational behaviour which will better equip them, as HR/L&D professionals and managers, to understand the complexities of motivation and engagement in the workplace. Examples of good practice from contemporary research are explored and used as case study examples. Students are required to engage with the CIPD Profession Map as a tool for personal and organisational development. Teaching and learning methods are varied and assessment is via 100% coursework.

Management Research for HR Practice
The module seeks to expose students of human resources to the range of research methods and problem-solving strategies available in investigating a human resource management issue of strategic relevance. Students will acquire an in-depth knowledge of at least one research strategy and be able to apply suitable project management techniques. On completion of this module students will be able to proceed to undertake a management dissertation or simply be equipped with the management research skills to identify, investigate, and produce a set of applied outcomes in HR practice.

Resourcing and Talent Management
The purpose of this module is to develop a comprehensive understanding and critical awareness of the strategic importance of resourcing and talent management. Students will be able to evaluate recruitment, selection, induction and retention processes, comparing ways in which organisations build and maintain positive reputations in key labour markets. In its focus on the importance of succession planning and employer branding to support sustainable organisational performance, this module goes beyond the transactional focus of recruitment and selection processes and emphasises the longer term strategic issues associated with resourcing and talent management.

Year two
Organisation Design and Development
The module will examine a range of theoretical and practical approaches related to organisational design which will be important for those considering how best to use this new knowledge to enhance organisational performance. It is presented to masters students who have considerable work experience and will explore issues relevant to the design of organisations and the process of change management. Assessment is by 100% coursework.

Employee Relations and Engagement
Whilst many theorists would claim that people are the most important strategic resource of any organisation, employees may not always be motivated and handled in the best possible way, due to a number of competing tensions between the objectives of organisations and the aspirations of the employee. This module examines the strategies, policies, procedures and structures that organisations adopt in relating to the people it employs and their representatives, and in particular focuses n conflict resolution practices, that ultimately impact on the organisations' competitiveness and its role in the wider economy. The HR manager needs to be able to approach the tasks of employee relations with an understanding of the intellectual basis of these relationships and a practical ability to manage relations with others and resolve conflict within the organisation. This module aims to enhance the understanding and skills of key actors in the employment relationship.

Dissertation
Within the Dissertation module and its research process students will investigate an important issue within their own organisation and within the broad area HRM. It is expected that students will demonstrate an understanding of practical, ethical and strategic issues within their research area. it is the normal expectation that within the subject area and research design students will be working with primary, as well as secondary data. The module seeks to develop students' subject and professional knowledge, conceptual and analytical abilities, critical, systems and anticipatory thinking; key skills of self-awareness, effective communication, collaboration, information literacy and digital capabilities, an to prepare students for further potential research studies.

HR Analytics
Neatly summarised by Marler and Boudreau (2016: 5) HR analytics is "a number of processes, enabled by technology, that use descriptive, visual and statistical methods to interpret people data and HR processes. These analytical processes are related to key ideas such as human capital, HR systems and processes, organisational performance, and also consider external benchmarking data." The module is designed to deepen students' understanding of the value of HR analytics; how to identify, gather, analyse and present data; to have meaningful conversations with stakeholders; to design measures and develop insights that improve working lives and inform strategic decision-making in their organisations.

Employment Law
The importance of the employment relationship between employers, employees, unions and
other statutory bodies and agencies is such that a thorough knowledge of both the context and
the substantive law is necessary for those involved in this area in any capacity. The module
attempts to provide the basis for this knowledge and to put students in the position where they
may not only have an understanding of the law both conceptually and substantively, but also be
in a position to use that knowledge in the solution of problems.

To apply to our postgraduate taught programmes, you must meet the University's General Entrance Requirements and any course-specific requirements.

These vary depending on the course and are detailed online.

Students are usually expected to have a second class honours degree or equivalent, English (GCSE grade C or equivalent) and one year's experience in an HR or HR-related role, for example, line or supervisory role.

In exceptional circumstances, where an individual has substantial and significant experiential learning, a portfolio of written evidence demonstrating the meeting of graduate qualities (including subject-specific outcomes, as determined by the Course Committee), they may be considered for entry to the course. Evidence used to demonstrate graduate qualities may not be used for exemption against modules within the programme.

An interview may form part of the selection process.

If English is not your first language this course requires a minimum English level of IELTS (academic) 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5, or equivalent.

Visit ulster.ac.uk/englishrequirements for more details.

For full entry requirements please see "Course Web Page" below.

Your Application
Application is through the University's online application system (see "Application Weblink" below).

Career options
This course is very relevant to those in the HR profession, seeking to further their experience and/or career development opportunities and for line managers wishing to develop their knowledge and expertise in people management. In addition, Professional Membership of the CIPD is vital for employability within the HR profession.