Overview

Structured to navigate the dynamic global landscape of HR, the MSc in Human Resource Management combines an in-depth theoretical grounding with the latest practical skills and approaches. Human Resource Management is an increasingly vital component of business strategy and vision. This programme shapes the skills and expertise to manage any organisation’s talent, drawing together stimulating strands of behavioural and human sciences, personnel management, sustainability, employment law and industrial relations.

This programme is designed to provide a research-led professional education to students wishing to pursue a career in HRM and employment relations and is open to applications from students with an undergraduate degree in Business, or degrees in areas such as Social Science, Psychology, Economics, Politics or Law.

The Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Group at UCD pioneered research in these fields at University level in Ireland and is now a centre for internationally-renowned research and studies.  Students will benefit from learning values based on research, independent inquiry and critical but constructive engagement with major debates and issues. The UCD HRM and ER Group combines professional expertise in practice and policy development with a commitment to research.  Engagement with the practical worlds of industrial relations and human resource management is a core programme feature. The modules are taught by a mixture of full-time academic faculty researching in the field of HRM and Employment Relations and HR practitioners. This ensures that students graduate with a range of theoretical, analytical, critical and practical skills and knowledge.

A unique feature of the programme is the opportunity to participate in two exchange programmes, with the ILR School, Cornell University and the EMLS (European Masters in Labour Studies), a network of leading European universities offering postgraduate programmes in labour studies. (Places on these exchange programmes are limited and students are invited to apply to apply in mid- September. There is no guarantee that places on these exchange programmes will be available every academic year).

Further details about the ILR School are available at www.ilr.cornell.edu/about-ilr. Further details on the EMLS programme can be found at www.mest-emls.eu.

Scholarships and Awards

Two awards are normally available to Human Resource Management students who demonstrate exceptional ability on the programme.

• The MERC Partners /Spencer Stuart Award is offered to the student with the highest mark in the HRM stream.
• The Richard Maher Memorial Medal is awarded to the part-time student with the highest first-class honours mark.