MSc Human Resource Management (online)

Entry year
2025/26
Course code
N630P2
Application
University
Level
Postgraduate
School
Bristol Business School
Campus
Online
Duration
Two years
Delivery
Online; part-time
Programme leader
Ceri Vaughan

Introduction

This flexible, part-time online course allows you to study anywhere in the world while gaining sought after skills, knowledge and industry connections. It reflects the latest trends and best practice in human resources management, preparing graduates for in-demand HR careers across all industries.

Accreditations and partnerships:

Why study HRM?

Imaginative and expertly designed human resource management (HRM) is considered by today's global leaders as central to an organisation's success. HR practitioners around the world are an integral part of that success, and as recognition of the distinctive contribution of HRM grows, it is increasingly valued, both as a career, and as a foundation for careers in other branches of management.

Why UWE Bristol?

Teaching expertise

Bristol Business School has been a leading provider of professional HRM education for nearly 50 years with one of the largest and most diverse teams of HRM subject experts of any British university. Many of our MSc Human Resource Management tutors are active in HR-related research and have worked in the industry across a diverse range of sectors globally. Most tutors are CIPD members.

Comprehensive curriculum

Our course offers a comprehensive range of modules that cover the breadth and depth of current global human resource management best practice, from strategic HRM to specific issues such as international HRM, employment law, and people analytics. This broad-based approach provides a well-rounded education that prepares you for a variety of HR roles globally.

Personal approach

This HRM master’s is designed to target the needs of practitioners, with education that is intellectually stretching, practically relevant and up-to-the-minute. A particular feature is the personal interest we take in your development. Using people analytic and behaviour development tools, along with a range of practical activities, we'll profile your unique attributes, develop your strengths, and offer feedback on your progress throughout.

Flexible online learning

The course’s online format and part-time structure offer maximum flexibility. You can study from anywhere in the world while balancing your studies with existing commitments.

Where can it take me?

Our intensive course prepares you to immediately contribute to an entry level people profession role, or (if you're already employed within the field) to take your career to a more senior level, either locally or globally. Recent employers include Avon and Somerset Constabulary, British American Tobacco, Barclays Bank, Colgate Palmolive, Deloitte, KPMG, L'Oréal (Paris), the National Health Service, Nestlé, and Towers Watson plc. Employers approach us directly to fill HR vacancies.

Structure

Content

This course is ideal if you are looking to change career or want a professional qualification that will help you resume working after a break. Contact the Programme Leader for more details.

The course provides an introduction to the theory, practice and context for human resource management and consists of the following compulsory modules:

  • Change - considers the causes and nature of change, issues of structuring for change, the cultural and political contexts for change, how to lead change as well as the more practical considerations of designing, planning and implementing change.
  • Critical People Analytics - explores the needs and purpose of critical people analytics, searching and evaluating data suitable for critical analytics, evaluating analytical methodologies, as well as addressing ethical issues in critical analytics.
  • Culture and Behaviour - explores the role played by organisational systems/processes (including organisational culture and leadership) and individual differences in achieving organisational success and employee well-being. Topics include personality and work performance, motivation, leadership, understanding individual differences, organisational and national culture.
  • Employee Relations and Employment Law - considers how people professionals are expected to successfully respond to, if not anticipate, opportunities and challenges underlying the transformation of work. Plus, how contemporary processes such as organisational fragmentation, individualisation, internationalisation, digitalisation and juridification have profound implications on the management of the employment relationship.
  • HR Professional Portfolio - evidences the core behaviours which, along with core knowledge and specialist knowledge, comprise the CIPD 2020 Profession Map. The core behaviours are relevant to all people professionals, and the Profession Map sets the international benchmark for the HR profession. There is a focus on ethical and evidence-based decision-making, the portfolio reflecting the CIPD's stance that certain ways of thinking and acting should be universal and consistent, even in changing situations.
  • HRM in the Business Environment - considers how human resources contribute to the organisation's business strategy that both reacts to external influences in the environment and identifies future changes that provide opportunities for advantage in an extremely competitive world. It provides a wider understanding of the context in which business decisions are taken and the major influences on those decisions, critically analysing the role of HR professionals in these processes.
  • Learning and Development - aims to blend theory with practice and focuses on the key elements of the theories of learning and skills development. These elements inform an understanding of how individuals learn, and how that affects what individuals choose to do long term in their employment.
  • People Practice - analyses the theoretical and conceptual frameworks relating to people practice and the link between HRM strategy and practice and organisational effectiveness. It explores the cornerstones of HRM in practice through reviewing how concepts such as people resourcing, rewarding effort, learning and development and employee relations are applied in an organisational context.
  • Research in Human Resource Management - If you wish to complete the full master's course, you'll need to complete this module, which is designed to develop your applied understanding and research skills and prepare you to conduct research from a range of qualitative and quantitative perspectives. 

The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved, we'll inform you.

Learning and Teaching

You’ll study in your own time with no timetabled lectures allowing you to balance your personal and professional commitments. Content will be delivered through a mixture of online videos, activities and discussions as well as other collaborative approaches and independent reading. You’ll have opportunities to collaborate and network with working professionals across the globe alongside a curriculum informed by the latest advancements and best practices in human resources management.

Study support

We welcome students from a range of backgrounds and acknowledge that some students may be returning to study after some time away. We therefore provide a range of sources of support to help you throughout your master's level study. 

See our glossary of teaching and learning terms.

Study time

You'll complete the course over two years. This involves self-directed study and participation in online activities (12-18 hours per week) with the support of an online tutor.  

Assessment

We use a range of different forms of assessment throughout the course, including written assignments, tests, online exams, a reflective log, and individual presentations. Assessment of skills and competence also forms part of the overall assessment strategy.

Learn more about our assessments.

Eligibility test

Are you a suitable candidate?

Take our questionnaire to find out if you are eligible to study on one our online postgraduate degree courses.

Eligibility test

Features

Professional accreditation

The course is approved by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Careers

Careers / Further study

This master's course will equip you with the professional knowledge and skills you’ll need to make an immediate contribution in a people profession role, or (if you're already employed within the field) to take your career to a more senior level.

Recent employers include Avon and Somerset Constabulary, British American Tobacco, Barclays Bank, Colgate Palmolive, Deloitte, KPMG, L'Oréal (Paris), the National Health Service, Nestlé, and Towers Watson plc.

Learn more about our graduate destinations.

Fees

There is currently no published fee data for this course.

Supplementary fee information

Students pay on a modular basis.

Domestic UK students may be eligible for UK postgraduate student loan assistance. Students in receipt of this funding need to remain on track to complete the course within 2 years otherwise payments will be interrupted or stopped.

Further information

Entry

Entry requirements

You'll need:

  • an honours degree (minimum 2:2) in any subject
  • to be able to demonstrate a keen and informed interest in HRM.

If you don't meet the above grade requirements but have at least 12 months relevant professional experience and/ or equivalent qualifications, we'll consider you on an individual basis.

International applicants

We welcome international students onto this course.

For country specific entry requirements, please find your country on the country information pages.

English Language Requirement

International and EU applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).

*The University accepts a large number of UK and international qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you'll need, in our English Language section.

How to apply

Personal statement requirements

We want to ensure that the course will suit your needs, so we pay especially close attention to the personal statement which forms part of your application to the University. Please take particular care over this statement.

You should say in around 300–500 words:

  • Why you're interested in a career in managing people or in specialist human resource management (HRM) and, if possible, which aspects of managing people or HRM are of particular interest to you.
  • What personal attributes and experience you have which make you suited to a career in HR or managing people.
  • An overview of your intended career path in HRM.

Wherever possible, your statement should draw on relevant personal experience. When describing the personal attributes and qualities that you believe equip you for a career in HRM or managing people, try to give actual brief examples from your experience where you displayed those attributes and qualities.

For further information

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