Best Online Master’s in Human Resources Degree Programs

Based in Joliet, Illinois, the University of St. Francis offers an MBA with a human resource management concentration, making it one of just a handful of U.S. graduate schools that delivers an online master’s degree in human resources as part of an MBA program. MBA students on the HR study path engage with course content specific to human resources immediately upon starting the program.

With accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, students emerge from the program qualified for dynamic career options that include management consulting, systems analysis, and talent recruitment in addition to HR roles.

Students seeking an Ivy League online master’s in human resources should consider Columbia University’s master of science in human capital management. Columbia’s program features a cutting-edge curriculum shaped by leading industry professionals, which emphasizes the cultivation of decision-making skills guided by labor market analysis and advanced strategic insights.

Offered in part-time and full-time configurations, students can matriculate in as little as three semesters. Part-time students living in the New York City area can opt for a hybrid structure, visiting Columbia’s world-class campus for evening courses. Graduates benefit from access to the school’s global network of human capital management industry leaders.

The school’s competitive admissions process favors candidates with at least three years of relevant professional experience. Applicants who recently graduated from a bachelor’s program may be eligible to waive these requirements if they possess volunteer or internship experience.

Georgetown University ranks among the most prestigious higher education institutions in the United States. Its alumni include former President Bill Clinton, many luminaries from the sports and entertainment industries, and highly accomplished entrepreneurs and businesspeople.

Offering significant flexibility, Georgetown’s master of professional studies in human resources management offers start dates in the fall, spring, and summer semesters. Delivered 100% online or in a hybrid format, this 33-credit program offers full-time and part-time opportunities. Full-time students can graduate in two years.

Learners engage with a holistic pedagogical viewpoint that stresses the ways HR impacts the functionality and profitability of an organization. Georgetown’s program also emphasizes ethics and leadership, producing fair and confident leaders in the field.

Liberty University’s master of business administration with a specialization in human resources management comprises 45 credits, exceeding the 27-30 credit requirements found in many online human resources master’s programs. This 100% online program delivers an MBA designation, which offers competitive advantages on the job market.

In addition to essential business topics, students engage with core courses that cover workforce planning, talent development, compensation negotiation and management, and current HR issues. Students emerge with desirable and transferable proficiencies leading to lucrative career opportunities.

American University’s online master of science in human resource analytics and management focuses on digital technology’s impact on the HR field. The program gives students advanced data analytics and strategic planning proficiencies. It also emphasizes the creative ways that HR professionals can use technology to create, implement, manage, and improve personnel management initiatives in organizations of all sizes.

American University used its proprietary pedagogical model, the Professional Studies Experience, to design this program’s curriculum. The model structures course content in four key phases. It begins with the core phase, structured in a cohort model that allows students to benefit from peer interaction. The additional phases cover technological immersion, intercultural communication, and data-based decision-making.

All students in this master’s in human resource management online program can visit the school’s Washington, D.C. campus for a two-day networking and professional development seminar.

Based in Irvine, California, Brandman University offers a master of business administration degree with an emphasis in human resources. This specialized MBA program prepares learners for leadership positions in business by framing HR proficiencies within the larger picture of business practice. Students gain skills in financial reporting, data-driven analysis, marketing concepts, and innovative approaches to process improvement. Potential career paths extend beyond human resources into upper-level management and executive opportunities.

Coursework covers business management topics including salary negotiations and administration, compensation theory, and methods of evaluating employee performance. The program covers theories while demonstrating the practical ways that business concepts impact real-world work environments. Learners can also study in a hybrid format that combines online coursework with in-class learning on any of Brandman’s 15 California and Washington campuses.

Cornell University ranks among the nation’s most prestigious educational institutions. The Ivy League school offers an online executive master of human resource management program. While the school describes the program’s admissions process as competitive, it does not require any standardized test scores. Instead, applicants outline a practical case study project that they plan to pursue upon admission to the program.

Students can complete the program in just 15 months. Graduates enjoy global job opportunities, and Cornell accepts students from anywhere in the world. Thanks to its flexible design, the program appeals to working professionals seeking to upgrade their academic credentials without interrupting their careers.

Miami-based Florida International University delivers an affordable 38-credit online master of science in human resource management that students can complete in just one year. With program start dates in the fall and spring semesters, Florida International University makes it convenient for learners to earn advanced academic credentials. The curriculum was designed using Society for Human Resource Management recommendations and best practices.

Students learn ethical planning techniques for addressing organizational HR needs. They also study leadership, communication, and emerging HR digital technologies. Graduates enjoy full access to the Career Management Services office, which provides career planning and job search support.

The school’s admissions committee prefers candidates with at least 3-5 years of relevant professional experience but considers all applicants on a case-by-case basis.

At Romeoville, Illinois-based Lewis University, online learners can earn a master of business administration with a concentration in human resources management. The program's core covers business management and administration topics, including financing, accounting, and marketing. The HR specialization provides learners with advanced personnel management and strategic planning skills.

Optimal flexibility represents one major advantage of the Lewis University program. MBA students take courses in accelerated eight-week terms, with rolling admissions that enable newcomers to start any time. Learners can take as little as one course per term, which enables students to keep their jobs while pursuing their educations. Hybrid formats that blend in-class and online learning remain available to students near the school’s Romeoville, Oak Brook, or Tinley Park campuses.

Fully aligned with the Society for Human Resource Management recommendations, the Concordia University-Saint Paul master of arts in human resource management program delivers an education grounded in current best practices.

Designed to meet the needs of working professionals, this 100% online master’s in human resources delivers an excellent return on investment. According to statistics from the 2018-19 academic year, 95% of graduates received job offers within one year of graduation and 44% earn higher salaries than the national average for their professions.

Courses cover topics such as strategic management, employee recruitment and retention, law, and ethics. Concordia University also stresses the importance of research skills, with nearly one-quarter of the 36 total credits required for graduation covering research methods and strategic analysis.

The master of arts in human resource management program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota offers a 100% online, asynchronous format. The 39-credit program takes two years to complete and adheres to Society for Human Resource Management learning guidelines. Graduates enjoy high-profile roles with significant levels of responsibility.

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota encourages learners to cultivate strategic ways of thinking about personnel issues. Students in this online master’s degree in human resources can specialize their learning in targeted subject areas such as payroll management and career counseling. All students in the program receive a free Apple iPad, which they can use to access coursework anytime and anywhere.

Bellevue University’s master of science in human resource strategic management trains the next generation of upper-level HR leaders. It covers four fundamental skill sets: ethical and legal best practices, diversity and inclusion, advanced qualitative and quantitative analysis, and how to attune HR practices to organizational goals. The program culminates in a comprehensive capstone project, which involves proposing and developing a strategic plan for an organization’s HR department.

The 36-credit program covers fundamental topics including HR law, organizational behavior, and organizational management from a global perspective. Talent recruitment and retention represents another focus. Bellevue University offers some of the most affordable tuition rates of any 100% online master’s degree in human resources programs.

Penn State’s master of professional studies in human resources and employment relations uniquely covers labor relations, noting that a growing number of organizations require labor union leaders, contract negotiators, arbitrators and labor mediators, and industrial relations professionals with specialized degrees. Penn State’s degree path prepares students for these and many other HR-related roles through a rigorous curriculum endorsed by the Society for Human Resource Management and the HR Certification Institute.

Learners benefit from seven concentration options: compensation, collective bargaining, employment law, professional development, ethical leadership, international employment relations, and labor union organization and strategy. These options prepare students for dynamic roles in the interconnected and globally oriented business industry.

The master of arts in human resources management program at Dallas Baptist University features a 13-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, allowing learners to enhance their experience through one-on-one instructor interaction. Dallas Baptist University attracts faculty members with extensive experience, encouraging them to deliver course content through an experiential perspective. This approach enhances student understanding of the real-world applications of theoretical concepts.

A focus on organizational purpose represents an important differentiator of the program. Consumers increasingly prefer to give business to companies that share their values. The same trend extends to employee recruitment and retention. Dallas Baptist University’s unique focus on this area helps emerging HR professionals develop tangible ways to tap into these values.

The online master of human resource development at Clemson University takes a process-oriented approach to personnel management. It trains students to become HR leaders, giving them the insights and hard skills they need to develop workplace talent, improve the professional proficiency of team members, and help employees reach their full potential.

Clemson University’s 100% online HR master’s integrates concepts from psychology, sociology, education, management theory, economics, and business. The program encourages students to engage with emerging technologies used in professional settings. Its objectives focus on producing graduates with flexible, current skill sets that can adapt to changing best practices and technological innovations.

Students enjoy full, free access to Skillport, a set of optional tutorials that support skill development in areas including computing, business operations, strategic planning, finance, business administration, and leadership.

The University of West Florida features an online master of business administration with an emphasis in human resource management. This 100% online master’s in human resource management comprises 36 credits, with three-quarters of the program covering an MBA core and the other quarter focusing on HR topics.

In the MBA core, students gain skills in financial management, marketing management, policy development, quantitative analysis, business strategy, and accounting. The HR concentration teaches students how to recognize, attract, and retain top talent while delivering skills and knowledge in compensation, performance, and personnel management.

The program offers some of the lowest tuition rates of any accredited online master’s in human resources programs while carrying an endorsement from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Fewer than 4.7% of all business schools in the world hold AACSB accreditation.

The Leavenworth, Kansas-based University of Saint Mary offers a human resource management concentration as part of its online master of business administration program. It represents an ideal opportunity for students seeking fast career advancement, as learners can graduate in as little as one year.

The University of Saint Mary notes that the program strongly appeals to current departmental managers seeking higher levels of organizational leadership skills as well as established HR professionals seeking a business-based skill set. However, the school considers applicants from many other educational and professional backgrounds.

Required courses cover topics such as conflict management, compensation negotiation, organizational development, and talent development. Founded in 1923, the University of Saint Mary holds regional accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Brenau University's online master of business administration features 15 concentrations, including a human resources specialization. This degree focus, which is also available as part of the school’s master of science in organizational leadership program, delivers the skills that professionals need to manage personnel resources.

Coursework in the HR concentration explores subjects including employment and labor law, rewards strategies, and talent attainment. These specialized courses supplement a rigorous business core that emphasizes integrated business operations, finance and marketing management, budgeting, policy development, and other relevant topics.

Full-time students can graduate in two years. Students can complete all requirements for both the MBA and MSOL degrees 100% online.

San Diego’s National University features an accelerated master of arts in human resource management program with four-week classes. This accelerated format enables students to proceed through course material efficiently while earning an advanced degree endorsed by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Exploring the practical applications of HR theory and research insights, core topics include talent recruitment, benefits and compensation management, labor law, and safety. Learners in this online master’s degree in human resources can also pursue an optional concentration in organizational leadership.

A nonprofit institution founded by veterans, National University is one of the nation’s top military-friendly schools. Classes launch every month, allowing incoming students to start working toward their degrees right away. Graduates also benefit from a strong alumni community and excellent networking opportunities.