Program Overview

People are arguably an organisation’s most important (and expensive) resource in a global knowledge economy. To successfully adapt to the fast-paced, competitive environment, businesses must deploy staff effectively, developing their full potential.

Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), this exciting, stimulating and challenging degree aims to provide a solid grounding in business, alongside specialist skills in people management, leadership and development. Benefiting from the shared experiences of staff and students, many of whom continue to work in this profession, you’ll learn to appreciate the organisational, commercial and societal factors that shape company and individual behaviour.

With an emphasis on learning through practice, we consider how human resources (HR) fits into the structure of businesses and management with the functions and systems needed to support these. You’ll hear direct from practitioners currently working in industry. For example, previously lectures have been given by a representative from Save the Children UK and the general secretary of NAPO, the trade union for probation and family court staff.

You’ll develop key human resource skills in planning, organisation and control, gaining hands-on experience of common business computing and software used by HR professionals. Using specialist software in the HR Analytics module, you’ll interpret real-life data, looking for correlations around diversity or absence, for example, as you would in the workplace.

Top reasons to study with us

• Learn to understand human behaviour and how to drive a successful business through its people
• Programmes are delivered by a multicultural and international teaching body, who come from professional practice and/or regularly publish in top international journals
• Excellent industry links and opportunity to undertake an internship which has enabled previous students to gain experience with Disney, Warner Bros, London Fire Brigade, Goldman Sachs, Accenture, HSBC, L'Oréal, Enterprise Rent a Car, McDonalds Head Office, Debenhams, start-ups and charities including Marie Curie and Cancer Research
• Opportunities to participate in field trips to see work in practice, with past students visiting Mintel
• Outstanding facilities and access to the software widely used in industry: Bloomberg, NVivo and SPSS
• Past graduates have secured jobs as HR officers and managers within the retail and leisure sectors, among others