Human Resource Management

Types of Degrees Human Resource Management Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many human resource management graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	9,750
Graduate Certificate	2,089
Doctor’s Degree	278

What Human Resource Management Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to HR and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for HR Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for HR Majors

HR majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for HR Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a HR student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Human Resource Management Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with HR:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Business Professors	18.0%	$83,960
Compensation and Benefits Managers	5.1%	$121,010
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists	8.4%	$63,000
Human Resources Managers	9.0%	$113,300
Human Resources Specialists	7.1%	$60,880
Training and Development Managers	10.4%	$111,340
Training and Development Specialists	11.5%	$60,870

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management?

Human Resource Management runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #22 out of all the graduate majors we track. In 2021, about 9,750 graduates completed their master’s degree in this field. This major is dominated by women with about 73% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of HR majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	450
Black or African American	2,137
Hispanic or Latino	1,605
White	4,122
International Students	519
Other Races/Ethnicities	917

Geographic Diversity

HR appeals to people across the globe. About 5.3% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• South Korea
• Saudi Arabia
• Venezuela

How Much Do Human Resource Management Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median early-career salary of human resource management students with a master’s degree is $52,417 a year according to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $46,739 (25th percentile) and $63,431 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to HR.

Salaries According to BLS

HR majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $66,790 to $121,730 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Human Resource Management

Some careers associated with HR require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for HR careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.1%
Some College Courses	2.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	49.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	6.1%
Master’s Degree	17.5%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.4%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.5%
Doctoral Degree	12.0%

Online Human Resource Management Programs

In 2020-2021, 792 schools offered a HR program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	63	21
Certificate (2-4 Years)	4	2
Associate’s Degree	130	45
Bachelor’s Degree	189	69
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	367	130
Post-Master’s	33	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	35	6
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Human Resource Management Worth It?

The median salary for a HR grad is $70,730 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 77% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $616,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Human Resource Management

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to HR.

Major	Number of Grads
Business Administration & Management	131,555
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	31,701
Accounting	19,309
General Business/Commerce	9,137
Finance & Financial Management	5,784
Marketing	4,011
Management Information Systems	2,766
International Business	2,007
Entrepreneurial Studies	1,823
Taxation	1,350
Hospitality Management	1,341
Real Estate	1,280
Other Business, Management & Marketing	1,073
General Sales & Marketing	537
Construction Management	466
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	180
Business/Managerial Economics	162
Insurance	143
Business/Corporate Communications	117
Telecommunications Management	23

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Arunkumar Umapathy under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.