MSc Human Resource Management
Belfast, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
14 Aug 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 26,500 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international fee
Key Summary
The MSc Human Resource Management (HRM) programme aims to develop your expertise in HRM and allows you to gain professional accreditation from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD).
Taught by leading researchers and practitioners, the MSc HRM programme covers current trends, opportunities, and challenges in global HRM. You'll engage with HR leaders, apply real-world learning, and develop practical HR skills.
Whether you are a HR professional or want to enter the HR field, the MSc Human Resource Management will help prepare you for your next career move. Accredited to the advanced level by the CIPD, this master's programme ensures that you will graduate with the essential skills for a successful HR career.
Human Resource Management Highlights
Professional Accreditations
- The programme is fully accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The programme provides the necessary knowledge and understanding to be awarded professional membership of the CIPD at the Associate level. *Professional membership fees to CIPD are an optional and additional cost on top of the programme fees (see below).
Career Development
- The MSc HRM will provide you with the opportunity to participate in career management sessions delivered by careers advisors and leading HR professionals in the field. These sessions will enable you to consider your career goals and plan for how to achieve them. The programme also includes further opportunities for students to develop employability skills and professional networks throughout the year. For example, in the past, our students have benefited from company visits that give insight into the work of a busy HR department, and employability sessions focused on the HR professional’s online presence and use of LinkedIn.
Student Experience
- Students will have the opportunity to participate in our HR Future Insights Series which seeks to enhance students' learning experience by providing them with exposure to senior professionals in human resource management and related business communities. This series focuses on current and future trends and issues in HR and may include, for example, sessions on HR analytics, talent management, the future of work, and conflict management and negotiation.
- The MSc HRM programme is taught in a blended learning environment incorporating both online and face-to-face teaching. You will be based at the Riddell Hall campus in South Belfast, which has dedicated facilities and resources for postgraduate students, including a postgraduate common room, group work ‘pods’ and a computer suite.
World Class Facilities
- Queen’s Business School (QBS) has recently undergone an innovative expansion that establishes a benchmark of global excellence for one of the top business schools in the UK and Ireland. A stunning new 6,000 square metre building, adjacent to the listed red-brick Riddel Hall has been designed with the latest digital infrastructure for media lecture capture, TED Talk provision and collaborative breakout sessions.
- Fostering an enhanced social and educational experience the new state-of-the-art QBS venue boasts a 250-seat tiered educational space; 120-seat Harvard style lecture theatre; 150-seat computer laboratory; breakout study spaces; FinTrU Trading Room; a café, and a Business Engagement and Employability Hub.
This programme prepares students for a range of HR-related roles in management and research. From whatever your starting point, you will be well positioned to advance your career with the potential to gain employment and promotion in the HR-related field in a range of industries including IT, manufacturing, banking and finance, education, and scientific research.
Employment after the Course
The MSc Human Resource Management programme aims to equip you with skills suitable for various HR roles, from HR Admin/Officer to HR Analyst, HR Advisor, HR Manager, HR Business Partner, and HR and Culture Manager. Specialist roles include Recruitment Manager, Learning and Development Manager, Reward and Benefits Manager, Project Manager, HR Data Analyst, and Career Advisor. Opportunities also exist in consultancy, trade unions, and academic research.
Graduates of the programme have gained employment in a range of organisations from various sectors, including Capita, Citi, Danske Bank, PwC, DHL, HRMC, Apple, NHS, Kainos, Ernst and Young, Baker McKenzie and many others.
Prizes and Awards
Legal Island sponsor an end of year prize for the Best Overall MSc HRM student.
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
Course Structure
This course is offered on both a full-time (1 year) and part-time (2 years) basis. Part-time students typically complete two modules per semester. Full-time students typically complete four modules per semester. The programme consists of the following eight taught modules (each worth 15 CATS) and a capstone module (worth 60 CATS). Currently, each 15-CAT module has a 2 hour class timetabled each week for 10 weeks each semester.
Semester One
- People Strategy (Part time Year 1)
- Managing Employment Relations (Part time Year 1)
- Managing Employee Performance, Wellbeing, and Rewards (Part time Year 2)
- HRM Analytics (Part time Year 2)
Summer Semester
- Capstone Module: Responsible People Management (Part time Year 2) *
*The 60 CATS Capstone module, which has been implemented across MSc programmes in Queen’s Business School, will include a taught element (24 hours taught across 4 weeks in Semester 3), which prepares students for and leads to an independent project over July-September.
Semester Two
- Resourcing and Talent Management (Part time Year 1)
- Leading Organisational Change (Part time Year 1)
- Strategic Learning, Training, and Development (Part time Year 2)
Optional Module (Students choose one)
- HRM and Negotiations - It is anticipated that “HRM and Negotiations” will be relevant for students who already have work experience in HRM and those who aim to take a role with a specific focus on employment relations. At the same time, the module will be relevant for all students who envision to have line management. Students will benefit from a practical hands-on approach to HRM and Negotiations that involves role play and mock negotiations to simulate and practice conflict resolution. OR
- Managing People in Global Organisations - The module will give students differentiated insights that will be relevant in tailoring and applying HR strategy talent management, training and development, performance management, as well as reward systems in different national contexts and regulatory systems. It will also provide students with tools to understand and navigate cross-cultural similarities and differences. Lasty, it will help students to prepare for own expatriate assignments in countries other than their own by enabling students to build a global mindset. (Part time Year 2)
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas (excluding Initial Teacher Education/PGCE, where undergraduate student finance is available). Criteria, eligibility, repayment and application information are available on the UK government website.