Overview
The Human Resource Management MSc at Brunel provides a critical understanding of people management and analytics, combining theoretical knowledge with applied, practice-led learning. The programme is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for HR and people development, and its content is aligned with CIPD professional standards.
You will study strategic HR leadership through a curriculum that integrates case studies from real organisations, live projects, and engagement with HR practitioners. The programme addresses contemporary workplace issues including AI and digital transformation in people management, diversity and inclusion, employee wellbeing, and global workforce challenges. You will learn to use HR data and analytics to support evidence-based decision-making on recruitment, retention, performance, and engagement.
The programme offers a professional placement pathway of up to two years, enabling you to gain paid work experience in a UK organisation. You also have the option of a six- to twelve-week internship. Throughout your studies, you will benefit from guest lectures by HR professionals, industry visits, and enrichment activities - including psychometric testing, assessment centre experience, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Belbin team-role assessments through the Business Life Employability Programme - connecting your academic learning to professional practice.
The programme is available with both September and January entry points. Study options include one year full-time, 16 months full-time with placement, or two years full-time with placement.
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Course content
The course consists of both compulsory modules which provide a strong basis of knowledge in HR and optional modules, which allow you to diversify somewhat in areas such as entrepreneurship and diversity in the workplace.
What You'll Learn
Strategic HR leadership and the employment cycle
You will examine the full employment cycle - from workforce planning, recruitment, and selection through to performance management, reward, and retention. You will learn how to attract and assess candidates, design performance frameworks that align individual goals with organisational objectives, and manage employee relations. The programme also addresses how HR strategy connects to wider business strategy, enabling you to contribute to decisions at senior organisational levels.
People analytics, AI and digital HR
You will develop the ability to analyse employee data - including turnover, productivity, and engagement metrics - and to use HR metrics to inform decision-making. The programme examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping recruitment, employee monitoring, and workforce planning, and you will learn to evaluate both the opportunities and the ethical implications of AI in people management. You will also gain familiarity with digital HR tools and platforms used in contemporary organisations.
Managing people across cultures and contexts
You will explore how HR practices vary across national and cultural contexts, and how organisations manage people in international and comparative settings. This includes understanding cross-cultural leadership, global mobility, and the design of HR policies that are effective across different regulatory and cultural environments. You will also examine diversity, equity, and inclusion - learning to identify and reduce bias in recruitment and promotion, manage diverse teams, and create fair and inclusive workplace cultures.
Employee wellbeing, development and organisational behaviour
You will study how organisations support employee wellbeing, mental health, and work-life balance, and how to design learning and development programmes that build workforce capability. The programme also covers organisational behaviour - including leadership, motivation, team dynamics, and managing change - equipping you to diagnose and address workplace challenges such as low morale, resistance to change, and conflict.
Skills You'll Develop
Data and analytics skills
You will learn to collect and analyse employee data - including turnover, performance, and engagement metrics - and to interpret quantitative and qualitative evidence to support HR decisions. This includes using HR metrics and analytics platforms to diagnose workforce issues and evaluate the impact of people management interventions.
Digital and AI skills
You will develop an understanding of how artificial intelligence is used in recruitment, performance monitoring, and workforce planning, and how to evaluate the ethical implications of these technologies. You will also gain practical familiarity with digital HR tools and platforms.
People management and leadership skills
You will build the ability to recruit and select effectively, manage performance through goal-setting and feedback, handle workplace conflict, and lead teams. The programme develops your capacity to design fair and effective HR policies and to manage people across diverse organisational contexts.
Communication and influencing skills
Through presentations, professional reports, and business cases, you will learn to communicate HR ideas clearly to managers and stakeholders and to influence decision-making at different organisational levels. Regular group work develops your collaboration and teamwork capabilities in multicultural settings.
Strategic and critical thinking
You will learn to link people management decisions to organisational performance, think long-term about workforce planning, and evaluate HR strategies and policies critically. The programme equips you to diagnose workplace challenges - such as low morale or high turnover - and to develop evidence-based, practical solutions.
Compulsory
- MG5618 Contemporary HRM: Policy, Development and EvaluationExploring key issues and debates in respect of HRD (Human Resource Development) with a particular focus on organisational impact and outcomes. Critical reflection on theory and practice from an ethical and professional standpoint.
- MG3636 - Contemporary Human Resource Management in Context
Understanding the framework of analysis for how organisations manage people. Focus on recruitment, selection process and assessment, onboarding, changing work roles and changes in employment practice.
- International and Comparative Human Resource ManagementExamining human resources strategy and practice for organisations operating across national boundaries, including the EU and its member states, the USA, Japan and South East Asia.
- MG5594 Knowledge Management, Social Networks and InnovationInvestigating the global knowledge-based economy and wider socio-economic factors affecting knowledge transfer. The use of social engagement in business development.
- MG5595 - Organisational Behaviour
In this module, students will explore the main theories of management, management functions and the key issues affecting contemporary managers.
- Dissertation
This module provides the knowledge to conduct an independent piece of research in the international business field. It includes training on how to identify a research problem, collect and analyse data and present the results to the highest standards in management science. It also includes a series of one to one supervision meetings with an academic member of staff.
- MG5643 - Understanding Business and Management Research
The module introduces the fundamentals of quantitative and qualitative methods in management research and how these are applied to solve complex problems in the field of international business. It also provides training on the most advanced statistical software packages used in management research and practice.
Optional
- MG5565 - International Management
This module examines the legal, cultural, economic, political, technological and ethical challenges in managing complex international operations across borders. It also explores managerial behaviours and organisational processes that are key when operating in a competitive global environment.
- MG5593 - International Business Ethics and Corporate Governance
This module explores key concepts and challenges in business ethics, sustainability, and corporate governance within an international context. It examines the dual ‘business’ models of shareholder and stakeholder approaches, while considering the wider societal impacts of business activities across organisations of all scales, from multinational corporations to SMEs. Through the application of moral philosophy, corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability principles, and corporate governance frameworks, students will critically evaluate real-world business practices using empirical case studies.
- MG5596 - Strategic Management
This module introduces students to the design and choice of strategies in organisations across industries and sectors. It enables students to appreciate the challenges that confront managers in complex, dynamic and increasingly uncertain conditions. Students develop skills in critical thinking, logical analysis, argument and judgement based on insights from case studies and cutting-edge research.
- Managing Global Challanges
Explore how organisations navigate global complexity by managing diverse workforces across international, multinational, and transnational contexts. This module examines how strategies, policies, and initiatives—like training and development—are designed to address social, cultural, and individual differences in values, beliefs, and working styles. You'll gain practical insights into how global organisations adapt and thrive in the face of today’s most pressing management challenges.
This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.
This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel
Careers and your future
The programme is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), providing you with access to professional development resources, networking opportunities, and the CIPD knowledge hub throughout your studies and beyond graduation. CIPD membership signals to employers that you meet the professional standards expected of HR practitioners.
Career paths
Graduates of the MSc Human Resource Management progress into a wide range of HR and people management roles across all sectors. Typical pathways include:
General HR roles: HR Assistant, HR Coordinator, People Advisor. Progression: HR Manager, HR Business Partner, Head of HR.
Talent acquisition and development roles: Recruitment Coordinator, Learning and Development Assistant, Talent Advisor. Progression: Talent Acquisition Manager, L&D Manager, Head of Talent.
HR analytics and technology roles: HR Data Analyst, HRIS Coordinator, People Analytics Assistant. Progression: HR Analytics Manager, HR Technology Lead, Director of People Analytics.
Diversity, equity and inclusion roles: DEI Coordinator, Inclusion Advisor, Equality Officer. Progression: DEI Manager, Head of Inclusion, Chief Diversity Officer.
Employee relations and wellbeing roles: ER Advisor, Wellbeing Coordinator, HR Policy Officer. Progression: ER Manager, Head of Wellbeing, Director of People and Culture.
HR consultancy and international HR roles: HR Consultant, Global Mobility Coordinator, International HR Assistant. Progression: Senior HR Consultant, International HR Manager, Global Head of HR.
Placement outcomes
Over the last three placement cycles (2023-26), 21 students from the MSc Human Resource Management completed professional placements with 20 different organisations, spanning healthcare, professional services, technology, education, and the non-profit sector. Among those placements where salary data was recorded, annual salaries ranged up to 22,880 GBP.
Placement employers include PwC France (HR and Payroll Consultant), Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (Patient Access Coordinator), E3G (HR Intern), Career Teachers (SEN Teaching Assistant), CECOS College London (Student Placement Officer, 22,800 GBP; Admission and Attendance Monitoring Officer, 22,880 GBP), Cedar Brook Practice NHS (HR and Administration Assistant), Oxgate Gardens Surgery NHS England (Administration and Reception), CK Foods (HR Administrator), Prime Tuition (Human Resource Assistant), RJM Insulation (HR and Administrative Assistant), Future Connect Training and Recruitment, The Gurkha Centre, and iTech Services.
Several employers recruited HRM placement students across multiple cycles, reflecting sustained demand: CECOS College London, Irecruit Now, and multiple NHS trusts including Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and Cedar Brook Practice.
UK entry requirements
- A 2.2 (or above) UK Honours degree or an equivalent internationally recognised qualification in or a related or non-related subject. Work experience is not required.
International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
- TOEFL: 5 (min 4.5 in all subscores)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2026/27 entry
UK
£14,435 full-time
£1,955 placement year
International
£24,795 full-time
£1,955 placement year
More information on any additional course-related costs.
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Scholarships and bursaries
Teaching and learning
At Brunel Business School (BBS), you will experience a rich and engaging on-campus learning environment. Our modules are delivered through engaging lectures, and in most modules, through seminars that allow for interactions in smaller groups. Additionally, you will have access to a wide range of resources on Brightspace, our online learning platform, including PowerPoint slides, video recordings, and peer-reviewed academic publications that align with the module learning objectives. Moreover, BBS students benefit from a range of support and opportunities from our dedicated staff and faculty, such as:
- Extra-curricular activities designed to enhance your skills and expand your network, such as social events, guest speakers and industry visits/field trips (please note these may vary within programmes)
- A dedicated Student Experience Team to provide pastoral care
- A dedicated ASK Academic Skills support team to help you understand and address coursework requirements
- Personalised tutoring and wellbeing advice to support your academic and personal development
- Employability guidance and career planning from our in-house director.
Access to a laptop or desktop PC is required for joining online activities, completing coursework and digital exams, and a minimum specification can be found here.
We have computers available across campus for your use and laptop loan schemes to support you through your studies. You can find out more here.
Teaching includes lectures, informal small study groups, and individual or group presentations using a laptop and digital projector.
Tutors on this programme are leaders in the field of HR and active researchers within the School’s Human Resource Management and Organisation Behaviour Research Group (HRM-OB). Their research findings often contribute to relevant course content.
Tutors often provide their own seminal review papers, empirical studies, and theoretical models for consideration by the students. Students are asked to present their findings back to the group having critically assessed the research findings for themselves. The ensuing debate is used to deepen understanding and argue as to whether high-performance HRM practices do indeed contribute to organisational performance and profitability. Current issues and case studies are also brought forth for debate as they happen.
One such example is Professor Ozbilgin’s book, Global Diversity Management: An Evidence Based Approach (2008) co-authored with Dr Ahu Tatli, which is a core text on the optional module of the same name. It is the only empirical research-based text in the field and contains original fieldwork on diversity management that spanned eight years.
Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.
Assessment and feedback
Assessment on the MSc Human Resource Management is designed to reflect the tasks you will perform as an HR professional:
- Professional reports - You will analyse workforce data, evaluate HR policies, and produce evidence-based recommendations, mirroring the reports prepared by HR practitioners for senior management and board-level audiences.
- Strategic essays and case analyses - You will apply HR frameworks to real-world scenarios, evaluate comparative HR practices across national contexts, and propose strategic responses to organisational challenges.
- Research proposal - you will design a rigorous research project with a clear methodology, preparing you for both your dissertation and professional roles that require data-driven HR analysis.
- Examination - You will synthesise knowledge and apply frameworks under time constraints, comparable to professional certification assessments and senior-level decision-making.
- Dissertation - An independent research project on an HR topic of your choice, supervised by an academic expert. This mirrors the end-to-end research and evaluation projects undertaken in HR consultancy, policy, and strategic workforce planning.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.
