B-Schools with Top HR specialization programmes

Hi Dhruv - Great questions.

While we can provide some insights, some of these are best directed to the admissions people at the schools themselves - they'll be happy to talk to you about your options and will be a great source for you. Many programs will accept someone without formal HR experience, provided that they do a good job with the personal statements and show how they have transferable skills that are appropriate to HRM. The "HRM or MBA?" question is a common one and you will likely see a bias towards the HRM degree whenever you speak with someone in that industry; sometimes people with MBAs are seen as a little cocky in the business world. HR people interact with a lot of MBAs and, well ...

What you should do is more research on the types of jobs that you'd be seeking post-MBA, to see if you qualify based on your current background. You'd likely have very good employment opportunities if you want to work in a tech company - many HR people don't have a clue about technology, and your IT + HR could make you VERY appealing to those firms. You would be way ahead of the curve in terms of assessing a candidate's skills and fit to the company because of your training; you would be able to speak the language on both sides of the recruiting relationship, which is pretty rare.

Look around on LinkedIn. See if you can do some informational interviews. The opinions that matter most are those of hiring managers who would be recruiting for the positions you want to have when you're done. If those people have a preference for the HRM Master's - which they might, since they would be HRM specialists themselves - then that's your answer.

Another opinion that would matter though would be the COO, if you can get access to them - they'd be in the best position to say if they want an HR person who has specialized in HR, or an HR person who knows business.

The main reason we'd say that the HR Master's could be more useful is simply because you'd be coming in cold. Given the lack of focus on HR in most bschools, you wouldn't get the same type of exposure to best practices and the body of knowledge in an MBA program.

All that being said: There's some decent bschools with good HRM degrees, including schools like Mays in Texas and Vanderbilt Owen; wikipedia has a list you can start with.

Important note: You need to be well aware of the economic realities. Many HR professionals don't have a master's at all, one reason being that the HR field just doesn't pay that much. It's also often a dead-end career; it's very rare that someone advance through HR up to the executive suite. In fact, an article from Forbes last year put the Master's in HRM as #10 on their list of worst graduate degrees. You may have trouble recouping your costs through this path; the financial ROI is not nearly as strong as with a more traditional post-MBA career (consulting/finance/etc.).

Hopefully that doesn't deter you - you sound like you're inspired to make a difference. We would encourage you to also explore the field of Organizational Behavior which is taught in the core curriculum of most MBA programs; it's related to HR but much different.

Happy to offer additional insights if we can, feel free to post again.

EssaySnark

Hi EssaySnark,

Thanks a lot for addressing my queries in such a thorough manner.Muchas Gracias.
I will decide on the programme which is the best fit for me.
Let the research begin!!!

Thanks a lot once again,will keep you posted on what I finalize.

Warm Regards,
Dhruv

P.S:One last question regarding the ROI.
Which offers a better ROI;the MS in HRM,MBA in HRM or the MBA in Organisational Behaviour

Hi Dhruv - we're gonna invite you to use those analytical skills here

To get technical and specific, ROI is a calculation of outcomes less investment; you can see a basic explanation here where they give this formula: ROI = [(Payback - Investment)/Investment)]*100

So what you need to do is look at post-graduate salaries for the type of job you want to go to, then look at the tuition for the program you're interested in. Starting salaries are dictated by the job, the industry, the school, and the type of degree. Going to a better-ranked school typically means a higher starting salary, but it also means higher tuition costs.

Never heard of an "MBA in Organizational Behavior" but some schools probably do offer it. You'd have many more job opportunities available with the MBA - if the HR thing doesn't work out, you could still be qualified for other jobs too, and you could potentially reposition your career later in life in a different way using that MBA as a foundation. With the HRM you're pigeonholing yourself more specifically, and it can be harder to redefine yourself later on if you should choose to.

There's a gazillion other aspects to ROI in education besides the cost/salary angles so we encourage you to look at the big picture. But it's also smart to do some of these calculations too, it's not a trivial decision you're making! Let us know where you go with it.

EssaySnark

Hello EssaySnark,

After much research I have narrowed down the course I want to do and the B-school from where I want to do it.
I have decided that I want to go for the dual degree programme MILR/MBA offered by Cornell because I feel that it would the best fit for me as I will
be able to study both the subjects I want to under the Master's program as well as gain a comprehensive knowledge of international business through
a number of general business courses covered under the MBA program.
That said,I would welcome suggestions from your side about other B-schools which might be offering similar programmes and any other additional
insight about the programme I have selected.
Warm regards,
Dhruv

Hey Dhruv - that's definitely a strong choice. We worked with someone on a successful Cornell MILR app a couple years back but they didn't go for MBA combo.

Another one that's in the same general field as that is NYU's MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology but they don't have a joint degree with Stern MBA. You can take electives at Stern so maybe that's enough? NYU also has a more traditional HR Management program which is what we thought you were originally interested in.

These programs usually prefer some work experience in the field but it's not impossible to get in without it. They are not nearly as competitive as the top MBA programs since there's not as much demand, so a good application has a strong chance of standing out. The SOP should be written similar to an MBA career goals essay in terms of explaining why you want to study this discipline and what you want to do with it.

Sounds like you're narrowing down your targets which is great - let us know if we can help further!
EssaySnark

Hello EssaySnark,

I chose this programme because the first two semesters are at ILR where I can study core HR courses which I am interested in and the best part is
that they start from scratch i.e. assuming that the student has no previous knowledge of the topics being taught.
The next 3 semesters are at Johnson where the general business courses are taught with a bias towards Human Resource Management.
This way I will be able to gain a comprehensive knowledge of both the HRM aspect as well as the Business aspect of an organization,which is
what I am aiming for.
If you have any other suggestions or insights,they are very welcome.
Warm regards,
Dhruv

P.S:If you could help me select a few more B-schools offering similar courses,would be much obliged.

Hi Dhruv... Did you decide any b school? Are there any indian bschool/universities having thus similar degrees? ?

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