Human Resource Management
Human resource management is the discipline concerned with how organisations attract, develop, retain, and manage the people who do their work. It encompasses recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, employee relations, reward, employment law, organisational culture, and the strategic alignment of workforce capability with business goals. As organisations have come to recognise that their people are often their most significant source of competitive advantage and the source of their most complex operational challenges, HRM has evolved from a largely administrative function into a strategic one.
The University of Northampton's four-year full-time Human Resource Management (with Foundation Year) programme includes a foundation year that prepares you for degree-level study, making the programme accessible to students who may not have studied business or management subjects before or whose prior qualifications are in different areas. From the foundation year you will move into the core degree, studying the full range of HRM disciplines alongside the business and management context within which HR operates. You will cover employment law, organisational behaviour, learning and development, performance management, diversity and inclusion, and strategic HRM, as well as the research methods that practitioners use to evaluate what works.
The programme includes a sandwich year and a work placement, which are central to professional preparation: HR is a field where practical experience in organisations, understanding real employment relationships and the complexities of managing people, significantly deepens your academic learning and dramatically strengthens your employability.
A typical entry tariff of 104 points with the foundation year makes the programme broadly accessible.
Graduates pursue careers as HR officers, HR advisers, talent acquisition specialists, learning and development practitioners, employee relations managers, and HR business partners across every sector of the economy. Professional membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is supported by this qualification. Postgraduate study in HRM or business is also an option.