Best Human Resources Management/personnel Administration colleges in the U.S. 2024

Pros and Cons of Pursuing a Human Resources Degree

Before pursuing an HR degree, it pays to weigh the negatives and positives.

Pros

1. Rewarding career - HR professionals make a difference both to the whole organization and to individuals who work there. If you like influencing company culture, interacting with others, and helping employees progress along their career paths, human resources can provide a great deal of job satisfaction.

2. Career advancement - If you’re interested in progressing up the ladder in an HR department, your employer may require an HR degree. Getting one demonstrates your commitment to the discipline and signifies a strong foundation in relevant HR topics.

3. Attractive salary - Earning an HR degree qualifies the recipient for a greater range of well-paying jobs in the discipline.

Cons

1. Time - Being a student involves devoting an appropriate amount of time to studying and taking classes. People with a wealth of other obligations may find it difficult to add school to the mix.

2. Cost - While many students look at pursuing an HR degree as an investment in their future, the fact remains that shelling out money for tuition, books, and the like can pose a financial hardship.

3. Narrowness - An HR degree sets up the recipient for a career in human resources. Undergraduates who aren’t sure if that career route truly suits their interests may want to consider majoring in a broader discipline, like management or marketing, and pursuing graduate studies in HR at a later date if they discover they want to make that their career path.

Like other standard undergraduate programs of about 120 credits, earning a bachelor’s degree in human resources takes most students four years of full-time study. Accelerated programs, credit from Advanced Placement Exams, attending summer school, or already possessing an associate degree can reduce this time. 

Realize that not all classes in an undergraduate program in human resources are devoted to HR topics. Students must fulfill general education requirements along the way, as well.

How Much Does It Cost to Earn a Bachelor's in HR Degree?

Various factors influence how much it costs to earn a human resources degree, and institutions vary widely in what they charge as well as in how much financial aid they offer. 

Attending a public university in your state of residency often helps to keep expenses down. Likewise, some students take courses, like general education credits, at a community college before transferring to a four-year program to save money, especially if they can live at home instead of paying for room and board.

Data from U.S. News and World Report shows the average tuition and fees per year to earn a bachelor’s degree as:

• Public, in-state: $9,687
• Public, out-of-state: $21,184
• Private, $35,087

Some students opt to earn an online human resources degree as a way to save money by eliminating housing and transportation costs. An online human resources bachelor’s degree runs anywhere from $43,000-$64,000 in total tuition ($360-$500 per credit). 

Accelerated study programs offered by some institutions may help with saving money by enabling students to take as many courses as they want at a given time for one, flat price.

Earning a Master’s in HR requires 36-48 credits, depending on the school. This translates to 1-2 years of full-time study. Many people seeking a graduate HR degree are adult learners with career and family obligations. They often opt for part-time enrollment, which increases the length to 3 or more years. Part-time students may find online human resources degrees attractive because of their flexible scheduling options.

How Much Does It Cost to Earn a Master's in HR Degree?

Tuition and fees for master’s HR programs likewise vary considerably. For instance, here are the fees at the previously mentioned master’s program in human resources and industrial relations at the University of Minnesota:

• Roughly $10,540 per semester (plus fees) for full-time study for residents
• Roughly $17,490 (plus fees) per semester for non-residents
• Whether a resident or non-resident, part-time students pay $1,066 per credit (and fees based on the number of credits taken). 

Capella University, on the other hand, has these tuition ranges for their 3 master’s programs: $2,645-$2,900 per 12-week billing session for FlexPath, and $745-$830 per credit for GuidedPath.

Please note that MBA programs with an emphasis in HR require 48-60 credits. Such a degree typically takes longer to complete than a Master’s in Human Resources.

Earning an HR degree demonstrates to potential employers that you have the training necessary to be a valuable part of their human resources team. HR degree programs provide a solid foundation in critical areas such as business, communications, and human relations.

Many schools offer human resources degree programs on-campus, online, or through hybrid arrangements. An undergraduate HR degree opens doors to basic positions. People aspiring to leadership positions or human resources jobs with greater responsibility find that a graduate degree increases their options and the strength of their candidacy.

Human Resources Career Salary

According to PayScale.com, the average salary for an HR professional is $57,862. Realize, though, that this figure encompasses a variety of positions, experience levels, and educational attainments.

Breaking things down by degree, PayScale reports the following:

• Associate Degree in Human Resources Management, average yearly salary $53,000
• Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources, average yearly salary $54,000
• Master’s Degree in Human Resources, average yearly salary $65,000
• MBA in Human Resources Management, average yearly salary $69,000

Aspiring HR professionals also may be interested in seeing averages for various positions. Here are BLS figures for some of the discipline’s most common careers:

• Human resources assistant, average annual salary $44,170
• Human resources specialists, median annual salary $63,490
• Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists, median annual salary $67,190
• Human resources managers, median annual salary $121,220

Some common managerial titles include:

HR manager

• Median salary in 2020: $121,220
• Projected job growth from 2020-2030: 9%

Compensation and benefits manager

• Median salary in 2020: $125,130
• Projected job growth from 2020-2030: 4%

Training and development manager

• Median salary in 2020: $115,640
• Projected job growth from 2020-2030: 11%

(All statistics courtesy of the BLS.)

1. https://carlsonschool.umn.edu/degrees/master-arts-human-resources-industrial-relations
2. https://www.capella.edu/online-degrees/bachelors-human-resource-management/
3. https://www.webster.edu/business-and-technology/academics/human-resources-development.php
4. https://smlr.rutgers.edu/academic-programs/areas-study/human-resource-management-hrm
5. https://www.ou.edu/cas/humanrelations/graduate/programs/hrc