by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 209 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for human resource management students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 9,750 master's degrees in human resource management during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of human resource management for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for human resource management students working on their master's degree.
The hr school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Human Resource Management Master's Degree Schools.
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in human resource management. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Cornell University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in human resource management. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in human resource management from Cornell University
University of Pennsylvania is a good choice for students pursuing a master's degree in human resource management. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.
Master's recipients from the human resource management degree program at University of Pennsylvania get $35,065 above the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Pennsylvania
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in human resource management needs to take a look at Vanderbilt University. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Those human resource management students who get their master's degree from Vanderbilt University make $51,877 more than the typical hr graduate.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Vanderbilt University
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in human resource management needs to look into Northwestern University. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in human resource management from Northwestern University
It's hard to beat Villanova University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in human resource management. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Villanova.
Master's recipients from the human resource management program at Villanova University earn $27,757 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Villanova University
Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Southern California
UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign.
Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn a boost of about $31,097 over the average earnings of human resource management graduates.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.More information about a master’s in human resource management from Washington University in St Louis
UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the city of Minneapolis.
Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities earn a boost of about $19,663 over the average income of human resource management graduates.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from George Washington University earn a boost of around $9,319 over the typical income of human resource management majors.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from George Washington University
Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in human resource management from Harvard University
Michigan State is a very large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.
Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from Michigan State University earn a boost of approximately $33,487 over the typical income of human resource management majors.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Michigan State University
University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Norman.
Master's students who receive their degree from the hr program make around $48,272 for their early career.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the city of College Station.
Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from Texas A&M University - College Station earn a boost of around $33,435 above the typical earnings of human resource management graduates.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Texas A&M University - College Station
Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.
Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from Georgetown University earn a boost of about $17,146 above the typical earnings of human resource management graduates.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Georgetown University
Located in the city of New Brunswick, Rutgers New Brunswick is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Soon after graduation, hr master's recipients typically earn an average of $58,526 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Rutgers University - New Brunswick
Pepperdine is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Malibu.
Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from Pepperdine University get an earnings boost of approximately $35,394 above the typical income of human resource management graduates.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Pepperdine University
Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.
Those human resource management students who get their master's degree from University of San Francisco receive $47,018 more than the standard hr graduate.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of San Francisco
Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in human resource management from Loyola University Chicago
Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from Ohio State University - Main Campus earn a boost of around $16,289 over the typical income of human resource management graduates.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Ohio State University - Main Campus
UCONN is a very large public university located in the suburb of Storrs.
Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from University of Connecticut earn a boost of around $22,009 over the typical earnings of human resource management graduates.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Connecticut
Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Francisco.
Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from Golden Gate University - San Francisco get an earnings boost of about $19,685 over the average income of human resource management majors.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Golden Gate University - San Francisco
Colorado State University - Global Campus is a moderately-sized public university located in the large city of Aurora.
Those human resource management students who get their master's degree from Colorado State University - Global Campus receive $6,654 more than the typical hr grad.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Colorado State University - Global Campus
Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a master’s in human resource management from Columbia University in the City of New York
Located in the city of Cleveland, Case Western is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the human resource management program at Case Western Reserve University earn $19,994 above the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in human resource management from Case Western Reserve University
Learn about other programs related to Human Resource Management that might interest you.
MS in Human Resource Management
Gain the skills to support the mission, vision, values and goals of your organization with this online master's from Southern New Hampshire University.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Human Resource Management Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | Florida International University | Miami, FL |
| 33 | University of Richmond | University of Richmond, VA |
| 34 | Webster University | Saint Louis, MO |
| 35 | University of Scranton | Scranton, PA |
| 36 | Saint Joseph’s University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 37 | The University of Arizona Global Campus | San Diego, CA |
| 38 | Marquette University | Milwaukee, WI |
| 39 | Seton Hall University | South Orange, NJ |
| 40 | Clemson University | Clemson, SC |
| 41 | University of the Incarnate Word | San Antonio, TX |
View the Best Human Resource Management Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
One of 21 majors within the Business, Management & Marketing area of study, Human Resource Management has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration | 6,010 |
| Organizational Behavior Studies | 1,186 |
| Human Resources Development | 1,079 |
| Other Human Resources Management and Services | 805 |
| Labor & Industrial Relations | 606 |
| Labor Studies | 52 |
| Executive/Career Coaching | 12 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Business Administration & Management | 122,843 |
| Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods | 29,299 |
| Accounting | 18,187 |
| General Business/Commerce | 8,488 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 4,544 |
| Marketing | 3,301 |
| Management Information Systems | 2,381 |
| International Business | 1,723 |
| Taxation | 1,297 |
| Real Estate | 1,106 |
