MSc Management with Human Resources

• International Human Resource Management: This unit focusses on the key skills required to manage people across different national cultures and institutional environments.
• Organisation & Employment Studies: You will develop the critical thinking skills needed to analyse key organisational problems and employment relations issues from a range of different perspectives.
• People Resourcing & Development: This unit looks at the theory and practice of people resourcing and development (PR&D), and how this can effectively contribute to the achievement of corporate strategic goals. The role of the HR professional in facilitating the relationship between PR&D and organisational effectiveness will be critically examined.
• Managing People: You will develop your knowledge, skills and understanding of the theories and practices of organisational behaviour, especially in the area of people management, and how this can effectively contribute to positive organisational outcomes.
• Marketing & Strategy: You will explore and analyse the premise that in order to be successful, organisations need to gain a good understanding of their customers’ requirements and to seek to achieve organisational objectives through the satisfaction of their customers’ needs and wants.
• Leadership Essentials: The unit aims to provide a critical understanding of leadership theory and practice through developing your personal leadership skills. You will develop greater self-awareness through reflexivity and working with teams, combined with a theoretical understanding including emotional intelligence, resilience and well-being.
• Dissertation: The dissertation unit aims to provide you with an opportunity to undertake a significant piece of self-managed research in a relevant area of particular interest.

You have the option to undertake a 30-week placement at the end of the course, providing an opportunity to apply your acquired knowledge and skills in the workplace. You are required to find your own placement; however, our Careers & Employability Service and your faculty placements office are on hand to support you.

The placement is intended to foster personal and professional development, and to help you to make a connection between academic learning and the working world.

You should consider how a range of management theories can be used, and if management in industry could be improved. The transferable skills developed will improve your performance in your future career, both as employee and manager.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

This course focuses on developing both expert knowledge of HR strategies and management skills. We therefore encourage applicants from a professional background and with experience of human resources or general management, with ambition to develop their career prospects. Students should be confident working in groups and have effective communication skills.

This course selects candidates by looking at their applications. There are no interviews or additional selection activities and therefore we suggest that you make your application stand out from the crowd. For more information, take a look at our post graduate how to apply pages. 

Please see our website for the application deadlines. You should apply as early as possible to be considered for your course of choice. If you require a student visa, apply for the visa as soon as you have an unconditional offer and receive your CAS. There may be delays in visa processing in your country and you need to be in Bournemouth ready to study for the start of term.

December and January is one of our busiest application periods and therefore it may take us a little longer to process incoming applications. For courses with a January start date, we recommend submitting your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

We provide a lot of support for you to help you find work, including a block of seminars, covering topics such as writing a CV and a covering letter, completing an application form, performing well in interviews, and we also provide language support to assist you with the written elements of your applications. 

However, it is ultimately your responsibility to find work. The university does not guarantee that you will find a place. Some students may choose to opt for a taught unit instead of placement.  

During your time on placement you will be supported by a unit tutor and a placement development advisor who will visit you on placement and keep in touch by phone and email.

If you choose to do a placement as part of your course:

If you have previously studied in the UK, we will consider any study limit that may apply. We will issue your CAS according to the length of time you are entitled to under UKVI regulations (if you do not have enough time left for a work placement year, we will issue your CAS to cover your course dates only).

If you decide after you have enrolled on your course that you do not want to do a placement, this will be reported to the UKVI when you have successfully completed your course.

If you choose not to do a placement as part of your course:

We will note this on your CAS and your visa will only be granted long enough to cover your taught course, excluding placement.

If you change your mind while you are here and decide you want to do a placement, you will need to leave the UK to make a new Tier 4 visa application for the additional year of study. You would need to pay for your return travel back to your home country, as well as the cost of a new Tier 4 student visa application.

The normal requirements for embarking upon a postgraduate taught degree are:

• A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in any subject, or equivalent.

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow - some based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry Team for more information.

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

• India: Bachelor’s degree (four years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 55% 
• Nigeria: Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:4  
• China: Chinese Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with 65% or above  
• Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (LisansDiplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.3/4.0  
• Ghana: Bachelor's degrees from University of Ghana or Legon with a grade of 2.00 or above, or from Cape Coast with a grade 2.5 or above  
• USA: US Bachelor’s degree (four years), with a 2.5 GPA or above  ​ 

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level. 

Typical job roles can include:

• Human Resources Officer
• Recruitment Consultant
• Training and Development Officer
• Employee Relations Adviser
• Management Consultant.

Our graduates work in small and large private firms, the public sector and voluntary organisations.

If you want to continue your studies after achieving your Master's, you can look into our range of doctoral programmes.

What's included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity.

• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study.
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service.
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, intregrated social media and advanced video features.
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow.
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions.
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances.
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills.
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of text books and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies.
• Accommodation and living costs. Please visit our website for more information.
• Travel costs, for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchases separately.
• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if required by your placement setting, including any Post Office or Digital ID verification charges.
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Placement year funding can be found on our website.
•  Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
• SportsBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during the course of your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full time fee.

International (not Rep. of Ireland) students need to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. For January and September 2025 entry, a £5,000 deposit is required. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

• You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
• You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries to eligible students who are beginning their studies at BU. Please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/funding for details on living costs, budgeting and paying your tuition fees.

Dr Péter Erdélyi is Deputy Head of Department in the Department of Marketing, Strategy & Innovation (MSI) in The Business School. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, and an MA from the State University of New York. He has over 20 years of higher education teaching experience acquired in the USA, Taiwan, Slovakia, and the UK. Previously he held positions as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Marketing, and roles as interim Head of Education & Professional Practice, and Framework Leader for Postgraduate Courses in Management, overseeing a suite of five Master’s programmes. 

Péter helped set up and facilitated the MSI Research Forum (and formerly the Strategy, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Research Forum). He serves as an external panel member at postgraduate and executive programme validation events in the UK and internationally. He has also worked on various finance, technology, and marketing-related projects at Goldman Sachs, Ford Motor Company, and NIKE, and with several micro-enterprises in e-commerce and entrepreneurial education. 

Gbola brings international teaching and research experience in Organisational Behaviour and HRM. His background is diverse (from five countries and the UNDP), inclusive of collaborative research and consultancy work. He is interested in multi-methods research approach having used a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods in his work, albeit more strongly aligned with the former. He is an active reviewer for over a dozen scholarly journals and several academic conferences. As an educator, his academic research informs his pedagogic approach. He also has management consulting experience in Europe, Asia and Africa. 

Parallel to his teaching duties, Gbola’s current research and supervision interests focus on four streams: (1) Unethical work practices; (2) Wellbeing and work-life balance; (3) Employee engagement and commitment; and (4) Careers & employability. 

Gbola has experience in research supervision at the PhD level and welcomes enquiries from keen and highly dedicated individuals on doctoral research supervision, especially in the above areas. 

Yumei Yang is a lecturer in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour at the Business School at Bournemouth University. 

Her current research interests are organisational routines and organisational learning. Notably, she is interested in evaluating how organisational defensive routines affect organisational life, such as organisational performance, organisational learning and knowledge management. During her PhD, she developed a scale to measure organisational defensive routines. Her current study is to explore whether these kind of routines are more prevalent in Chinese culture than they are in the UK. Recently, she has been working with colleagues from healthcare sectors to understand how defensive routines could have an impact on professional misconduct. 

She also co-investigated other various research areas in HRM and OB such as big data, knowledge-oriented leadership and work-life balance. 

Dr Sachiko Takeda is a Senior Lecturer in Global Corporate Social Responsibility at the Business School of Bournemouth University. She received her PhD from the University of Southampton in the subject of International Relations. Before joining BU in 2006, she worked as an external collaborator at the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Turin, Italy, as an associate lecturer at Bunkyo University in Japan and as a researcher of East Timor at AICAT, a Hiroshima based NGO in Japan. Her research interests include human rights, especially workers’ rights, corporate social responsibility and organisational behaviour.

Maureen is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy & a Senior Lecturer (academic) in Leadership, sustainability and Organisational Behaviour at the department of People & Organisation, Bournemouth University Business School, U.K.

She joined the university in September 2017, from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen where she was a lecturer in Business and Human Resource Management. Maureen had also held a lecturer position in Human Resource management at international college Robert Gordon University.

Maureen is an emerging thought leader with research interest in Sustainability, Responsible Management, Leadership, Responsible Human Resource Management & Organisational Change. She is open to interdisciplinary & international qualitative and quantitative research collaborations.

Debbie is a Senior Principal Academic in The Business School. She is also a Chartered Manager and Senior Fellow of The Higher Education Academy. She currently teaches Strategy and Leadership on both the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. She also has undertaken guest lectures within other Management programmes both in the UK and overseas. Her current research interests include stakeholder management, systems thinking in decision making and legacy planning. Other activities include being part of the ESRC funded Sports Tourism initiative (STORMING) to undertake research into Sports Tourism opportunities and challenges, and the F.A.M.E. framework of event evaluation (HEIF Funded) and the FestiM project using social media to measure event reach. More recently she has been involved in commercial training for organisations in relation to improving their mobile marketing initiatives and is a regular contributor to both the BU Festival of Learning and the Festival of Enterprise. She has extensive leadership experience both within and outside the University and brings her own unique take on 21st leadership styles. Currently she is also Director of the Help to Grow Management Programme at Bournemouth University, delivering training to SME’s for the British Government.