Overview

The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Human Resources and Industrial Relations (HRIR) is a professional degree preparing students for private and public sector employment in human resource management, labor relations, and related fields. This full-time program is designed to be completed in two academic years (four semesters). Widely recognized as one of the top three programs in the country, the first half of the program consists of six required core courses that provide a comprehensive and rigorous foundation across the entire field of HRIR. The second half of the program consists of elective coursework in HRIR and related fields (such as finance, accounting, operations management and other areas). Through this balanced HRIR curriculum, students gain a thorough understanding of both contemporary practices and the underlying theories that are necessary for a successful career. Students explore HR issues within the broader economic, financial, technological, ethical, global, and cultural environment to give them a rich foundation for decision-making. The living business laboratory of the Twin Cities provides internships, field projects, and mentors from dynamic, global companies.

Minnesota HRIR students benefit from state-of-the-art classroom, computing, and library facilities. The Industrial Relations Center Reference Room is one of a small number of comprehensive reference libraries specializing in HRIR. The Carlson School's Business Career Center assists students in their job search across the country and around the world and manages on-campus interviewing. The graduate HRIR programs attract individuals from throughout the United States and the world. Minnesota's HRIR M.A. program is among the oldest and largest in the country with 140 full-time M.A. students.

The HRIR M.A. program has a longstanding commitment to diversity. Entering HRIR students have undergraduate degrees in many subjects ranging from the fine arts to engineering. The most common majors include psychology, business, economics, human resource development, and speech communication. Previous work experience is desirable, but not required. Minority enrollment in the full-time M.A. program is 18 percent.

“There are a number of schools in the field of industrial and labor relations or human resources—Cornell, Michigan State, Minnesota, Illinois, Rutgers—all good programs. I think what distinguishes Cornell and ILR is the history. It’s been around a long time. It’s a separate school. It has a faculty leadership team that’s fantastic. It has its own program—it’s not part of a business school. It has a focus on training professionals. It has a relationship with industry that is probably unparalleled among all universities that offer human resource degrees. Phillip R. Weber, MILR 1977, Vice President, Compensation and Benefits, IBM

“What you have at Cornell is a balance of research experts and knowledge experts as well as people who have a genuine concern for learning and when you demonstrate that concern, you get a lot of support from the professors there.” Kenneth Kerrig, BS 1981, ILR, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Sysco