MSc Professional HR 

The BPP University College MSc Professional Human Resources (HR) is a masters level qualification, designed to significantly enhance the careers of experienced HR professionals. It will equip you with the practical, critical and strategic skills you need to lead with confidence in the most challenging modern HR environments.

CIPD Exemptions

The MSc Professional HR is also aligned with the Advanced Standards of the professional body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). If you have already completed Stage One or Two of the CIPD Advanced Diploma in HRM, you may be eligible to be fast-tracked through the programme by gaining exemptions for the relevant modules of the MSc Professional HR programme by way of Accredited Prior Learning (APL). For more details contact admissions.

The BPP Postgraduate Diploma in Professional HR is recognised by CIPD as a qualification equivalent to their Advanced level qualification and fully meets the CIPD knowledge requirements for students to upgrade to either Associate or Chartered membership, depending on which membership level criteria they meet.

The MSc Professional HR degree is awarded by BPP University College.

Key Information

  • Tailor your degree to your desired career path with a range of specialist modules
  • Study at purpose built, state-of-the-art venues across the UK
  • Learn from real-world scenarios based on tutor expertise
  • The BPP University College MSc Professional HR is also accredited by the professional body the Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
  • Learn from experienced HR professionals, a majority of whom are FCIPD Chartered Members
  • Discover new networking opportunities inside and outside the classroom
  • Benefit from free specialist one-to-one careers advice
  • Part-time teaching and online independent study
  • Personal tutor support via email and telephone
International student? Learn about visas >
Call admissions: 020 3130 6816
Events
CMI Certified Provider

Supporting your career aspirations

Students working

The BPP University College MSc Professional HR supports individual career aspirations. It equips you with the in-depth knowledge and strategic understanding expected at senior managerial level. It is suitable for senior HR practitioners who have aspirations to progress to the highest possible level within their profession.

More details about the programme can be found in the programme specification handbook.

Reflecting the dynamic world of contemporary HR, our unique Masters is designed to support all industry sectors and organisations. It offers the opportunity to become a true industry specialist, either as an HR generalist or specialist, by studying the respective specialist streams.

CIPD qualifications

The BPP University College MSc in Professional HR and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Advanced Diploma in HRM are aligned. If you've already completed CIPD Advanced level modules in HRM, you may be entitled to various exemptions.  Please contact Admissions for details regarding exemptions.

Additional Qualifications

On successful completion of BPP University College's MSc Professional HR you will also receive a CMI (Chartered Management Institute) Level 7 Certificate awarded by the professional body, CMI.

Face-to-face

As well as formal lectures, you'll benefit from a high percentage of interactive small group sessions. Based around 'real world' business scenarios, you'll do the work of senior HR professionals rather than just learning about it.

Distance learning

Outside of the classroom, you'll be responsible for developing your knowledge and skills through work experience and online study. Throughout the programme you'll be given ample tutor support including regular one-to-one feedback.








Modules

The MSc Professional HR programme is offered part-time. Depending on which modules you choose, you will receive one of the following Masters qualifications:

  • MSc Professional HR
  • MSc Professional HR (Performance and Talent Management)
  • MSc Professional HR (Employment Law)
  • MSc Professional HR (Employee Relations)
  • MSc Professional HR (Global HR Management)

Please note that modules run subject to demand, therefore all modules may not run in all locations.


How you'll be assessed

The programme is assessed on a module-by-module basis through a combination of coursework, closed-book exams, written assignments and an independent project. These assessments are designed around real-life HR tasks, such as delivering HR plans, professional consultancy reports and individual presentations.

To fully prepare you and help maximise your success, we'll include mock assessments, revision packs and regular feedback throughout the course.

View a chart of the MSc Professional HR programme modules (PDF - 56KB)


Stage 1 - Postgraduate Certificate in HR

Compulsory
Credits
HR Strategy -Application and Implementation
15
The skills needed in the HR function have changed rapidly since 2003, and the strategic role of HR is still evolving and becoming more integrated with core business strategies and drivers. The world itself has become more dynamic and complex requiring HR specialists to work far closer with their businesses to ensure HR policies, procedures and practices facilitate the pace of change and support the development and management of people.

This module initially examines how different organisations approach the development of formal or emergent strategies, exploring key strategic tools and a variety of external influences and drivers that impact on strategic choice. It then examines the support required from the HR function in shaping and realising business strategies, how HR is structured to provide that support and how its contribution to the organisation is measured. It also examines the important role of the HR practitioner as a change agent in the introduction of new working practices.

Throughout the module you will explore contemporary and traditional theories pertaining to this area of study and be invited to challenge, explore and develop alternatives as you assess the relevance of established academic theory in terms of practical application. Through the study of recent articles and research reports, you will gain an insight into the increasingly significant role that HR practitioners can play by combining an understanding of business drivers with their expertise in the area of people management.
Hide
Emerging Themes in HR
15
Change is not only likely, it’s inevitable.  As organisational change becomes the norm, HR professionals need an up-to-date overview and analysis of the diverse and complex issues they face.  Adopting a critical approach the module reviews theories, concepts and developing issues related to human resources and applies these principles to emerging issues that exemplify the dynamic working environment confronting organisations and HR professionals today.

The identification and analysis of themes is supported by examples and ‘real world’ cases to provide you with a functional knowledge and appreciation of current human resource issues.  The exploration highlights the challenges for HR professionals who are increasingly expected to provide leadership in the management of employees as a key source of organisational competitive advantage.

By exploring the strategic aspects of effective management of people and organisations, an understanding will be developed of HR’s role in shaping the overall strategy of the organisation and the decisions that flow from it in terms of human capital.

This module is to provide an understanding of the emergent strategic issues in Human Resource Management and the impact of these on organisation strategy and HR practice.
Hide
Competitive Intelligence in HR
15
The purpose of this core module is three fold: to introduce you to the array of information that Human Resource (HR) practitioners utilise; knowledge management; and theory underpinning the practice of business research. Knowledge is critical for businesses to enable them to add value and gain competitive advantage; consequently, knowledge management has developed into an academic field. We will introduce you to the latest academic thinking on knowledge management and discuss the types of secondary information businesses use and data they collect to aid decision making in particular, HRM.

We will then introduce you to the theoretical principles underpinning business research and focus on refining your research skills to enable you to develop a research proposal on an emerging human resource management theme. Specifically, we will take you through the research process from: identifying, sourcing and synthesising literature; to selecting a research approach and design; formulating research questions and hypotheses; choosing appropriate research methods; and selecting a sample. As part of this we will discuss how different philosophical views influence your approach to research, from design to analysis and access and ethical issues that you may encounter during the research process.

By the end of the module you will have the knowledge, confidence and practical skills you require to be able to trace a range of academic and industry sources using electronic databases and critically evaluate the methodological approaches, reliability and validity of the data. You will also be able to plan your own research project making suitable choices drawing on your theoretical and practical knowledge of research methods. The module will culminate with you drawing this knowledge and skill set together in a research proposal that includes a literature review on an emerging human resource management theme.
Hide

Stage 2 - Postgraduate Diploma in HR

Compulsory
Credits
Leadership, Management and Entrepreneurialism
15
This module introduces students to organisational leadership and, to a lesser extent, the management of people and development of entrepreneurship within organisations. It provides students with a basic knowledge of the nature and demands of organisational leadership so that they will understand and be able to evaluate styles of leadership and appreciate their impact on organisational performance. You will be able to determine for yourself what makes a good leader and relate styles of leadership, including your own, to different approaches to problem solving and decision making.
Hide
Organisational Stakeholder Behaviour
15
Organisational Stakeholder Behaviour
Hide
Optional
Credits
Talent Management
15
One of the major problems faced by many companies in today’s fast paced market is how to grasp and retain labour that is of the best calibre. In the highly competitive business environment, the best talent quickly gets swept up by employers eager to strengthen the quality and efficacy of their workers. That’s why it is important for a company to stay on track by utilising the best talent management programs available. Indeed, a successful venture will place a high priority on the organisation of labour pools and the effective regulation of human capital resources. The term used to describe this is Talent Management, which is the implementation of integrated strategies or systems designed to improve HRM and related organisational processes for recruiting, developing, and retaining people with critical skills and aptitudes to meet current and future organisational needs. Not only will the company pick up the right people to work for it, but it will also engender a sense of loyalty among its employees, both reducing the rate of turnover and upping the level of quality in the goods and services provided. To do this, there is a set of fundamental skills a company must have, and strategies it must utilise, in order to build up within its ranks the best and the brightest talent available for its specified field.

This module presents a comprehensive overview of Talent Management and how to effectively develop a talent management strategy. Topics include workforce analysis, building a talent pipeline, on-boarding, performance management, career management, succession planning, retention, engagement, and creating an inclusive environment.

Studying this module will develop your critical thinking skills, specifically in the area of evaluating, assessing and managing talent to support organisational needs.
Hide
International and Comparative HR Management Practices
15
Hide
Reward and Motivation
15
Motivation is the driving force by which we achieve our goals. Employees must be motivated to work for a company or an organisation. What acts as a source of motivation is a complex field. There are many theories on motivation but essentially there are two sources: oneself and other people. These two sources are called intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, respectively. Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the individual. Common extrinsic motivations are rewards such as money.

Studying this module you will evaluate relevant theories and practical lessons in reward and motivation in an organisation and international context. The primary theme is that rewards and recognition can motivate and drive performance, particularly when a total reward management approach is adopted. This module provides the knowledge and understanding of environments in which HR professionals plan, implement and evaluate employee reward policies to support strategic organisational goals.

You will apply evaluative skills in designing flexible approaches to reward and assess the challenges of international and executive pay arrangements. You will develop an understanding of the diverse approaches to reward management and be able to critically reflect on the strengths and limitations of these approaches in promoting individual and organisational performance in a fair, reasonable and equitable way.
Hide
Employment Law in Practice
15
The Employment Law in Practice module is designed to provide a detailed insight into the framework which supports the application of the regulatory field of employment law. It is designed to provide a basis from which you can explore the advanced study of the employment relationship and the regulation of working life and is designed to be used in practice in any given scenario.
Hide

Stage 3 - MSc Professional HR

Optional
Credits
Leading Innovations in HR
30

This is a practical project that will further develop and build upon the proposal you submitted at the end of the 'Competitive Intelligence in HR Research Skills' module to address a ‘live’ human resource problem provided by an industry recognised, sponsor organisation (public, private, not-for-profit).

The project will therefore provide you with an unrivalled opportunity to work on a 'real' human resource problem, gaining valuable in-sight and 'hands-on experience' of consultancy work undertaken by human resource professionals in practice.

It is a practical project underpinned with sound academic principles that identifies and addresses a Strategic Human Resource opportunity. It also provides a platform for the further development of major human resource management skills such as self-management, team working factors, innovation, risk and profit and so on.

Hide
Resourcing and Assessing Talent
15
This module examines all the activities that are essential for the acquiring, managing and retaining talent from HR planning through to release from employment.  Students will analyse contemporary HR practice in context, covering the latest developments in people resourcing and talent planning. Focusing not just on the practical aspects of recruitment, selection, employee retention and dismissal, but also on the strategic aspects to equip you with the knowledge and skills required for resourcing and talent management within a global context.
Hide
Expatriation and Repatriation
15
This module explores how international mobility fits within an organisation’s overall strategic IHRM approach.  It also examines critical components in the effective management of international assignees.
Hide
Compliance and Risk Management
15
Business leaders and managers appreciate that legal expertise at any level has to be underpinned by the ability to apply such expertise to resolve real-world problems. The Employment Law in Practice is designed to help you develop both your expertise and your practical experience.

This module builds on core employment law knowledge and skills gained to support HR professionals and managers to develop their thinking, expertise and experience in the related areas of compliance and risk management.

Experienced managers already know that compliance is never really achieved through enforcement alone and that increasing levels of control can be counter-productive. At the same time the cost of failure can be catastrophic and the pressure for more and more control irresistible.

This module takes four practical areas and uses them as vehicles to explore the issues of compliance. At the same time the management processes and thinking that are referred to as Risk Management but that are so often only partially understood, are critically analyse in a practical and user friendly way.

This module begins with areas that will be familiar to you from the pre-requisite module of Employment Law in Practice, Health & Safety and Data Protection, and examines the principles behind the law in these areas, as well as the practicalities of ensuring compliance in the work place. At the same time it begins to explain the concepts and processes that make up Risk Management.

This module then moves through some of the requirements of Sarbanes Oxley, Money Laundering Regulations and the latest Bribery Act, critically analysing the real difficulties in both ensuring and demonstrating compliance. Finally the module looks at specific employment restrictions in terms of the checks required of those working with young people and vulnerable adults and the requirements regarding the rehabilitation of offenders.
Hide
Organisational Performance
15
This module examines the design of performance management systems that aim to transform organisational objectives and performance outcomes and identifies the knowledge and skills needed for effective performance review processes that are fair, ethical and improve people performance in modern organisations. It will provide you with the necessary skills and a critical understanding of the performance management and review process that combines challenge and support and places a focus on personal, team and organisational learning and accountability. Furthermore, it recognises the importance of communication skills in the performance review process and evaluates the need for employee involvement as well as transparent, ethical and justifiable rewards for performance. The module requires you to reflect critically on theory and practice from an ethical and professional standpoint.
Hide
Managing People in Global Contexts
15
A recent report from PWC “Managing tomorrow’s people: the future of work to 2020” (2007) into managing tomorrow’s global workforce presents a fundamental challenge for organisations and HRM practitioners. They state that a crisis of talent, an ageing workforce, growing demands for even greater employee flexibility and mobility coupled with organisational and cultural issues stemming from the dramatic rate of environmental, economic, political, [technological] and social change will have a fundamental impact on the world of work. A solution could lie in an analysis of the process organisations undergo to engage and manage their employees in varying global contexts. Indeed, the Global Work Attitudes Report (2007/2008) considers this very theme through an investigation of how regional differences in engagement can have an effect on an organisation’s ability to direct and manage its people?

With this in mind, this module will examine the management of local knowledge-generating strategies, policies and practices, paying particular attention to the processes that link people strategies, policies and practices to global contexts and learn to identify the key dimensions of globalisation, whilst exploring the implications for knowing how to ‘do things’ in a variety of global contexts.
Hide
Conflict, Intervention and Negotiation
15
This module is designed to give you an in-depth knowledge of collective and individual dispute resolution and the ability to apply this practically in resolving conflict in the workplace. Though based on UK legislation it provides a global perspective for the global business world in which we practice.
Hide
Employee Voice and Engagement
15
According to the CIPD, employee engagement delivers business performance, and it is a two-way process; as the improving performance of an organisation means that we all have the jobs that match our ability to deliver and secure the futures that we aspire to.

But to improve business performance managers need to listen to employees, and employees need the information about the company so that they can become involved. Engagement is more than going the extra mile by taking on additional work or meeting tight deadlines. It requires two-way information which forms a commitment to the organisation, not just commitment to the people that are part of our team.

This module examines ‘employee voice’ and the way employers listen to their employees. It assesses the methods that employers choose to listen to employees, whether these are collective or individual and links these to engagement of employees and the performance of organisations. It takes a contemporary approach to a current and rapidly developing area of research which is vital for business competitiveness and the future of businesses in today’s operating environment.

As globalisation is a developing theme in all business research, the module reviews contemporary issues surrounding employee voice and engagement with an international flavour. The module also reviews the legal framework and analyses this in light of different employment relations systems.

Successful completion of the module will provide you with a foundation of knowledge that will enable you to positively influence the effectiveness of your organisation, by selecting appropriate voice mechanisms that support engagement and meet the legal framework which developed in recent years.
Hide
Business and Contract Law
15
Business leaders and managers appreciate that legal expertise at any level has to be underpinned by the ability to apply such expertise to resolve real-world problems.

This module builds on the core employment law knowledge and skills gained in the ‘Employment Law in Practice’ module and help HR professionals and managers to develop their thinking, expertise and experience in this increasingly important area of HR and management practice.

Within this module you will develop a comprehensive level of knowledge and understanding of important aspects of Business and Contract Law as it applies in the employment arena. In so doing you will gain both practical experience and key employment law related skills that you will be able to use when tackling these and other employment law related issues.

This module begins by exploring the different legal forms of businesses and organisations and the importance of legal frameworks in enabling them to operate successfully and in particular, to be able to deploy labour. You will then carry out detailed analysis of how contracts are drafted with the objective of developing your own skills in understanding and drafting contracts and contractual terms. The module concludes by focusing on the various methods of dispute resolution with a broad consideration of all of the issues involved and again providing you with the opportunity to develop relevant practical skills.
Hide

Entry requirements

To apply for the MSc Professional HR you'll need to have one of the following qualifications:

  • A 2:2 (or above) Honours Degree in a Business Related subject from a recognised university or the equivalent international qualification
  • An acceptable professional qualification or experience equivalent to the CIPD Diploma in HRM/HRD

You must also have a minimum of one year’s appropriate work experience within Human Resources and related operational responsibilities.

If English is not your first language, you will also need to provide evidence of at least IELTS 6.5 or equivalent.

BPP welcomes applications if you have other accredited prior learning, or significant relevant experience, which can demonstrate that you are capable of a Masters level study.

CIPD Exemptions

If you've already completed CIPD Advanced level modules in HRM, you may be entitled to various exemptions for the relevant modules of the MSc Professional HR programme.  You will need to apply for the exemptions.  Please enter the details of your exemption award on the applications form.

How to apply

To apply for a place on the BPP MSc Professional HR programmes, you'll need to complete a BPP application form at the top right of this page. While there are no formal deadlines you will need to apply in time for your selected programme start dates (see below). Due to the high level of demand we recommend you apply as soon as you are ready.

Key dates

We currently offer a start date in September. There are three terms, each including:

  • ten weeks of study
  • one mid-term reading week
  • two weeks of revision
  • one week of assessments
  • holidays around Christmas (December), Easter (April) and Summer (August).


International students

For details of which international qualifications are accepted for this programme, please see our country-specific entry requirements.

Study locations

BPP University College's MSc Professional HR programme is designed for busy professionals. We offer part-time study – two evenings a week. Classes are held at our BPP Business School in the City of London. 

View the term and assessment dates.

Paying for your programme

Fees for the MSc Professional HR for January 2013 are:

  • MSc Professional HR - £8,995
  • MSc Professional HR (top up from Postgraduate Diploma) - £4,500

You can also opt to study our PG Certificate or PG Diploma individually:

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Professional HR - £4,500
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Professional HR - £9,000

Or study individual modules:

  • 15 credits – £1,200
  • 30 credits – £2,400 

Fees for September 2013 will be:

  • MSc Professional HR - £11,995


Payment plans and schedules

View a full list of payment plans and schedules
 

Scholarships

BPP is committed to widening access to higher education and offers a range of funding and scholarships. You can also apply for external sources of funding.

Tel: +44 (0) 845 077 5566 
Email: admissions@bpp.com