Master of Science in Strategic Human Resource Management
Utrecht University
Key Information
Campus location
Utrecht, Netherlands
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 year
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
EUR 2,209 / per year *
Application deadline
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Earliest start date
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* EU/EEA, Surinam or Swiss students. €17,500: International students
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Introduction
What does an organization need to do in order to perform well? And what qualifies as ‘good performance’ by a public organization? Recruiting the best employees, investing in training and development, applying a supportive leadership style, giving employees autonomy, providing suitable remuneration – or a smart combination of all these elements? Who is responsible for putting personnel policy into practice? How can you encourage effective implementation to be encouraged? How do organizations engage with their social environment, and how do they fulfill their social responsibility? What is the public dimension of strategic Human Resource Management? What impact does internationalization have on an organization’s Human Resource Management practices? If these questions spark your interest, then we invite you to learn more about this MSc at Utrecht University.
Strategic HRM: Working in a Changing Environment
This Master’s program focuses on Human Resource Management (HRM), and its effects on organizational goals (good performance) employee well-being (for example, satisfaction and motivation), and social legitimacy. We study HRM in the context of societal developments such as an aging population, internationalization, and technological change. This means we don’t see HR policy as a stand-alone policy domain, but rather as a domain in which developments within the organization and within society as a whole are incorporated and integrated into management. What makes HR policies strategic is their coherence, their alignment with the organization’s strategic goals, and with internal and external developments.
Organizations have to deal with government regulations in the area of labor and personnel. Public and private sector organizations have to take economic and social policies at both the national and EU levels into account. This applies to their personnel policy too. These are not the only developments that organizations have to face. There is also social diversity, individualization, internationalization, the declining numbers of young people (dejuvenation), and an aging population. In view of this, organizations need to work on sustainable employability, diversity management, and an age-conscious personnel policy. The reality of having to operate in a changing environment has prompted many organizations to make internal changes, both structural and functional in nature.
This Master’s program involves gaining an understanding of the theory and research in this area, you will learn how to apply this knowledge when analyzing policy issues that organizations have to deal with in their environment.
"I have developed a strategic view of organizations and processes".
Teun Smits, Key Account Manager Benelux at Danerolles
Why in Utrecht
In Utrecht, Strategic Human Resource Management is a broad program focusing on Human Resource Management issues that are important to an organization’s strategy.
The program’s other distinctive features include:
- strategic HRM issues with a public dimension
- current cases, and the development of competencies for application in everyday practice
- small-scale teaching
The Master’s program in Strategic Human Resource Management is offered as part of the Public Administration and Organisation Science program. This involves a combination of public administration and organizational science insights. Understanding public management and organizational science is a fundamental part of the program. There is a special focus on the public dimension of HRM. This public dimension can either be related to the HRM issue itself (e.g. attracting and retaining vulnerable employees such as disabled people) and/or the public organization in which you study this issue.
Program Outcome
After you graduate
On completing this Master’s program, you will know how to establish effective Strategic HRM. This involves aligning HRM policy with organizational goals, coordinating HRM activities, and effective implementation. You will have an understanding of the relevant functional areas (such as training and development), of the relevant theories and models (for example, the AMO model for high-performance organizations), and of the methods and techniques involved in designing and conducting research.
You will also possess the HRM skills needed to give presentations, to operate in teams with people from a wide range of backgrounds, to persuade others, and to draw up a policy framework based on a contextual analysis. Your expertise will also include research skills.
Finally, you will acquire HRM competencies that specifically focus on personal leadership (in areas such as planning, providing guidance in the context of teamwork, dealing with adversity).
Curriculum
The Master’s program in Strategic Human Resource Management starts in September and lasts one year.
In the first two periods, you will take two SHRM courses, Strategic Human Resource Management and HRM and Employees.
In addition, two academic and professional skills courses complete the first semester; Leadership in an international context and Consultancy.
In period 3, you will take a course entitled The public dimension of SHRM. Part of this course has a methodological emphasis, with a view to designing a research proposal. In the other part of the course, we look at how social issues find their way onto the HRM agenda.
In periods 3 and 4, you will work on your Master’s project. This involves a combination of literature study and empirical research. You will choose a subject yourself, then write a thesis. You will be supported in this process by seminars on the philosophy of science, methods & techniques of research, and recent research in public management and Strategic Human Resource management.
Courses
Semester 1
Period 1
- Strategic Human Resource Management (compulsory course)
- Leadership in an international context (academic and professional skills course, compulsory)
Period 2
- HRM and Employees (compulsory course)
- Consultancy (academic and professional skills course, compulsory)
Semester 2
Period 3
- The public dimension of SHRM (compulsory course)
- SHRM Research seminar - part 1 (compulsory)
Period 4
- SHRM Research seminar - part 2 (compulsory)
Career Opportunities
The Master’s program in Strategic Human Resource Management prepares you for the world of professional practice by means of competence-focused teaching methods. The assignments in the curriculum, together with the Master’s project, enable you to aim at a specific profile. The competence profiles themselves reflect the areas of professional practice that are relevant to graduates – consultant, policy advisor, manager, researcher. You can perform these functions in different types of organizations – public, semi-public and private, and in a national or international context.
To the Job Market
Once you have graduated, your degree in Strategic Human Resource Management will open the door to professions such as:
HR advisor
As an HR advisor, you will advise an organization’s strategic or line management on HR issues. As an internal consultant, you will be employed either by these organizations themselves or by a consultancy firm. After several years of professional experience, you will be able to act as an effective sounding board for management at the strategic level. On the job market, there is a demand for strategic-level HR advisors. Notably, the public sector, in particular, has had an ongoing need for HR advisors in recent years.
Policy advisor
As a policy advisor, you will be more involved with policy development and less with implementation and operational practice. You will work in the staff department of a large organization, such as a ministry, an insurance company, an employer organization, or a union.
Manager
Managers are increasingly taking on responsibility for HR policy. First, you must have a vision of where you and your unit want to be in five years’ time. Next, you have to modify your organization’s or company’s HR policy accordingly (with regard to the development of competencies, for example).
Researcher
As a researcher, you can find work at sector organizations (in healthcare, for example) or in policy-research institutions. In these cases, you will be carrying out government-commissioned research, for example. Agencies of this kind carry out research into employees’ perceptions of work or into age-conscious personnel policies, for example.