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Overview

The MSc in Human Resource Management has been designed in response to developments within the HRM sector and can lead to professional accreditation by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The MSc Human Resource Management prepares you for a successful career in HRM and enables you to take on general or specialist roles within the HRM functions of organisations globally. This understanding will achieve improved utilisation of the human resource and facilitate greater business success and increased employee satisfaction. It will allow you to develop and assess employment policies and support organisational development.

With the MSc Human Resource Management, you will gain a mix of specialist and generic transferable skills essential for a career in business or HRM. A variety of teaching and learning approaches are used including lectures, tutorials, practical workshops and are focused on the practical aspects human resources. Our highly qualified and experienced teaching staff, supported by guest speakers, will deepen your understanding of business and HRM.

Upon successful completion of the MSc HRM, you will be eligible to become an Associate Member of the CIPD automatically.

CIPD Student Membership required (see Additional Costs section below for more information.)

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Why HRM?

The MSc HRM provides students with the fundamental academic and professional knowledge, understanding and key skills required by HR professionals and will enable students to effectively contribute to dynamic businesses — may it be SMEs, national, or international organisations.

There is a deliberate attempt to expose students to the wide range of learning, teaching and assessment methods in order to assist in the development of a wide range of skills within the students, but also to achieve a wide range of programme and module learning outcomes. In practice this means that a variety of engaging and supportive methods of teaching — such as workshop-style module delivery — and assessments are used across the programme.

There are a variety of other great reasons why studying with us benefits you:

  • Enthusiastic staff supporting you on your journey
  • Excellent support mechanism (e.g. personal tutoring)
  • Engaging and supportive learning environment
  • Ongoing development of co-curricular activities

An advantage of a gaining a qualification for a career in HRM is that most types of organisations (public, private, social enterprise organisations) need HR skills. In larger organisations such as multinationals, the HR career can include specialist roles in e.g. talent management, resourcing, organisation development, employee engagement, pay and rewards, as well as generalist positions such as HR business partner – a role which is also often found in small & medium sized enterprises. As a profession, it provides a career path, with HR positions from junior levels all the way through to strategic and board level roles.

REAL WORLD LEARNING & TEACHING

The MSc HRM provides students with the fundamental academic and professional knowledge, understanding and key skills required by HR professionals and will enable students to effectively contribute to dynamic businesses — may it be SMEs, national, or international organisations.

There is a deliberate attempt to expose students to the wide range of learning, teaching and assessment methods in order to assist in the development of a wide range of skills within the students, but also to achieve a wide range of programme and module learning outcomes. In practice this means that a variety of engaging and supportive methods of teaching — such as workshop-style module delivery — and assessments are used across the programme.

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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The full-time programme will be beneficial for those wishing to enter a career within the area of HRM or looking to complete the programme in a shorter space of time. The part-time programme will be beneficial for both general managers and those working within HRM.

Graduates from this course have HRM and management roles within the NHS, Scottish Prison Service, Transport Police and SMEs.

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STUDENT SUPPORT

UWS prides itself in being a Widening Access and Participation University, offering educational opportunities to people from all backgrounds. This is also reflected in the level of support we offer our students, particularly with our Personal Tutoring approach:

  • Providing academic, pastoral and developmental support and guidance
  • Providing guidance in relation to your studies, employability, and support you in overcoming any issues out-with university (e.g. health issues, etc.)

Entry Requirements

What qualifications do you need?

We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.

Don’t worry if you do not possess the qualifications listed here or have alternative, equivalent qualifications, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience.

If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Postgraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.

First or second-class Honours degree, or equivalent, in social science or business-related discipline.

Applicants with a non-business related degree but with significant professional experience will also be considered.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW

All academic degrees/awards at UWS are taught in English. For applicants whose first language is not English*, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. All English language qualifications must have been gained within two years of the start of your UWS course.

* applicants who are exempt from english language requirements include:

  • native speakers of English
  • Erasmus students (unless advised otherwise)
  • non-Erasmus students from EU partner institutions (your institution must provide confirmation of your English language ability in the absence of a formal qualification)
  • students whose previous degree-level study has been taught and assessed in English in what UK Visas and Imigration (UKVI) define as a majority English speaking country

In general terms, if you are applying to study a course at, or above, Year 1 (SCQF Level 7) bachelor’s degree level, then the UKVI’s minimum level of English proficiency is Common European Framework for References of Languages (CEFR) at B2 (Upper Intermediate).

 

UWS & INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEST SYSTEM (IELTS)

At UWS, we define our general English language requirements using the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training) as follows:

Undergraduate (bachelor's - BA, BAcc, BEng, BSc etc.) degrees and postgraduate (master's - MA, MBA, MSc etc.) taught degrees

  • the CEFR equivalent requirement is normally an overall IELTS score of 6.0 (or equivalent), with a score of no lower than 5.5 in any of the four elements (listening, speaking, reading and writing)

Postgraduate research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA etc.)

  • the CEFR equivalent requirement is an overall IELTS score of 6.5 (or equivalent), with a score of no lower than 6.0 in any of the four elements (listening, speaking, reading and writing)

These are minimum requirements and some courses may require a higher standard for admission†.

† Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see IELTS Score Exceptions section below for more information). 

 

IELTS SCORE EXCEPTIONS (RESEARCH DEGREES, BIOMEDICAL & PARAMEDIC SCIENCE DEGREES, NURSING & MIDWIFERY DEGREES WITH NMC REGISTRATION, SOCIAL WORK DEGREES, CERTIFICATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, ETC.)

RESEARCH DEGREES

For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

  • overall score of 6.5
  • no sub-test score of less than 6.0

HEALTH & MIDWIFERY AWARDS

For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (BSc Adult Nursing, MSc Adult Nursing, BSc Mental Health Nursing, MSc Mental Health Nursing, BSc Midwifery and MSc Midwifery), applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

  • overall score of 7.0
  • score of at least 7.0 in reading, listening and speaking and
  • score of at least 6.5 in writing

PARAMEDIC SCIENCE DEGREE

Our BSc Paramedic Science degree leads to professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC); it has different IELTS requirements than other Health-related courses. Although it is not possible to apply for this degree directly as an international student, for applicants who meet SAAS residency requirements and for whom English is not their first language, then the following IELTS scores are required:

  • overall score of 7.0
  • no sub-test score of less than 6.5

BIOMEDICAL DEGREES

For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science degrees, which may lead to professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

  • overall score of 7.0
  • no sub-test less than 6.5

SOCIAL WORK DEGREES

Our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work degrees are professionally recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council and applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

  • overall score of 7.0
  • no sub-test score of less than 7.0

CERTIFICATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:

  • overall score of 5.0
  • no sub-test less than 4.5

 

OTHER IELTS EQUIVALENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTS

In additional to IELTS, we also accept a number of alternative English language for application and admission to our courses for both home/EU and international students at bachelor's degree study at Year 3 (SCQF Level 9), and above. From Cambridge to TOFEL iBT qualifications the number of these qualifications is extensive.

Find out about non-IELTS English Language Tests

 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE HIGH SCHOOL QUALIFACTIONS ACCEPTED FOR NON-EU APPLICANTS

UWS has also reviewed a range of High / Secondary School qualifications studied by non-EU applicants that can be used as a basis of entry to a UWS. These range from Botswana GCSEs to USA High School Graduation Diplomas, the number of these qualifications is extensive.

Find out more about international English Language high-hchool qualifications

 

PRE-SESSIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSES AT UWS

Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:

    • 10-week pre-sessional - entry criteria UKVI IELTS 5.0 with no element below 4.5.
    • 5-week pre-sessional - entry criteria UKVI IELTS 5.5 with no element below 5.5.
    • English Language for University Study - entry criteria UKVI IELTS with an overall score of 4.0, plus a score of 4.0 in all sub-tests (10-month course), or an overall score of 4.5, plus no score below 4.0 in all sub-tests (7-month course).

Find out more about our English language Courses.

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Tuition Fees 2023-24

Use the Link below to download details of our full-time, part-time tuition fees for Bachelor, Masters, Research, and English Language pre-sessional courses for session 2023-24.

Tuition Fees

Postgraduate Tuition Fees

Tuition fees for this course 2024/25

Scottish

£7,500 Total cost of tuition

All other UK & Republic of Ireland

£11,750 Total cost of tuition

Channel Island & Isle of Man

£11,750 Total cost of tuition

International (all other EU plus Non-EU)

£15,500 Total cost of tuition

More on tuition fees and funding

Modular Tuition Fees (20-credit points) 2024-25

Scottish

£1,070 per module (20 credits)

All other UK & Republic of Ireland

£1,680 per module (20 credits)

Channel Islands & Isle of Man

£1,680 per module (20 credits)

International (all other EU plus Non-EU)

£2,210 per module (20 credits)

More on tuition fees and funding

Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) postgraduate tuition fee and living cost loans may be available for eligible (Scottish/EU) students. Check SAAS website for more information.

How to apply

Postgraduate courses (MA, MSc, MEd, MBA, DBA, PG Cert, PG Dip, etc.) & some Post-experience courses (CertHE, BA, Grad Cert, Grad Dip, etc.)

All students should apply directly to the University through our online application system. Before you apply, you should check that you meet our entry requirements and you should have all your supporting documents ready.

The first stage of the process is to complete the initial application form. You will then receive a follow-up email with further instructions relating to your application including documents that you will need to forward to support your application, e.g. degree transcripts and certificates etc.

Most courses don't have a formal closing date, but they will close when they are full; apply early to avoid disappointment. There may also be funding deadlines that apply to you.

The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) applies to all international students and researchers (apart from exempt nationalities) who are subject to UK immigration control and are intending to study or research at postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects.

Students and researchers who are nationals of EU countries, the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the United States of America do not need an ATAS certificate.

An ATAS certificate may be required for certain taught postgraduate master's degrees for international students at UWS.

For the latest information on ATAS and details of eligibility and how to apply for a certificate check the UK Government's dedicated ATAS web pages.

Get in touch

Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!

We will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.