SHRM Aligned Human Resources Degrees in California
When it comes to the business industry, few programs are as versatile and marketable as the SHRM aligned human resources degrees in California. These programs are designed to prepare undergraduates and graduate students for a rewarding, long-term career in an industry that the Bureau of Labor and Statistics expects to grow faster than average through the end of the present decade. That’s largely thanks to a recovering economy and a resurgent private sector, but also because recent changes to everything from health care laws to employment discrimination guidelines and corporate finance structures have been passed through state and federal legislatures. The role of the human resources manager is now more important than ever, and that means hiring is strong nationwide and in virtually all sectors. Those students looking to gain the skills needed to land a job and start a career in this field have several excellent options to choose from in all parts of California.
Argosy University
Graduate School of Business and Management
Argosy is consistently ranked in the top 30 best online programs by US News and World Report, with reviewers especially liking the school’s level of academic rigor, its overall value, and its flexibility when meeting students’ needs. That’s certainly what graduate students will enjoy when they enroll in the Graduate School of Business and Management. The school offers its M.S. and other degrees entirely online, giving students the flexibility they need to work at their own pace, complete the degree on their own time, and take their program of choice as slowly or as quickly as they can handle. Faculty members are typically practicing managers and human resources professionals from all across the country, who are committed to ensuring student success through regular assessment, online interactions, and student discussion forums.
M.S. in Human Resource Management
Students in this graduate-level program are taught how to determine both the immediate and long-term human resources needs of a corporation, by analyzing the company’s financial position, expected employment growth or contraction, and contracts with existing vendors of benefits and other services. They’ll also learn a great deal about employee recruitment and hiring, creating employee policies and guidelines, enforcing those guidelines, and managing a large department of human resources professionals who would report to the manager directly. Along with several classes in basic strategic management and communication, graduates are prepared to be the eyes and ears of a company’s human resource department, as well as a primary source of information and decision-making for other employees to consult.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
Argosy University
Graduate School of Business and Management
5230 Pacific Concourse Drive
Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Phone: (310) 531-9700
Email: AUSM_isr@argosy.edu
Program Website
Azusa Pacific University
Department of Management
With nearly 11,000 students, Azusa Pacific University is one of the biggest institutions in the westernmost section of California’s “Inland Empire” region. The school’s human resources students enjoy a superior commitment to academic quality and rigor, thanks to a large and prestigious Department of Management. The university ensures a higher qualify of education to its business students through great student-to-faculty ratios that ensure no student is considered just a “number” during their time in the program. Thanks to a more than 100-year history in the region, Azusa’s Department of Management offers students a large number of internship opportunities and a high job placement rate after graduation. This might explain why the university ranks in the top 10 schools across several categories, from diversity to graduation rates and beyond. It should be noted that the department offers both on-campus and online degrees, for maximum flexibility among today’s professionals.
M.A. Management, Human Resources Concentration
The graduate-level management program at Azusa Pacific is unique for one key reason: It’s one of the few that results in a Master of Arts, rather than a Master of Science degree. As such, there’s a lesser focus on quantitative skills and more coursework associated primarily with management styles and advanced communication in a managerial setting. Students who wish to specialize in human resources as part of this degree program will take a total of 9 HR-related credits in addition to the traditional management core. These credits are advanced-level discussions of employee hiring and recruiting, benefits negotiation and administration, and managing the culture of the workplace. When paired with a strong foundation in advanced management, candidates who graduate from the program should be expected to easily manage a human resources department and be able to conduct strict negotiations over benefit prices, employee salaries, and more. They will also be able to fit into virtually any other corporate management role as a result of the strong management core contained in the M.A.M. program.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
Azusa Pacific University
Department of Management
901 E. Alosta Ave., PO Box 7000
Azusa, CA 91702-7000
Phone: (626) 969-3434
Program Website
Brandman University
College of Business and Professional Studies
Brandman is typically ranked as one of the most military-friendly universities in the country, and offers a total of 25 campuses to make sure that students throughout California, Oregon, and Washington can easily attend classes online if they wish to do so. With that said, Brandman does offer most of its degrees online for students across the country or those who simply cannot make time to attend traditional classes on-campus. The College of Business and Professional Studies oversees three HR-related programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Some of these programs offer a concentration, while others are strictly related to the human resources field. No matter which program students choose, they will receive one-on-one attention from a large faculty. They’ll have access to excellent technological resources on-campus and some of the most advanced distance learning tools in the industry if they choose to work through online courses instead.
B.B.A., Human Resources Concentration
A career in human resources all starts with a bachelor’s degree, and the program at Brandman is designed for students who want to graduate with the largest amount of career options possible. For this reason, human resources education at the undergraduate level is offered as a concentration within the school’s Bachelor of Business Administration program. Students will complete a rigorous business core, focusing on everything from organizational leadership to accounting, communication, finance, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and quantitative reasoning. Human resources coursework, which makes up one full semester’s worth of classes, will teach students the fundamentals of employee hiring, ethical decision-making in an HR position, benefits negotiation, workplace fairness, and dispute resolution.
M.S. in Human Resources
Continuing human resources education at the graduate level typically means choosing between either a specialized degree or an MBA with a related concentration. Brandman offers both, with its M.S. in Human Resources giving students the advanced skills they need to advance to the highest levels of management in today’s corporations. The degree program builds on an undergraduate understanding of human resources, but teaches students how to recruit employees, negotiate salaries and benefits on a per-person level, manage a large department of subordinates, manage claims and benefit disputes, and negotiate for the best benefit price and package for a corporate employer. Students will also take further courses in the legal and ethical issues of modern human resources management, guiding them toward excellent decision-making on the job.
M.B.A., Human Resources Concentration
Though an M.S. in Human Resources is a powerful program for those who intend to stay in the field, an MBA is far more versatile for those who might want to switch careers at some point in the future. With this in mind, the MBA focuses on a broad set of management-related coursework and other key skills for the high-level business professional. Brandman requires students to take advanced economics, managerial accounting, and corporate finance courses as part of the MBA core. They can then branch out and take human resources classes that count for the concentration program. This small set of courses borrows the most important pieces from the school’s M.S. program in the field. That means students will learn more about workplace dispute resolution, benefits negotiation, recruiting, and the legal issues of human resources in today’s economy. When they graduate, MBA students will be prepared for virtually any corporate management role.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
Brandman University
College of Business and Professional Studies
16355 Laguna Canyon Rd.
Irvine, CA 92618
Phone: (800) 746-0082
Program Website
California Polytechnic State University at Pomona
College of Business Administration
Cal Poly Pomona is one of the top public universities in the state and one of just seven universities classified as a “polytechnic” institution in the United States. As a result, students can expect to learn some of the most in-depth information bout technical management, information systems, and the role of technology in modern business decisions. Professors at Cal Poly Pomona are almost all doctoral graduates, with either prior experience or current employment in sectors ranging form corporate management to human resources oversight. This gives the faculty a distinguished reputation, and it gives students insight into the practical nature of their job once they land a career in the field. The school offers a large number of non-lecture, small-sized classes and emphasizes individual instruction even despite its larger overall size an elevated stature.
B.S.B.A., Human Resources Emphasis
All students who wish to study human resources management at Cal Poly Pomona will be considered a business major. As a result, they’ll work toward completion of the school’s Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program. This requires undergraduates to study 6 credits each in fields like finance, economics, and accounting. They’ll also take an extensive number of management and organization courses, math courses, and communications courses. The human resources concentration can be completed with as little as 15 credits, and offers insight into benefits administration, employee hiring and firing, ethical issues of HR oversight, and current topics in the human resources industry. All of these courses are SHRM-aligned and certified, giving students instant credibility in the field upon graduation.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
California Polytechnic State University at Pomona
College of Business Administration
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
3801 West Temple Avenue
Pomona, CA 91768
Phone: (909) 869-2414
Email: jaalmaraz@csupomona.edu
Program Website
California State University, Chico
College of Business
Distinguished as the second-oldest Cal State University in the broader system, the Chico campus is often ranked as offering some of the best undergraduate and graduate-level degrees in the country. Its school of business, where students can opt to concentrate in human resources management, consistently earns high marks for its small class sizes, innovative implementation of cutting-edge technologies, and “current” coursework that emphasizes current industry trends instead of business industry history. Chico maintains extensive connections to the business community in Sacramento and other major NorCal cities, which can help students gain a valuable internship or entry-level position as their coursework proceeds.
B.B.A., Human Resources Option
In order to study human resources management, students must opt for the school’s Bachelor of Business Administration program. This program awards graduates with a traditional B.B.A. degree, giving them skills that range from basic accounting to advanced organizational management and strategic communication. A human resources concentration specializes these management skills, teaching students how to work within a large human resources department, leverage their employer’s size and scale when negotiating benefit contracts with vendors, and ethically interviewing, hiring, or reprimanding employees in a corporate setting.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
California State University, Chico
College of Business
400 West First Street
Chico, CA 95929
Phone: (530) 898-4636
Program Website
California State University, Fresno
Craig School of Business
Cal State’s Fresno campus is widely appreciated as a center of research and of technological development in California, and typically uses its Craig School of Business to produce future leaders in California’s technology and renewable resources sectors. The Craig School of Business offers several highly ranked degrees, the most notable of which is its undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. This degree offers a large number of concentrations to students that, when combined with a nearly all-doctoral group of professors, gives students the practical knowledge needed to succeed in an entry-level role. Students are encouraged to seek an internship by the department, which oversees on-campus job and internship fairs, a prestigious business-related honors society, and several student-professional organizations.
BS in Business Administration – Human Resource Management Option
The Bachelor of Science program in business administration teaches students all they need to know about working as a manager or administrator in today’s largest organizations. Coursework includes supply chain management, organizational management, strategic decision-making, and more. The degree also focuses extensively on students’ quantitative skills, accounting abilities, and proficiency in modern economics and finance. Information systems plays a central role in the program, with students required to show proficiency in today’s most common business applications and databases. Human resources courses teach students how to hire employees, how to manage everything from benefits selection to claims filing and legal disputes, and how the HR department has a unique role in a company’s financial position.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
California State University, Fresno
Craig School of Business
Department of Management, PB289
5245 N. Backer Ave, M/S PB7
Fresno, CA 93740
Phone: (559) 278-2851
Email: csbhelp@csufresno.edu
Program Website
California State University, Los Angeles
College of Business and Economics
CSULA is one of the largest Cal State campuses, serving just under 24,000 students enrolled in hundreds of undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs. Though research is not central to the university’s commitment to its students, several professors within the College of Business and Economics are noted researchers or skilled managers from the LA business industry. Students learn practical, hands-on experiences through a campus-wide commitment to group work, collaborative problem solving, and workplace simulation. As a result, even those students who opt not to seek an internship often graduate with a large set of practical skills and experiences that are valued by local employers.
Business Administration: Option in Human Resources Management, B.S.
The business administration program at CSULA is one of the school’s strongest degrees. Rigorous coursework must be completed in the typical business topics, ranging from finance to management, accounting to communication. Once they have completed the foundation courses in the business administration core, students will be able to start taking human resources courses within their concentration. These classics cover the basic polices and procedures that need to be understood by entry-level HR workers. Whether it’s processing employee benefit or disability claims, navigating the legal hurdles of benefits administration, or negotiating better rates with vendors on behalf of a corporate employer, students will learn the practical and ethical skills they need to succeed in the field.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
California State University, Los Angeles
College of Business and Economics
5151 State University Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90032
Phone: (323) 343-2810
Email: lwong@cslanet.calstatela.edu
Program Website
California State University, San Bernardino
College of Business and Public Administration
The College of Business and Public Administration at Cal State San Bernardino is consistently ranked among the top 20 best business schools on the planet. The all-doctoral faculty members at San Bernardino are typically heavily invest in industry research, and many of them are practicing HR or management professionals outside the classroom. Students in the business school are required to seek an internship, for which they will receive academic credit upon completion. San Bernardino’s top-20 ranking ensures plenty of on-campus job fairs, several rewarding honors societies and merit organizations, and networking events that connect students directly with prospective employers.
B.B.A., Human Resources Option
The BBA program at CSUSB is extremely competitive and regarded as one of the most rigorous in the country. Students engage in hands-on management courses that simulate the workplace environment, teaching them how to make quick and effective decisions within ethical and corporate guidelines. In addition to fundamental skills in management, accounting, and finance, those who opt for the human resources concentration will study the ethical issues of human resources, the nature of employee hiring and corporate policymaking, and the role of benefits in the modern workplace.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
California State University, San Bernardino
College of Business and Public Administration
5500 University Pkwy.
San Bernardino CA 92407
Phone: (909) 537-5700
Program Website
Golden Gate University
Department of Management
Golden Gate is one of the leading private universities in the San Francisco metropolitan area, primarily when it comes to awarding graduate degrees in the business field. The university’s Department of Management offers a number of programs ranked near the top in California, including a human resources degree taught by an all-doctoral faculty in on-campus classrooms. Golden Gate University’s program is one of just two graduate-level degrees in the field to be fully SHRM-aligned, giving it added prestige when applying for new positions or seeking promotions to a management job in HR.
M.S. in Human Resource Management
A large component of the M.S. in human resource management is analysis and ongoing policy changes. Students in this program are taught that human resources is far from static, and that the best way to do their job is to constantly analyze current HR policies, benefits programs, and finances, for potential improvements in efficiency or employee accommodation. Students learn how to analyze policies in terms of their cost, and in terms of their ability to draw qualified candidates for open positions. Courses focus more heavily on the ethical and legal framework that guides all HR decisions, and the manager’s role in enforcing that framework within their department.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
Golden Gate University
Department of Management
536 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (800) GGU-4YOU
Email: info@ggu.edu
Program Website
National University
Department of Leadership and Business Administration
With more than 22,000 students online and on-campus, National University ranks as the second-largest private, nonprofit institution in the state of California. The school, based in San Diego, is also one of the few to offer a pure degree in human resource management. The professors who teach course in this program are noted for all having doctoral degrees, and for being existing HR professionals throughout the San Diego business community. Thanks to the flexibility of on-campus and online courses, and an established reputation that ranks as one of the best in California for business-related studies, HR students will find a long-term ally in the Department of Leadership and Business Administration.
M.A. in Human Resource Management
National’s M.A. in human resource management is one of the few California programs to express a desire to improve HR professionals’ workplace efficiency and performance. As a result, classes focus heavily on making quick decisions, always analyzing HR policies and programs for improvements to their cost, and effectively managing a large department of disparate subordinates. Graduates will have the knowledge they need to make better, quicker decisions, within a tighter legal, ethical, or budgetary framework as they advance into a management role.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
National University
Department of Leadership and Business Administration
11255 North Torrey Pines Rd.
La Jolla, CA 92037
Phone: (619) 563-7290
Program Website
San Diego State University
College of Business Administration
Established in 1897, SDSU now ranks as the oldest and largest public institution in San Diego County. The university is also heavily research-focused, which allows its programs to be on the cutting edge of new developments in technology, theory, and practice. The College of Business Administration is intensely tied to university research, with common themes being the nature of technology in the modern workplace, the future evolution of the business manager, and the impact of flexible schedules and telecommuting on management, salaries, human resources, and quality of employment. Undergraduate students in the business school benefit from this research directly.
B.S.B.A., Human Resource Management Concentration
Human resource management is offered as a concentration within the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. In order to begin taking HR courses, students will first need to satisfy a few business prerequisites that range from accounting and economics to communication and quantitative reasoning. Traditional management courses will be paired with classes that teach students about employee hiring and firing, corporate policy making, administration of benefits programs, negotiation of benefits contracts, and the ethical issues involved with claims filing and employee relations. At graduation, students can opt to pursue a business or HR job, or a graduate-level degree in either field.
Accreditations: Society for Human Resource Management, Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Contact
San Diego State University
College of Business Administration
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182
Phone: (619) 594-5259
Email: mdean@mail.sdsu.edu
Program Website
Great California Programs for the Human Resource Manager
The human resources field has been booming in recent years, driven largely by a recovering economy and by new regulations that make the human resource manager’s role even more central to the long-term success of a corporation or smaller organization. For those who are looking to put their managerial skills to use and enjoy a rewarding, long-term position in the field, SHRM aligned human resources degrees in California are the best way to gain the skills, contacts, and hands-on experiences needed to land a job and get a head in the industry.
Additional Resource: What Are Some Good Scholarships for Human Resource Management Majors?
