SHRM Student Chapters in Massachusetts

There are at least nine Society for Human Resource Management student chapters in Massachusetts that focus on providing students with up to the minute information about the career field of Human Resources (HR).

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is an internationally recognized professional association for HR specialists that conducts extensive industry based research and develops standards that reflect their findings. Those standards serve to guide the development of curricula for HR related courses in the academic setting as well as promote professionalism among HR specialists already working in the industry. The SHRM recognizes the contributions that HR professionals make to the career field, and they seek to guide the development of its members early through the establishment of student chapters hosted by top universities within the state. Here are nine Massachusetts colleges and universities that possess SHRM student chapters.

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE

The American International College (AIC) was established during the 1880s in the town of Springfield to educate new immigrants arriving to America’s shores via New York harbor initially. Today, the private liberal arts school is still supporting the educational dreams of a diverse student body with a variety of degree options in many disciplines. The bachelor’s degree in HR Management is just one of the many undergraduate degree programs offered by AIC. The SHRM aligned, 120 credit program begins with foundational courses in the humanities, social science and business, and it concludes with more advanced coursework in psychology and business. The AIC HR Management degree program helps prepare students to recruit, retain, train and development talented human assets within corporations. In addition to the traditional classroom education, students have the opportunity to gain exposure to real world HR management through the activities sponsored by the SHRM student chapter on campus.

Contact
1000 State St
Springfield, MA 01109
800-242-3142
admissions@aic.edu
http://www.aic.edu/academics/ce/programs/human_resource_management

BAY PATH COLLEGE

Bay Path College (BPC) is a private school in Longmeadow, MA that was founded in 1897 as an undergraduate school for women. Since that time, the school has maintained its commitment to the higher educational needs of women while recently expanding some of its graduate degree programs to include men. Among the variety of disciplines represented in the school’s catalog of offerings, the HR Management degree program remains a popular choice for aspiring business professionals. According to the school’s research found at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in the HR management career field are set to grow by over 20% until 2018. BPC developed an HR Management degree curriculum in conjunction with affiliated professional organization SHRM that will help women prepare to fill the industry need for qualified, effective HR managers. A SHRM student chapter is located on campus, and this organization is known to provide students with opportunities to develop leadership, networking and communication skills. The BPC undergraduate HR Management degree prepares women for leadership roles such as industrial relations specialist, international human resources manager and training specialist.

Contact
588 Longmeadow St
Longmeadow, MA 01106
413-565-1000
kcarlson@baypath.edu
http://www.baypath.edu/academics/majors/undergraduate-programs/human-resource-management

BENTLEY COLLEGE

Founded in 1917, Bentley College was recently ranked fourth best college in its region by U.S. News and World Reports. The private school is in Waltham, MA and strictly focuses on developing future business leaders through excellence in education and award-winning research practices. Bentley offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs in a variety of business related majors that encompass both liberal arts and science. Bentley’s undergraduate degree in Management with a concentration in HR Management is a popular choice for those who desire to become true problem solvers in the workplace. Most business professionals realize that many challenges in corporate environments do not stem from a lack of technical solutions; issues are more often caused by the mismanaged of human assets. The Bentley HR Management degree coupled with its affiliation with SHRM equips students with the skills to help members of today’s workforce maximize their potential and performance.

Contact
175 Forest St
Waltham, MA 02452
781-891-2000
ugadmission@bentley.edu
http://www.bentley.edu/undergraduate/academics/management

BOSTON COLLEGE

Boston College is a private university that was founded in 1863 in Boston, but now is located in Chestnut Hill, MA. The school offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree options in an extensive array of disciplines. The school has a reputation as a center for research so it is no wonder that it has teamed up with the SHRM to provide a student chapter on its campus. Boston College’s HR management program is embedded within its undergraduate degree in Management and Leadership. The program is designed to prepare students to lead and manage a talented workforce to accomplish company strategic objectives. Utilizing communication and negotiating skills learned during these foundational Management and Leadership degree courses, graduates are able to persuade and incentivize work place performance. SHRM rounds out the education for business professionals who desire to manage people by sponsoring special workshops and even internships with local partner businesses.

Contact
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-552-8000
keeley@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/schools/csom/departments/mgtorg/concentration.html#leadershipmanagement

FRAMINGHAM STATE COLLEGE

Framingham State College (FSC) is a private school located about 20 miles outside Boston in Framingham, MA. The school offers students a range of liberal arts and science degree options at the undergraduate and graduate levels. One such program is the Master of Arts in HR Management which serves to present students with advanced concepts and problem solving frameworks needed to hold HR leadership positions. The FSC HR Management graduate degree program consists of nine required core business and management courses, two elective classes and two foundational courses in accounting and economics that may be waived based on prior academic achievements.

This degree program is aligned with the SHRM curriculum guidelines, and students have the opportunity to take part in the local SHRM student chapter on their campus. Upon degree completion, graduates ideally have developed both qualitative and quantitative skills to make them competitive in their chosen career field. For example, these HR professionals are usually skilled at using management software and statistical tools to quantitatively forecast human resource needs for the organizations that they support. SHRM workshops and conferences expose students to the latest forecasting tools and problem solving methodologies used by successful HR professionals. Graduates also hone their qualitative abilities to present their findings as business cases that align with overall corporate strategies. This is necessary because sometimes good ideas get funded initially, but subsequent budget cuts leave these initiatives vulnerable if they are not tightly coupled to the corporate strategy.

Contact
100 State St
Framingham, MA 01702
508-620-1220
dgce@framingham.edu
http://www.framingham.edu/graduate-studies/human-resource-management/index.html

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1898, Northeastern University (NU) is a private school in Boston, MA recognized for its achievements in research among a variety of disciplines. The school was also recently ranked 49th for best colleges in the nation by U.S. News and World Reports. NU’s undergraduate, graduate degree and certificate programs are numerous. However, the one of interest to aspiring HR specialists is the graduate certificate in HR Management. As an affiliate of the SHRM and a host to one of their student chapters, NU puts together a learning experience that combines classroom theory with real world experiences. The learning outcomes include using industry standard methodologies for assessing the workforce, championing new ideas to create high performing organizations and skillfully practicing change management. The HR Management certificate program is delivered by NU in a flexible, online format.

Contact
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
617-373-2000
cpsadmissions@neu.edu
http://www.cps.neu.edu/degree-programs/graduate/graduate-certificates/certificate-in-human-resources-management.php

SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS UNIVERSITY

Southeastern Massachusetts University was merged into the University of Massachusetts system in 1991 and is now known by the name University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The large public school has over 60 undergraduate and about 30 graduate degree programs, but its strengths are in fine arts, engineering, marine science and business. The school’s Charlton College of Business offers an undergraduate degree in HR Management, and it hosts one of the SHRM’s student chapters on campus. Having the leading professional association for HR management on site, helps make the student experience more meaningful. Interactive industry conferences reinforce the HR principles that are taught in the classroom. Also, students learn early the value of networking with their peers, SHRM chapter members and other industry professionals as they prepare themselves for leadership roles within the SHRM student chapter. There are also scholarship and internship opportunities associated with SHRM as well. Besides the standard finance, organizational leadership and management courses, the HR Management degree offered by the Charlton College of Business requires students to take critical writing and communications courses to complete the 120 credit hour program.

Contact
285 Old Westport Rd
North Dartmouth, MA 02747
508-999-8605
admissions@umassd.edu
http://www.umassd.edu/charlton/programs/hr/

SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE

Springfield College is a private school that was founded in 1885. Although its main campus is located in Springfield, MA, it has several satellite campuses located across the country. Springfield’s best known strength are its programs in allied healthcare and human services. These strengths correspond with the school’s mission of developing leaders with the spiritual, mental and physical strength to serve their local communities. The school does not have a dedicated HR Management degree program at this time, but the principles of HR management are taught within both undergraduate and graduate management degree programs. The school also hosts one of the SHRM student chapters on its campus. The Springfield SHRM student chapter meets monthly. The Association is useful for all business professionals or anyone seeking corporate careers because the function of HR impacts nearly all workforce team members. Business leaders must understand the underlying theory, standards and regulations that guide HR decisions. The SHRM is arguably the best source for this type of information.

Contact
263 Alden St
Springfield, MA 01109
413-748-3091
msurrett@springfieldcollege.edu
http://www.springfieldcollege.edu/academic-programs/psychology-department/society-for-human-resource-management-shrm/index#.UwQB5xw33Eg

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS – AMHERST

The University of Massachusetts (UMASS) Amherst is a large public research university that was founded in 1863. Today, the university boasts nearly 90 undergraduate and about 70 graduate degree programs in various disciplines. UMASS Amherst has perfected its educational model to win recognition by U.S. News and World Reports in 2013 for the 91st best school in the nation. The school is well-known for its research efforts in the field of education and was recognized for excellence by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Among the many degree and certificate programs offered by UMASS Amherst, the undergraduate degree in Management with a concentration in HR management is a popular choice. Standard business courses are taught as part of the core Management degree curriculum, and specialized HR courses are available for students who want to customize their Management degree program. Additionally, the head of the department encourages all students focusing on HR to join the school’s SHRM student chapter.

Contact
121 Presidents Drive
Amherst, MA 01003-9313
413-545-5688
ronkarren@isenberg.umass.edu
http://www.isenberg.umass.edu/management/Undergraduate/Areas/

Conclusion

Some of the keys to the success of HR students are experienced faculty and innovative curricula. However, the Society for Human Resource Management student chapters in Massachusetts are great assets for developing HR professionals within academia.

For more schools in New England that have student chapter of the SHRM, see SHRM Student Chapters in Maine.