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2025 Best Human Resource Management Master's Degree Schools

136 Colleges in the United States
8,301 Master's Degrees
$64,779 Avg Early-Career Salary
Human Resource Management is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #22 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 136 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Human Resource Management Master's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 8,301 master's degrees in human resource management to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Human Resource Management School for Your Master's Degree

Best Human Resource Management Master's Degree Schools Your choice of human resource management for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for human resource management students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Human Resource Management Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More HR Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The hr school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Human Resource Management Master's Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Human Resource Management in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in human resource management. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Master's in HR

1
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA

It's difficult to beat Villanova University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in human resource management. Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Villanova.

Those human resource management students who get their master's degree from Villanova University make $33,749 more than the typical hr graduate.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Villanova University

2

Cornell University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in human resource management. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from Cornell University get an earnings boost of around $47,512 above the average income of human resource management graduates.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Cornell University

3
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania is a good choice for students pursuing a master's degree in human resource management. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania get an earnings boost of approximately $41,543 over the typical earnings of human resource management majors.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Pennsylvania

4

It's difficult to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you wish to pursue a master's degree in human resource management. UIUC is a very large public university located in the city of Champaign.

Those human resource management students who get their master's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $24,858 more than the average hr student.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5

Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the human resource management degree program at George Washington University get $24,728 above the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from George Washington University

6

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from University of Southern California earn a boost of about $29,846 over the average income of human resource management majors.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Southern California

7

UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis.

Master's recipients from the human resource management program at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities earn $27,462 above the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

8
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the city of East Lansing.

Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from Michigan State University get an earnings boost of approximately $34,747 above the typical earnings of human resource management majors.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Michigan State University

9
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.

Master's recipients from the human resource management program at New York University make $22,293 above the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from New York University

10
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC

Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.

Master's recipients from the human resource management degree program at Georgetown University get $33,661 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Georgetown University

11

Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of College Station.

Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from Texas A&M University - College Station receive an earnings boost of approximately $37,063 over the average earnings of human resource management majors.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Texas A&M University - College Station

12

Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the human resource management major at Ohio State University - Main Campus earn $18,067 above the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Ohio State University - Main Campus

13

Located in the small city of New Brunswick, Rutgers New Brunswick is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the human resource management program at Rutgers University - New Brunswick earn $2,383 above the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Rutgers University - New Brunswick

14
24 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in human resource management from Purdue University - Main Campus

15

Located in the city of Columbia, UofSC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from University of South Carolina - Columbia receive an earnings boost of around $39,076 above the typical earnings of human resource management majors.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of South Carolina - Columbia

16

Pepperdine is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Malibu.

Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from Pepperdine University earn a boost of about $48,923 over the average income of human resource management graduates.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Pepperdine University

17
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA

Temple is a fairly large public university located in the city of Philadelphia.

Those human resource management students who get their master's degree from Temple University make $10,358 more than the standard hr grad.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Temple University

18
St. Joe's crest
Saint Joseph's University
Philadelphia, PA

Located in the large city of Philadelphia, St. Joe's is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the hr program report average early career income of $66,250.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Saint Joseph’s University

19
URichmond crest
University of Richmond
University of Richmond, VA

Located in the midsize city of University of Richmond, URichmond is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Those human resource management students who get their master's degree from University of Richmond receive $14,882 more than the standard hr student.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Richmond

20

University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Norman.

After graduating, hr master's recipients usually make an average of $52,749 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

21

UCONN is a fairly large public university located in the town of Storrs.

Human Resource Management master's degree recipients from University of Connecticut earn a boost of around $20,105 above the average earnings of human resource management graduates.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Connecticut

22

Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.

Soon after graduation, hr master's recipients generally earn about $65,656 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Loyola University Chicago

23
Seton Hall crest
Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ

Located in the large suburb of South Orange, Seton Hall is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.

Those human resource management students who get their master's degree from Seton Hall University receive $43,251 more than the typical hr student.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Seton Hall University

24

Located in the small city of Scranton, University of Scranton is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Master's recipients from the human resource management degree program at University of Scranton get $2,719 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from University of Scranton

25

Colorado State University - Global Campus is a moderately-sized public university located in the large city of Aurora.

Those human resource management students who get their master's degree from Colorado State University - Global Campus make $3,381 more than the average hr graduate.

More information about a master’s in human resource management from Colorado State University - Global Campus

Rest of the Top Best Human Resource Management Master's Degree Schools

26
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
27
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Human Resource Management Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
28 University of Denver Denver, CO
29 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
30 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI
31 Benedictine University Lisle, IL
32 Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, FL
33 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
34 Utah State University Logan, UT
35 Webster University Saint Louis, MO
36 Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH
37 Golden Gate University - San Francisco San Francisco, CA
38 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
39 Champlain College Burlington, VT
40 Florida International University Miami, FL
41 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
42 Clemson University Clemson, SC
43 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY
44 Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global Marion, IN
45 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN

Human Resource Management by Region

View the Best Human Resource Management Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 21 majors within the Business, Management & Marketing area of study, Human Resource Management has other similar majors worth exploring.

HR Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration 5,341
Organizational Behavior Studies 885
Human Resources Development 880
Other Human Resources Management and Services 627
Labor & Industrial Relations 504
Labor Studies 37
Executive/Career Coaching 27

Majors Similar to HR

Related Major Annual Graduates
Business Administration & Management 120,872
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 41,157
Accounting 15,888
General Business/Commerce 9,096
Finance & Financial Management 4,173
Marketing 3,067
Management Information Systems 2,063
International Business 1,479
Hospitality Management 1,226
Other Business, Management & Marketing 1,200

Notes and References

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