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Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
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Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
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I have applied to, and been accepted to Abilene Christian University's online Masters in Science HR program. I am looking into also applying to the University of Illinois's online Masters in Education
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Forums » Topic Forums » HR Career Forum » Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
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Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
posted at 3/19/2010 12:15 PM EDT
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Posts: 6
First: 3/19/2010 Last: 3/28/2010 |
I have applied to, and been accepted to Abilene Christian University's online Masters in Science HR program. I am looking into also applying to the University of Illinois's online Masters in Education HR degree. I need some serious help.
Unfortunately, the Masters in Education program at Illinois doesn't start until January 2011 and my deadline to apply is September 2009. Abilene's program starts April 26! I have to make a decision now and I am not sure which program would benefit me more. Do I start at Abilene, or wait to apply to Illinois's program? Which HR program is better? Please keep in mind that I have no formal training in HR. This is a career transition. I have a long-standing legal background, but I'm not a lawyer. Thank you!! |
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Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
posted at 3/19/2010 12:46 PM EDT
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Posts: 562
First: 11/12/2009 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I don't know what you intend to do in HR, so giving you a precise answer is not easy.
I will tell you that there are 3 universities with top HR programs. They are Cornell, Michigan State and.......(drumroll please) Illinois. Abilene Christian is way down the list of also rans and not well known outside Texas. |
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Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
posted at 3/19/2010 12:50 PM EDT
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Posts: 6
First: 3/19/2010 Last: 3/28/2010 |
Hi,
Because I have a legal background, I would like to work in a law firm or governmental agency. So, the University of Illinois DOES have a good HR program, even the Master in Education? I was curious about the Master in "Education" part of it, but their Master in Science isn't online and the only difference between the two programs is the MS requires a thesis. Thank you. |
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Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
posted at 3/19/2010 1:49 PM EDT
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Posts: 562
First: 11/12/2009 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I don't know about the Master of Education. If there's an HR attached, I would take that to mean a specialized HR degree tailored towards HR.
But I think you need to look at the curriculum. Given your focus on law or government, I don't think anything with Education will do you much good. |
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Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
posted at 3/19/2010 2:34 PM EDT
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Posts: 6
First: 3/19/2010 Last: 3/28/2010 |
The courses in the Masters in Education Human Resources are as follows:
HRE 400: Principles of Human Resource Education HRE 411: Instructional Design for Business and Technical Settings HRE 495 I: Research in Organizations and Institutions HRE 472: Learning Technologies EPS 500: History of Work and Educational Policy EPSY 407: Adult Learning and Development HRE 530: Organization Development HRE 585: Program Evaluation HRE 532: Strategic HRD HRE 495 II: Capstone Project I guess if I look at it this way, it is more geared towards an HR manager who wants to implement training and teaching programs in the workplace. The Master of Science in Human Resources has the same classes, but a thesis requirement. I know you said Illinois is one of the schools with the better HR graduate program, is this the program you were talking about? |
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Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
posted at 3/20/2010 5:34 AM EDT
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Posts: 562
First: 11/12/2009 Last: 9/14/2011 |
No. The Illinois program is either an MS in HR or an MS in Industrial Relations.
The degree you outline is more of a training and development degree. It's not a comprehensive HR degree that would give you a background in the more traditional HR areas such as labor/employee relations, compensation, benefits, organizational development, etc. |
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Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
posted at 3/20/2010 1:57 PM EDT
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Posts: 6
First: 3/19/2010 Last: 3/28/2010 |
I don't believe that the MS is available online, but I will take another look. I am not interested in an MBA (I note you mention that earlier).
Please read this article, located at: http://bit.ly/bTjWA8 and let me know what you think of this. Here is a quote from the article: âThe Human Resource Development program at Illinois has it all,â commented Thomas Heim, founder of Tanjent Communications, publisher of MBABuzzKill.com. âThe school is highly ranked, the cost is dirt cheap, and the career field is booming. The return on investment for this degree will undoubtedly be swift." He is talking about the Master of Education in Human Resource Development. |
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Need Advice on an HR Masters Program (online)
posted at 3/20/2010 3:03 PM EDT
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Posts: 562
First: 11/12/2009 Last: 9/14/2011 |
If you want to do training and development, it'd be a good choice. But that would be all you'll be getting from it. Training and Development is a bit of a stepchild in the HR world, and people who specialize in this rarely advance to the top HR management levels.
An MS in HR Management would be a better choice if you want to work in HR in either the public sector or private sector in areas other than training and development. An MBA with an HR concentration would afford the best credential to advance to senior management within either the public or private sectors. I'm not familiar with the sponsors of the website you cite. I think you might want to research online programs from other sources as well. |
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