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Graduate Program in Human Resource Management
Atkinson Building, Room 150
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON M3J1P3
416-736-2100 x 30095
416-736-5710
Program Administration
FAQs for Master of HRM
Upload the required and supplementary documents and materials permitted for submission through MyFile. All other required documentation submitted by mail must be sent in a single package.
York University
Office of Graduate Admissions
P.O. Box GA2300
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON
Canada M3J 1P3
Typically, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
No.
As the MHRM is an executive-style program, there are no TAships. Furthermore, the HRM undergraduate program does not have tutorials and so does not require Teaching Assistants.
This program is designed for working professionals and as such students are permitted to take only two courses per term.
Students who opt for the MRP option cannot take elective courses. It is recommended that the MRP be completed in the last term of the program. Students will select a professor with similar research interests to act as supervisor.
Mandatory MHRM program orientation will typically be held at the end of August. Optional Graduate Student Social Orientation organized by the Faculty of Graduate Studies will be held typically in September. To learn more visit the Graduate Studies Orientation page.
Yes. Students must submit an Academic Petition to request a change of status. The request is approved by the Graduate Program Director and the Faculty of Graduate Studies. A change of status must be made prior to the start of the term. For more information, please visit the Graduate Academic Petitions page.
The courses can be taken in any order; however, it is recommended that students complete HRM 6600 (Research, Measurement, and Evaluation of HR) in either their first or second term. We also recommend that you take HRM 6500 earlier in the program. We do not recommend you take HRM 6300 in your first term, as it is a very heavy course to be taken first.
Yes. Textbooks will be mailed directly to the student’s preferred address.
A total of two references are required. Professional and academic references are accepted.
No, to the contrary. You are encouraged to maintain your professional activities while pursuing your studies.
Each course consists of four instructional days per term. In addition, you will need to complete an assigned reading list and prepare course assignments. Current students are allocating approximately 40 hours per month, per course (not including class time), to complete readings and assignments.
No, you must have a four-year or honours degree in order to apply.
No. Although no research has been done on the MHRM program, the experience with comparable degrees such as the Executive MBA graduates indicates otherwise. The evidence for these graduates indicates that most stay with their employers and enjoy satisfying and productive careers with them. The most common reason why some Executive MBAs do leave their employer soon after graduation is that, after having acquired new knowledge and skills, they find only limited opportunities to apply what they have learned. In fact, it might be good to discuss your enrolment in the MHRM with your employer as part of a career development strategy for you.
When an organization sponsors you for the MHRM it is not just spending money, it is making an investment. Organizations invest their resources for many reasons which can be grouped under three main headings:
- The investment increases their effectiveness;
- The investment protects them from exposure to risk;
- The investment is a cost-effective way to achieve valued goals.
- Sponsoring your pursuit of the MHRM is one way for your organization to be more effective. Through your expanded HR expertise and competence you will be much better able to deal with the major HR challenges facing your employer. The program is designed to quickly rotate you through intensive and highly focused learning experiences and your work environment. Consequently, you will be able to apply to the execution of your tasks the knowledge and competencies which you will have developed in the courses. Therefore, your organization will benefit immediately from your progress. The coursework will expose you to professors who are experts in HR and to fellow students who are working in other organizations. This will allow you to bring to your organization a wider range of solutions to the immediate and long-range challenges it faces. You will be developing a relationship with the HR program in the School of Human Resource Management at York, the largest group of HR faculty in Canada which will be useful to both your present and your future development needs and will be very helpful to you in the recruitment of future business graduates for your organization. In a highly technological world the success of firms is, to a large degree, determined by their ability to recruit and retain highly prized people: to be an employer of choice. Through the MHRM program, you will learn how to achieve these valued outcomes for your firm. You will develop a variety of HR management skills to complement the knowledge gained through course content. These will include the development of critical research and evaluation skills enabling you to evaluate proposals and consultant reports with a much better base.
- Sponsoring you is an investment that protects your organization from exposure to risk. Your firm should view your sponsorship to the MHRM as part of a career development process. It is not just “buying you” a course. Candidates for this Program are sponsored because of their outstanding promise and leadership potential. It is making an investment in you, and your future in the organization, thereby enhancing the odds of retaining you. Organizations that display commitment to their people tend to achieve greater commitment from them. Commitment is extremely important to ensure Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB), the willingness for people to spontaneously and unselfishly go the extra mile. By sponsoring you, your organization will be contributing to your own commitment levels. By applying the principles and techniques you will have learned you will, in turn, be able to develop the HR policies that lead to greater commitment from other members of your organization.
- Sponsoring your pursuit of MHRM is cost-effective. You will spend much less time away from work than you would in most other Master’s programs because of the intensive course structure. Most of the tuition fee is tax deductible for your employer, so the real cost is much less than it first appears. Yearly research surveys show that organizations in North America spend upwards of 30 billion dollars a year on training courses for their managers. The effectiveness of these courses for creating job-related changes is generally acknowledged to be uncertain at best. Two main reasons are that they are not integrated into an overall program of skill development and the learning rarely finds immediate applicability. Given the intensive structure of the MHRM program, the skills and competencies developed are much more conducive to transfer into concrete job performance changes. Because the course structure is intensive you will be in a position to apply your skills immediately at work. Through this enhanced transferability the program is likely to be more cost effective.
The graduate degree you will receive is a masters degree in Human Resources Management granted by York University.
Both the MBA and the MHRM are demanding graduate degrees. Admission to both these programs is competitive and people who hold these degrees are perceived to be high achievers, a characteristic valued by employers. Both the MBA and MHRM degrees enhance your opportunities but they differ.
MBAs have some knowledge about most aspects of management. That is, the MBA is a general degree. The MHRM is a specialized degree designed to create in its students sophisticated high-level knowledge about one area: HR. Of course, in a world where organizational success depends on people, HR is fast becoming a function of strategic importance.
An MBA prepares you for a career in general management. However, there are thousands of MBA graduates. The MHRM is a unique and highly selective degree, which will graduate at most 30 people in a year, making you a rare resource among business-oriented graduates. This degree will be highly valued by employers looking for specialists in HRM.
Most MBAs offer at most one or two courses in HR, while the MHRM is specifically designed and targeted for those who choose an HR career. Graduate degrees in professional areas will always be recognized by employers as a signal that candidates are on a developmental track which can lead either to a specialization in the profession, or to advanced management careers.
No. However, York University can recommend nearby hotels, from which they can make their choices and their own arrangements.
A statement of interest or a statement of intent is your opportunity to tell the graduate program:
- How your past education and other experiences have prepared you to be successful in the graduate program;
- What you hope to achieve in the graduate program;
- Why this particular program at York University is the best place for you to pursue your interests.
The statement is generally in the form of a short essay (one page maximum).
Learn More
The Graduate Program in Human Resource Management at York is an exciting environment to pursue innovative, socially engaging, career-ready education. Contact our Graduate Program Assistant to learn more.