Best Online Associate in Human Resources

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Find top-ranked online associate in human resources degree programs to prepare students to work in entry-level positions, including payroll clerks and assistant recruiters.

Top 10 Online Associate in Human Resources

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  1. University of Alaska Fairbanks
  2. Davenport University
  3. Lone Star College System
  4. Concordia University Wisconsin
  5. Guilford Technical Community College
  6. Colorado Christian University
  7. Harper College
  8. Central Carolina Community College
  9. Anne Arundel Community College
  10. Montana State University Billings
  1. University of Alaska Fairbanks
  2. Anne Arundel Community College
  3. Lone Star College System
  4. Concordia University Wisconsin
  5. Montana State University Billings
  6. Davenport University
  7. Colorado Christian University
  8. Coastline Community College
  9. Harper College
  10. Wake Technical Community College
  1. Davenport University 98%
  2. Concordia University Wisconsin 69%
  3. University of Alaska Fairbanks 65%
  1. Coastline Community College 31 to 1
  2. Elizabethtown Community and Technical College 22 to 1
  3. Lone Star College System 21 to 1
  4. Central Virginia Community College 19 to 1
  5. Herkimer County Community College 19 to 1
  6. Harper College 18 to 1
  7. Guilford Technical Community College 18 to 1
  8. Wake Technical Community College 18 to 1
  9. Bluegrass Community and Technical College 18 to 1
  10. Anne Arundel Community College 17 to 1
  1. Concordia University Wisconsin $31,952
  2. Davenport University $20,964
  3. Colorado Christian University $17,476
  4. Harper College $9,372
  5. Amridge University $9,000
  6. Prairie State College $8,610
  7. Anne Arundel Community College $7,590
  8. University of Alaska Fairbanks $7,296
  9. Herkimer County Community College $5,116
  10. Holyoke Community College $5,088
  1. Davenport University $16,308
  2. Colorado Christian University $13,474
  3. Concordia University Wisconsin $11,628
  4. University of Alaska Fairbanks $11,265
  5. Amridge University $10,800
  6. Montana State University Billings $5,878
  1. Western Iowa Tech Community College
  2. Central Virginia Community College
  3. Somerset Community College
  4. Gaston College
  5. Amridge University
  6. Holyoke Community College
  7. Henderson Community College
  8. Fayetteville Technical Community College
  9. Georgia Piedmont Technical College
  10. Herkimer County Community College
  1. Western Iowa Tech Community College
  2. Somerset Community College
  3. Central Virginia Community College
  4. Fayetteville Technical Community College
  5. Holyoke Community College
  6. Central Carolina Community College
  7. Henderson Community College
  8. Herkimer County Community College
  9. Georgia Piedmont Technical College
  10. Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
  1. University of Alaska Fairbanks 65%
  2. Concordia University Wisconsin 69%
  3. Davenport University 98%
  1. Prairie State College 10 to 1
  2. Gaston College 11 to 1
  3. University of Alaska Fairbanks 11 to 1
  4. Concordia University Wisconsin 11 to 1
  5. Holyoke Community College 12 to 1
  6. Amridge University 13 to 1
  7. Davenport University 13 to 1
  8. Central Carolina Community College 13 to 1
  9. Georgia Piedmont Technical College 13 to 1
  10. Henderson Community College 15 to 1
  1. Coastline Community College $1,104
  2. Guilford Technical Community College $2,128
  3. Georgia Piedmont Technical College $2,400
  4. Gaston College $2,432
  5. Fayetteville Technical Community College $2,432
  6. Central Carolina Community College $2,432
  7. Wake Technical Community College $2,432
  8. Western Iowa Tech Community College $3,912
  9. Henderson Community College $4,296
  10. Elizabethtown Community and Technical College $4,296
  1. Montana State University Billings $5,878
  2. Amridge University $10,800
  3. University of Alaska Fairbanks $11,265
  4. Concordia University Wisconsin $11,628
  5. Colorado Christian University $13,474
  6. Davenport University $16,308

Featured Programs

Frequently Asked Questions About Human Resources Degrees

If you enjoy working with people and have good communication skills, earning an associate in human resources degree online can help you take the first step in a fulfilling career.

The job outlook for a human resources manager is strong, and the median annual wage for human resources managers was $126,230.

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A human resources degree online typically takes two years to complete, and around 60 credits.

If you’re wondering how to pay for college, we have a number of financial aid resources available, including:

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Courses will cover topics such as:

  • microeconomics
  • macroeconomics
  • accounting foundations
  • professional ethics
  • staffing
  • training strategies
  • diversity training
  • business ethics
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Graduates with an online associate degree can work in entry level jobs, including payroll clerks, employee benefits assistant, and assistant recruiters, among others.

Many graduates who work in a human resources department choose to continue their education and earn an online bachelor’s degree, or even a master’s degree, qualifying for leadership roles in human resources.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), earning an associate degree can increase your salary by more than $8000 over someone who has a high school diploma alone.

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Learn more about how to major in business.

Best Online Associate Degrees in Human Resources Programs

  1. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $9K

    Acceptance

    65%

    Graduation

    38%

    Student body

    11K

    Median SAT/ACT

    1160/22

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at University of Alaska Fairbanks

    Cost of Degree: $9,612
    Expenses: $15,300
    Starting Salary: $47,937
    Salary after 4 years: $51,926
    Cost Recoup Time: 6 years
    Paid back at 15% of annual salary

    Online Degrees

    AAB in Applied Business

    Concentrations

    • Administrative Management
    • Computer Applications
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Health Care Management
    • Human Resources
    • Management
    • Marketing
    • Public Management
    • Recreation and Guiding Management
    • Tourism
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  2. #3

    Lone Star College System

    The Woodlands , TX
    Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $5K

    Graduation

    18%

    Student body

    108K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Lone Star College System

    Cost of Degree: $5,136
    Starting Salary: $43,367
    Salary after 4 years: $46,975

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Business Administration

    Concentrations

    • Human Resources
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  3. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $2K

    Graduation

    29%

    Student body

    15K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Guilford Technical Community College

    Cost of Degree: $2,319
    Starting Salary: $32,525
    Salary after 4 years: $35,232

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Business Administration

    Concentrations

    • Human Resources Management
    • Required Credits: 65-66
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  4. #7

    Harper College

    Palatine , IL
    Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $10K

    Graduation

    38%

    Student body

    23K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Harper College

    Cost of Degree: $9,942
    Starting Salary: $45,280
    Salary after 4 years: $49,048

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Resources Management
    • Required Credits: 61
    • Completion time: 2 Years
    • Format: Online
  5. Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    35%

    Student body

    7K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Central Carolina Community College

    Cost of Degree: $2,554
    Starting Salary: $29,549
    Salary after 4 years: $32,008

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Business Administration, Human Resource Management Track,
    • Required Credits: 70
    • Completion time: 2 Years
    • Format: Online
  6. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $6K

    Graduation

    28%

    Student body

    5K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Montana State University Billings

    Cost of Degree: $6,198
    Expenses: $15,188
    Starting Salary: $41,134
    Salary after 4 years: $44,558
    Cost Recoup Time: 6 years
    Paid back at 15% of annual salary

    Online Degrees

    AS in Human Resource Management

    Concentrations

    • General Applied
    • Required Credits: 60
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  7. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    41%

    Student body

    8K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College

    Cost of Degree: $4,560
    Starting Salary: $33,375
    Salary after 4 years: $36,153

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Business Administration Systems

    Concentrations

    • Accounting
    • Business Management
    • Human Resource Management
    • Management
    • Marketing
    • Real Estate Management
    • Required Credits: 63
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  8. #13

    Prairie State College

    Chicago Heights , IL

    Tuition + fees

    $9K

    Graduation

    17%

    Student body

    6K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Prairie State College

    Cost of Degree: $9,342
    Starting Salary: $35,395
    Salary after 4 years: $38,340

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Associate Of Applied Science

    Concentrations

    • Human Resources Management
    • Introduction To Business
    • Business Mathematics
    • Professionalism In The Workplace
    • Human Relations
    • Business Communications
    • Financial Accounting
    • Individual Income Tax
    • Business Ethics
    • Business Law And It’s Legal Environment
    • Principles Of Management
    • Required Credits: 62-63
    • Completion time: 1-2 Years
    • Format: Online
  9. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $6K

    Graduation

    39%

    Student body

    3K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Herkimer County Community College

    Cost of Degree: $5,776
    Expenses: $16,464
    Starting Salary: $36,670
    Salary after 4 years: $39,722
    Cost Recoup Time: 7 years
    Paid back at 15% of annual salary

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Resource Management
    • Required Credits: 63
    • Completion time: 2-3 years
    • Format: Online
  10. Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    40%

    Student body

    4K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Georgia Piedmont Technical College

    Cost of Degree: $3,158
    Starting Salary: $30,824
    Salary after 4 years: $33,389

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Business

    Concentrations

    • Human Resources Management
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: 24 months
    • Format: Online
  11. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    19%

    Student body

    15K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Fayetteville Technical Community College

    Cost of Degree: $2,564
    Starting Salary: $32,631
    Salary after 4 years: $35,347

    Online Degrees

    AA in Business Administration

    Concentrations

    • Human Resources Management
    • Required Credits: 66
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  12. Other Rankings

    Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    32%

    Student body

    2K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Henderson Community College

    Cost of Degree: $4,560
    Starting Salary: $33,056
    Salary after 4 years: $35,807

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Business Administration Systems

    Concentrations

    • Accounting
    • Human Resource Management
    • Management
    • Office Systems
    • Required Credits: None Reported
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  13. Tuition + fees

    $5K

    Graduation

    23%

    Student body

    5K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Holyoke Community College

    Cost of Degree: $5,570
    Starting Salary: $37,095
    Salary after 4 years: $40,182

    Online Degrees

    AS in Business Administration

    Concentrations

    • Human Resources
    • Required Credits: 62
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  14. #22

    Gaston College

    Dallas , NC

    Tuition + fees

    $3K

    Graduation

    39%

    Student body

    7K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Gaston College

    Cost of Degree: $3,186
    Starting Salary: $30,718
    Salary after 4 years: $33,274

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Business Administration

    Concentrations

    • Human Resources Management
    • Required Credits: 65
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
  15. Tuition + fees

    $4K

    Graduation

    34%

    Student body

    6K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Somerset Community College

    Cost of Degree: $4,560
    Starting Salary: $29,230
    Salary after 4 years: $31,662

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Business Administration

    Concentrations

    • Human Resource Management Track
    • Management Track
    • Required Credits: 45
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  16. Tuition + fees

    $5K

    Graduation

    36%

    Student body

    5K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Central Virginia Community College

    Cost of Degree: $4,853
    Starting Salary: $32,206
    Salary after 4 years: $34,886

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Management

    Concentrations

    • Human Resource Specialization
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: 2 years
    • Format: Online
  17. Tuition + fees

    $5K

    Graduation

    38%

    Student body

    7K

    Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Western Iowa Tech Community College

    Cost of Degree: $4,922
    Expenses: $12,425
    Starting Salary: $36,351
    Salary after 4 years: $39,376
    Cost Recoup Time: 6 years
    Paid back at 15% of annual salary

    Online Degrees

    AAS in Human Resources Management
    • Required Credits: 64
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online

Career Outlook for Students with Human Resources Degree

Go to Degree Finder tool

Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration

Degree Level: Associate's

  • Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
  • Avg. Cost of Degree*: $5,326
  • Avg. Expenses*: $14,218
  • Avg. Starting Salary*: $38,630
  • Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $41,844
  • Avg. Cost Recoup Time**: 6 years
  • Job Growth: 5.04%
  • Number of Jobs: 2,258,500
  • * denotes ‘annually’
  • ** denotes ‘at 15% of annual salary’

Career Salaries

CareerJob GrowthAvg. Salary
Compensation and Benefits Managers1.71%$124,492
Human Resources Managers5.22%$115,604
Law Teachers, Postsecondary3.03%$113,101
Training and Development Managers6.54%$111,455
Business Teachers, Postsecondary7.01%$86,765

Average Career Salaries

Bottom 10%MedianTop 10%
$52,986$87,859$142,281

Promising Job Markets

StateCost of LivingAvg. Salary
#2 New York5% higher than average$115,336
#3 Michigan15% higher than average$88,919
#4 New Jersey13% higher than average$118,435
#5 Virginia5% higher than average$99,453
#6 Ohio14% higher than average$88,230

Top Industries

IndustryAvg. Salary
Compensation and Benefits Managers$124,492
Human Resources Managers$115,604
Law Teachers, Postsecondary$113,101
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Online Business Schools Looking for You

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Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?

If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.

In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).

While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Resources for Online College-Bound Students

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.

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