Best Online Master’s in Human Resources 2025

Q: MBA or MS in Human Resources?–

An MBA in Human Resources is a good choice if you want to obtain a strong foundation in business knowledge in your master’s degree. If you already have a background in business, then an MS in Human Resources will allow you to spend your time only on human resources, which will allow you to go deeper into the field and focus on a specialization.

Badge for BEST ONLINE MASTER'S IN HUMAN RESOURCES

By Dr. James Barham
Reviewed By Chloe Dembski

Published: Jul 2, 2021
Updated: Oct 22, 2024

Find top-ranked online master’s in human resources for students wanting to qualify for upper management positions, such as human resources manager, compensation and benefits manager, employee recruitment and staffing specialist, and labor relations specialist.

Key Takeaways

Meant for professionals seeking advancement or pursuing a doctorate, an online master’s program in human resources takes an in-depth look into business strategies.
Individuals interested in HR leadership and other specialized roles can earn an online master’s degree taught by HR experts.
At the master’s level, the HR coursework emphasizes diversity and inclusion, human capital management, business strategies, and benefits and compensation.

Table of Contents

Top 10 Online Human Resources Master's Programs in 2025

University of Southern California
Stony Brook University
+5
Wayne State University
University of Louisville
+1
University of Arkansas
–3
Wake Forest University
Pepperdine University
–3
Florida International University
+1
Clemson University
–1
University of North Texas

2025 Ranking Update

Our Influence Ranking Engine™ leverages machine learning to track the real-world influence of colleges and universities over time. Below you’ll see which schools gained or lost ground for the 2025 school year.

In 2025, the top ten schools in our ranking of the best online master’s in human resources saw a fair amount of movement. Stony Brook University gained the most ranking positions as the university integrated data analytics and business acumen into the coursework, reflected in courses like HRM 551: Business Acumen and Data Analytics for Effective HR Leadership. This course emphasizes the use of HR data analytics to inform strategic decision-making and create business cases for HR initiatives.

Another enhancement includes a stronger focus on organizational development and change management, where students learn to act as change agents within organizations. This is highlighted in the course HRM 538: Organizational Development and Change Management, which teaches students how to facilitate organizational change and improve employee engagement.

Additionally, the curriculum has been designed to fully align with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) standards, ensuring that graduates are well-prepared to meet industry benchmarks. This SHRM-aligned curriculum helps students stay current with evolving HR trends and best practices, equipping them with the competencies needed to advance in HR leadership.

Learn more about what you can do with a master’s degree in business administration (MBA).

Featured Programs

How do we determine the best online human resources master's degree programs?

Methodology

Pursuing your degree online doesn’t mean you need to settle for an inferior school. Today, most universities and colleges offer online degrees, and many respected schools are seeing significant growth in their numbers of online students.

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why influence — i.e., the academic impact of faculty and alumni associated with a school — gets at the heart of what is truly best in education. The combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers is the best indicator of academic excellence. For our online degree rankings, we focus on the academic influence of faculty and alumni in the specific disciplines we’re ranking.

If you are serious about finding the best online colleges, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching, and whether their graduates themselves are advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence. Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Influence, as measured by our InfluenceRanking engine, provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

Best Online Master’s in Human Resources Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Students with Human Resources Degree

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Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration

Degree Level: Master's

Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
Avg. Cost of Degree*: $12,250
Avg. Expenses*: $18,349
Avg. Starting Salary*: $72,800
Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $76,504
Avg. Cost Recoup Time**: 5 years
Job Growth: 7.10%
Number of Jobs: 2,407,500
* denotes ‘annually’
** denotes ‘at 15% of annual salary’

Career Salaries

Career	Job Growth	Avg. Salary
Compensation and Benefits Managers	2.09%	$136,380
Human Resources Managers	6.51%	$136,350
Law Teachers, Postsecondary	2.11%	$127,360
Training and Development Managers	7.41%	$125,040
Business Teachers, Postsecondary	6.67%	$97,130
Labor Relations Specialists	-0.30%	$89,980
Compliance Officers	5.42%	$75,670
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists	7.04%	$74,530
Human Resources Specialists	7.95%	$67,650
Training and Development Specialists	11.54%	$64,340

Top Industries

Industry	Avg. Salary
Compensation and Benefits Managers	$136,380
Human Resources Managers	$136,350
Law Teachers, Postsecondary	$127,360
Training and Development Managers	$125,040
Business Teachers, Postsecondary	$97,130
Labor Relations Specialists	$89,980
Compliance Officers	$75,670
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists	$74,530
Human Resources Specialists	$67,650
Training and Development Specialists	$64,340

Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Department of Education College Scorecard, The Department of Education NCES, and The Council for Community and Economic Research.

Every organization requires several departments and teams that are integral to its operations. And one of the most crucial is Human Resources.

The HR department caters to the needs of every company employee, and is responsible for salaries, recruitment, training, performance management, and work policies and ethics. Through HR, organizational culture is developed, reinforced, and modified.

Whether you’re currently working in the HR sector and want to climb the corporate ladder or explore other fields of management, pursuing an online master’s in human resources degree is a valuable qualification and addition to your resume. After all, all industries and employment sectors require HR managers.

A bachelor’s degree is sufficient to break into the field, but an online master’s degree can improve your chances for better pay and higher positions in HR organizational structures.

HR managers are also qualified to take on leadership roles in the field. Even when you’re busy working and do not have enough time to attend physical classes, the best alternative is to pursue an online master’s degree.

Dozens of excellent colleges offer master’s degree programs in human resources online. The online format of these programs allows students to maintain a good work-life balance.

A master’s degree in HR online is of the same high quality as a traditional degree. Finding the right university or college that matches your academic and professional goals is key.

Choosing an Online Master’s in Human Resources

The structure of an online master’s degree program in human resources should be considered when evaluating potential programs. Various program options are available, including part-time, full-time, entirely online, and hybrid programs that combine both on-campus and online learning. This ranking will be exclusively for online master’s degrees in human resources.

Before enrolling in an online program, ensure it will fit your other obligations and schedules. Choose between synchronous and asynchronous formats.

If there’s a specific course topic that you want to specialize in, choose concentrations for your master’s degree in human resources. Also, consider the program that offers real-world and hands-on experiences such as on-field experiences, internship programs, apprenticeships, and other related programs in human resources.

Pay Outlook of an Online Master’s in Human Resources Graduate

The demand for human resources managers will rise in the coming decade. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for HR specialists is expected to grow by 8 percent between 2021 and 2031.

Earning an online master’s in human resources can advance your career, allowing you to move into positions with more responsibility and higher pay, such as a management position.

In fact, an online HR master’s degree and work experience may open up senior-level positions, despite high competition.

A master’s degree in human resources is one of the most popular degrees for professionals who are considering a career change.

Frequently Asked Questions About Human Resources Degrees

An MBA in Human Resources is a good choice if you want to obtain a strong foundation in business knowledge in your master’s degree. If you already have a background in business, then an MS in Human Resources will allow you to spend your time only on human resources, which will allow you to go deeper into the field and focus on a specialization.

Professionals looking to gain advanced skills and improve earning potential can complete a master’s degree in human resources online or on campus.

Most programs require a minimum of 30 credits, which, for full-time students, can be completed in as little as one year.

Students will study topics like employee and labor relations, performance management, and legal issues. Students will likely take courses on diversity and inclusion, negotiation strategies, and employment law.

Those who graduate with a master’s in human resources qualify for upper management positions, such as human resources manager, compensation and benefits manager, employee recruitment and staffing specialist, and labor relations specialist.

Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require some adjustment. While you’ll generally learn the same content and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, the medium will likely require you to manage much of this experience independently. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, your ability to harness the technology at your fingertips, and your ability to focus on the lectures, lessons, and assignments at hand. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take it upon yourself to build 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 is actually getting there. Taking the commute out of the equation means getting to class should be a lot more manageable. But that’s where it ends. In general, your online courses will incorporate the very same materials, concepts, and testing methods as would a traditional classroom.

And 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 or working with remote learning technology for the first time, online college may even be a little more challenging for you. For a few insights on how to manage this new 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 institutions and less-than-reputable for-profit schools. Accreditation gives you the power to differentiate between the two. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency which indicates that a college or university is meeting standards of quality, credibility, and currency. 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 which is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. When seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that students 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.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited, 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. In many cases, you will be required to navigate a bureaucracy in which some of your credits will be transferred and others will be jettisoned. However, provided that you have attended an online school with the proper regional accreditation, you should have plenty of options for transfer.

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 resume 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.

While some employers may express concern about making the adjustment from online education to in-person workplace collaboration, many other employers will 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 require some adjustment.

While there is much that can be supplanted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing which can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual classroom setting. As you make the adjustment to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face is overcoming this difference in order to the get the most out of your classes. Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. First and foremost, 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 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.

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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Best Online Master’s in Human Resources 2025

Key Takeaways

Top 10 Online Human Resources Master's Programs in 2025

2025 Ranking Update

Featured Programs

Best Online Master’s in Human Resources Degree Programs

Last Year’s Ranking:

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at University of Southern California

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Stony Brook University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Wayne State University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at University of Louisville

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at University of Arkansas

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Wake Forest University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Pepperdine University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Florida International University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Clemson University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at University of North Texas

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at University of Memphis

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Rochester Institute of Technology

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Thomas Jefferson University

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Concentrations

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Wichita State University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Roosevelt University

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Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Montclair State University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Tennessee State University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Nova Southeastern University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Central Michigan University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at University of Bridgeport

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Golden Gate University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Southern New Hampshire University

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at National University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at North Central College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Human Resources degree at Mercy College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Students with Human Resources Degree

Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration

Degree Level: Master's

Career Salaries

Top Industries

Choosing an Online Master’s in Human Resources

Pay Outlook of an Online Master’s in Human Resources Graduate