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Human Resource Management

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Every industry relies on the productivity and well-being of its employees. That’s why the human resource management field needs confident and innovative leaders. Nichols can prepare you to lead in that field.

We prepare our human resource management majors with internships and networking opportunities that lead to jobs and careers.

Our faculty members have worked in various positions in the industry including:

  • HR Director positions within the State of Massachusetts
  • Director of Training and Development
  • Executive management team member
  • Consulting business owner providing services to large and small businesses
  • Senior HR manager, responsible for all HR activities at a leading manufacturing firm

These experienced professionals invest in their students, preparing them to thrive in any corner of the human resource management industry. Recent human resources internship opportunities include EMC, Children’s Hospital, TD Bank, Boston Scientific, and many more.


Courses & Requirements

Human Resource Management majors must complete 121 credit hours (approximately 40 courses), including courses from the foundation and business core curricula, focused electives and these required specialization courses:

Required Courses

This course introduces students to the fundamental practices involved in effective human resource management, such as recruiting, performance evaluation, compensation, employment law, and employee rights. HR theory and practice is emphasized within the context of improving organizational productivity and developing employee potential.
Today's organizations must compete globally and their most important asset for success is a highly competent and effective workforce. This course focuses on how top businesses attract, hire, and retain the best and the brightest talent while respecting and protecting civil and employment rights.
Hiring qualified talent is no guarantee that these employees will achieve their potential. Without nurturing, much of this talent will remain untapped and wasted. High performing workforces are the result of continuous development and effective motivational strategy. Based on sound motivational theory, this course examines why people work and what organizations should know and do in order to create winning teams.
This course is an upper level seminar concerning the historical role of labor in the American economy. One of the major themes of the course will be the relationship between labor markets and political issues. We will be interested in the relatively stagnate wage growth of the last three (plus) decades and the rise of income inequality. Other topics of interest will be: (1) the role of women in the U.S. economy; (2) the issue of race in shaping the historical development of capitalism in the U.S.; and (3) the changing structure of labor in the twentieth century U.S. American Economy, and the rise of the “predator state.” We will seek to better understand these trends and to explain them through history, modeling, and theoretical and political analysis.
This course examines the relationship between rewards and performance on the job. Students will learn about the issues that influence how organizations set pay and benefits policies including executive bonus and deferred compensation plans. They will also examine how compensation differs by job level and by job location and how these factors contribute to decisions regarding outsourcing and off-shoring of jobs.
The Internship in Human Resource Management will afford students an opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in the classroom to practical situations at the internship site. Students will gain an appreciation for the dynamic nature of the workplace and will have an opportunity to participate in the implementation of human resource programs. Library research and reading assignments will underscore the need for life-long professional development and learning in order to meet new challenges in this rapidly changing field of management.
Virtually every US company now faces competition from abroad, and the fortunes of most US firms, large and small, are inextricably bound to the global economy. Company HR Departments must have a global perspective to remain competitive. And all managers, especially HR professionals, must develop a sensitivity to global issues and practices. This course will focus on several aspects of human resources in a global context: labor practices in developing countries; multinational companies' strategies in complying with international ethical principles; and how companies can manage global operations in a manner that results in a successful experience for both the employee and the firm.

Faculty