Master of Business Administration with a Specialization in Human Resources

Learn to attract, retain and manage an organization’s most valuable assets – its people – while building a business perspective that can set you apart in the HR field.

Apply Now
Apply by 12/16/24
Start Class 1/6/25

Program Overview

A snapshot of our 100% online human resources MBA

$13,500* In-State Tuition
As few as 12 months Program Duration
30 Credit Hours
$13,500* In-State Tuition
As few as 12 months Program Duration
30 Credit Hours
$13,500* In-State Tuition
As few as 12 months Program Duration
30 Credit Hours

The 100 percent online Master of Business Administration in Human Resources program is for emerging leaders who want to qualify for senior HR roles. This AACSB-accredited program emphasizes how to integrate collaboration, communication and conflict management into your expertise to help you become a strategic partner who aligns with and supports organizational goals.

Facilitate your growth as a trusted and respected HR partner while learning best practices for data-driven decision making, employee engagement, workforce design and identifying characteristics of high-performing teams. You will also gain knowledge in marketing, accounting and business processes. Plus, we accept up to nine credits of program-related coursework from a previous graduate program, reducing your tuition and time to completion.

This online human resources degree also suits entrepreneurs seeking advanced business and HR insight.

Have questions or need more information about our online programs?

As a graduate of this human resources master's program, you will be prepared to:

  • Examine human resource management from a strategic perspective which will help to ensure that HR practices are aligned with organizational goals and strategies
  • Attract and maintain hires
  • Maintain relevant knowledge of best practices in the field
  • Develop and lead teams to be more productive, efficient and effective
  • Uncover the characteristics of high-performing teams and various tools that foster collaboration, communication and trust among team members
  • Handle common challenges and conflicts that arise in teams
  • Examine human resource management from a strategic perspective which will help to ensure that HR practices are aligned with organizational goals and strategies
  • Attract and maintain hires
  • Maintain relevant knowledge of best practices in the field
  • Develop and lead teams to be more productive, efficient and effective
  • Uncover the characteristics of high-performing teams and various tools that foster collaboration, communication and trust among team members
  • Handle common challenges and conflicts that arise in teams
  • Examine human resource management from a strategic perspective which will help to ensure that HR practices are aligned with organizational goals and strategies
  • Attract and maintain hires
  • Maintain relevant knowledge of best practices in the field
  • Develop and lead teams to be more productive, efficient and effective
  • Uncover the characteristics of high-performing teams and various tools that foster collaboration, communication and trust among team members
  • Handle common challenges and conflicts that arise in teams

This online MBA in Human Resources prepares you for high-level roles, such as:

  • Recruiter
  • Human Resource Manager
  • Program Manager
  • Project Coordinator
  • Talent Acquisition Specialist
  • Training and Development Specialist
  • Compliance Officer
  • Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analyst

As a graduate of this human resources master's program, you will be prepared to:

  • Examine human resource management from a strategic perspective which will help to ensure that HR practices are aligned with organizational goals and strategies
  • Attract and maintain hires
  • Maintain relevant knowledge of best practices in the field
  • Develop and lead teams to be more productive, efficient and effective
  • Uncover the characteristics of high-performing teams and various tools that foster collaboration, communication and trust among team members
  • Handle common challenges and conflicts that arise in teams
  • Examine human resource management from a strategic perspective which will help to ensure that HR practices are aligned with organizational goals and strategies
  • Attract and maintain hires
  • Maintain relevant knowledge of best practices in the field
  • Develop and lead teams to be more productive, efficient and effective
  • Uncover the characteristics of high-performing teams and various tools that foster collaboration, communication and trust among team members
  • Handle common challenges and conflicts that arise in teams
  • Recruiter
  • Human Resource Manager
  • Program Manager
  • Project Coordinator
  • Talent Acquisition Specialist
  • Training and Development Specialist
  • Compliance Officer
  • Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analyst

Have questions or need more information about our online programs?

Tuition

Benefit from our budget-friendly tuition

The MBA in Human Resources online program offers affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition. All fees are included in the total tuition.

Tuition breakdown:

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$450* Per Credit Hour
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$13,500* Total Tuition

*In-state tuition.

Note: No payment plans are available for accelerated online students.

Program Per Credit Hour Per Course Per Program
In-State Out-of-State In-State Out-of-State In-State Out-of-State
MBA in Human Resources $450 $455 $1,350 $1,365 $13,500 $13,650

Calendar

Get to know important dates as one of our students

YSU online programs are delivered in an accelerated format ideal for working professionals, conveniently featuring multiple start dates each year.

Next Start & Application Due Dates:

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12/16/24 Next Application Deadline
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1/6/25 Start Classes
First StartsProgram Start DateApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlineTuition DeadlineLast Class Day
Fall 210/21/249/30/2410/7/2410/16/2410/18/2412/8/24
Spring 11/6/2512/16/2412/23/241/1/251/3/252/16/25
Spring 23/10/252/17/252/24/253/5/253/7/254/20/25
Summer 15/12/254/21/254/28/255/7/255/9/256/22/25
Summer 26/30/256/9/256/16/256/25/256/27/258/9/25

Ready to take the next step toward earning your degree online from YSU?

Admissions

Read the admission details for our online human resources MBA degree

YSU’s online MBA programs have specific requirements you must meet to be admitted. Please read the admission guidelines to ensure you qualify.

Application Icon Online application
Resume Icon Professional resume
Application Icon Online application
Resume Icon Professional resume

Admission to the MBA program is based on the applicant’s undergraduate grade point average and full-time, professional work experience. You must meet the following requirements for admission to the MBA in Human Resources online program.

For Regular Admission, if applicants meet any of the following conditions, the GMAT/GRE is waived:

  • A bachelor’s degree in business, economics, or S.T.E.M. from an accredited university, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
  • A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university, with a GPA of 2.7 or higher, and at least two years of full-time professional work experience.
  • A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university, with a GPA of 2.7 or higher and earned 9 credits in graduate-level coursework from an accredited university with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
  • A graduate or terminal degree (e.g., Ph.D., MD, or JD) in any field.
  • An active professional certification.

For Provisional Admission, applicants must meet one of the following criteria:

  • A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university (in any field), with a GPA between 2.7 and 2.99, and have a GMAT (or GRE equivalent) score of 450 or higher.
  • A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university (in any field), a GPA between 2.5 and 2.7, and at least five years of full-time professional work experience.

In addition to the above requirements, applicants need to provide a chronological resume that details their full-time professional/managerial work experience, and official transcripts from all colleges/universities they have attended.

Official Transcripts

Official Transcripts must come directly from the institution. These can be sent to electronically via email [email protected] or mailed to the following address:

Youngstown State University
College of Graduate Studies
Coffelt Hall
1 Tressel Way
Youngstown, OH 44555

Transcripts issued directly to a student by an institution can only be accepted if they are in a sealed envelope from the college or university.

Official GMAT/GRE Test Scores

Official test scores must be submitted directly from the testing organization. The code for Youngstown State University is 1975. Test scores are good for five years.

Resume

After you have submitted your online application, you can then upload your resume to your application from your account. The resume should only include full-time professional work experiences. Please refer below for a description of the type of work that should (and should not) be included. Resumes should also include the titles, and corresponding dates, for all positions held. It is preferred the resume should be submitted in a PDF format.

About Work Experience

Professional/managerial experience is determined using an applicant's chronological resume and any requested supporting documents. Professional/managerial experience is not simply a count of the years of employment, but strongly considers the relevance of the full-time experience as it relates to the nature of the program. This is typically demonstrated through a history of full-time positions where an applicant has documentable experience of overseeing people, projects, operations, and/or customer accounts. For strong applicants, the work experience qualification is supported by a career progression evidenced by increased roles, responsibilities, accomplishments and/or formal promotions.

Please note: the chronological resume should not include non-professional positions, part-time (i.e., less than 40 hours per week) professional positions, volunteerism or internships. These types of work are not considered in assessing the professional/managerial experience criteria.

About Certifications

Professional Certification List:

  • CFA (Charted Financial Analyst)
  • CFP (Certified Financial Planner)
  • CMA (Certified Management Accountant)
  • CPA (Certified Public Accountant)
  • CPIM (Certified in Planning and Inventory Management)
  • CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional)
  • CSM (Certified ScrumMaster)
  • Lean Black Belt (certified by either ASQ or IISE)
  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (certified by either ASQ or IISE)
  • PHR (Professional in Human Resources, Certified by HR Institute)
  • PMI PMP
  • SHRM-CP
  • SHRM-SCP
  • SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources, Certified by HR Institute)
  • Six Sigma Black Belt (certified by either ASQ or IISE)

About STEM Degrees

S.T.E.M. is an acronym that refers to teaching and learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. For a complete list of specific degree programs that meet the S.T.E.M criteria, refer to the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List. If a specific degree program (the CIP Code Title) is not included in this list, the degree program does not meet the S.T.E.M admission criteria.

Courses

Advance your expertise in these 100% online MBA in Human Resources courses

For the online MBA in Human Resources, you are required to complete 30 credit hours, including 24 credit hours of core courses and six credit hours of specialization courses. Up to nine transfer credits may be accepted from a previous graduate program.*

*Student must earn at least a B in the class from an accredited institution.

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Participants will learn to analyze and understand the impact economic factors (e.g., information, consumer behavior, supply and demand) have on shaping markets and industries. Using this knowledge, participants will be capable of assessing the different types of economic strategies (e.g., product differentiation, pricing, advertising and signaling) an organization can employ to gain market power to realize economic profits.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Insights into a company’s product costs (including those considered direct and indirect), its fixed and variable costs (and ways to identify these) and an understanding of its controllable and non-controllable costs all are necessary to effectively manage an organization. This course focuses on these concepts and how they can be used when making business decisions.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Participants will gain an understanding of financial analysis techniques are used when evaluating businesses, projects, budgets and other related decisions. Participants will develop a set of analytical tools for conducting historical analysis (analysis of the income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet, interpretation of various financial ratios) as well tools associated with capital budgeting, capital structure and cost of acquiring capital.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The purpose of this course is for you to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge about management and leadership so that you can lead and follow more effectively and ethically. It explores management and leadership situations with the intent to extract lessons and insights which can be applied to your own approaches to managing, leadership, and followership.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The objective of this course is to provide students with an overview of the organizational behavior literature, research findings, and applications. Students are expected to think about, discuss, debate, analyze, and solve issues relating to organizational behavior. Students will be exposed to a broad range of management theories and expected to apply those theories to a variety of organizational contexts and situations.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) examines the functions of sourcing, materials management, operations planning, distribution, logistics, retail, demand forecasting, order fulfillment, and more in a broad area that covers both manufacturing and service industries. In this course, students will learn what functions OSCM performs, why it is important, and how to make business decisions in the field of OSCM. The objective is to help students develop a systematic working knowledge of the concepts and methods related to designing and managing operations in a supply chain.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Students explore the development of marketing strategy via segmentation, targeting, and positioning, and the support of the marketing strategy through integrated product, price, place, and promotional tactics.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Strategy involves thinking at the enterprise level. Successful strategy design and implementation requires a holistic understanding of the threats and opportunities in the firm’s external environment, and of its internal resources and capabilities. It also requires a synthetic view on how the firm integrates functional activities and cross-functional business processes. This course is designed to develop such an integrative view of the firm and its environment, along with appropriate analytical skills. Before taking OMBA 6975, you must have successfully completed (grade of “C” or better): 1) OMBA 6923, 2) OMBA 6944, and 3) OMBA 6955.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The success of professionals in any organizational context is reliant on their ability to harness the power of teams. Essential to this type of success is one’s knowledge, skills, and ability to develop and lead teams to be more productive, efficient, and effective. In this course participants will learn the characteristics of high-performing teams, various tools that foster collaboration, communication, and trust among team members, and techniques to handle common challenges and conflicts that arise in teams.

Course objectives:

  • Understand the benefits and challenges of working in teams.
  • Identifying the characteristics of high-performing teams.
  • Identify the factors that influence team effectiveness.
  • Identify various tools and techniques to enhance team functioning.
  • Identify strategies to improve a team’s skills and abilities.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
In today's dynamic and competitive environment, human resources are not simply an expense, but a source of competitive advantage and value creation. For this reason, Human Resources has become a critical strategic partner responsible for attracting, retaining, and managing an organization’s most valuable assets – its people. In this course, participants will examine human resource management from a strategic perspective, enabling them to ensure that HR practices are aligned with organizational goals and strategies. The course is suitable for any manager who wants to enhance their understanding of strategic human resource management, as well as human resources professionals who want to update their knowledge of best practices in the field.

Course objectives:

  • Understand the role of strategic HRM in supporting an organization’s goals.
  • Identify key trends affecting the future of work, the HR field, and global HR strategies.
  • Describe factors that contribute to effective people and talent management strategies.
  • Utilize analytics and reporting mechanisms, by harnessing relevant datasets to inform strategic HR decisions.

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*Price includes in-state tuition and fees. For students from outside Ohio, tuition and fees total $13,650.

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