Make an Impact in Business and on Individuals
In this specialized program you learn to drive success for people and business. Learn from industry leaders. Build a wide, lifelong peer network. Gain skills to contribute to business strategy at the highest levels with knowledge of how to impact the bottom line through effective direction of an organization’s human capital.
10
in the U.S. for Best MBA for Human Resources
—Princeton Review, 2021
Industry-focused curriculum aligned with the Society for Human Resource Management
Large, engaged alumni network spans multinational corporations
Workshops, applied learning projects, case studies, mentoring, and industry visits
Curriculum
The Wisconsin Full-Time MBA curriculum integrates a strong foundation in general management with highly focused preparation in strategic human resource management. You will begin taking specialization classes right away.
This specialized MBA program counts as two years toward the work experience required by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in order to sit for the certification exam—an advantage for first-time SHRM certification seekers, as well as current SHRM-CP holders.
Year 1
First Semester
- Data to Decisions
- Financial Accounting
- Introduction to Financial Management
- Leading and Working in Teams
- Marketing Management
- Operations Management
- Human Resource Management
Second Semester
- Ethics, Society and Integrity
- Consulting Practicum
- Business Strategy
- Economics for Managers
- Personnel Staffing and Evaluation
- Human Resources Capstone
Year 2
First Semester
- Compensation: Theory and Administration
- Managing Technological and Organizational Change
- Negotiations (either semester) or elective
- Electives (2-3)
Second Semester
- Labor-Management Relations
- Negotiations (either semester) or elective
- Human Resources Capstone
- People Analytics
- Elective (optional)
Applied Learning
Collaboration with executives in leading industries to create innovative solutions to their human resources challenges is a hallmark of the strategic human resource management specialization.
Expand your experience
Human resource professionals with a broad range of expertise regularly provide insights into the latest strategies and best practices. Speakers from companies such as Robert W. Baird & Co., American Family Insurance, Cisco, General Mills, GE Healthcare, and Exxon Mobil have shared their experiences in organizational restructuring, talent management, and human resources in an international context.
Build your résumé
Small program size means you get a lot of interaction and firsthand experience.
UW Health, an organization with 15,000 employees, participated In a recent capstone consulting project. MBA students standardized position descriptions following a merger and led meetings with key stakeholders to align long-term recruiting, employee engagement, and compensation initiatives.
Spectrum Brands enlisted students to find inefficiencies in their organizational structure. Students interviewed staff, created branding strategies, and summarized recommendations for financial and human resource leadership.
Expert Support and Career Connection
Knowledge Center
The strategic human resource management specialization is supported by a dedicated knowledge center, the Strategic Human Resource Management Center, backed by extensive industry support. Dedicated space in Grainger Hall serves as students’ home base and encourages collaboration.
World-class Faculty
Barry Gerhart
Barry Gerhart served as department chair at Cornell and Vanderbilt and as department chair, senior associate dean, and interim Albert O. Nicholas Dean at the Wisconsin School of Business. His research interests include compensation, human resource management, staffing, and international management.
Jirs Meuris
Jirs Meuris’ research sits at the intersection of behavioral science, human resource management, and public policy. Meuris looks at how work and organizations shape economic and demographic inequality in society. He has conducted this research in collaboration with a variety of organizations including universities and companies in the healthcare, finance, and transportation industries.
Alumni Network
The alumni of the Wisconsin MBA Program in strategic human resource management are an engaged, supportive community of industry professionals. You’ll interact with successful alumni who enthusiastically serve mentoring, presenting, networking, mock interviewing, career advising, and other roles for our students. The program hosts an annual HR Summit to educate current students, alumni, and industry leaders on human resources topics such as international people management for U.S. companies and implications of artificial intelligence on HR decisions.
Program Voices
Johnson & Johnson
Get To Know Our MBAs
Hear about students’ experiences in the program.
Check out What’s New
A Big Challenge at the Big 10
Global Business Immersion Trip 2023: Buenos Aires
Workplace Mental Health
Connect With Top Employers
Connect with employers through classroom visits, networking events, and applied learning projects. Frequent recruiters:
Human Resource Management Careers
Common job titles
- HR Leadership Development Programs
- HR Business Partner
- HR Associate
- HR Analyst
- HR Manager
- Talent Management
- Succession Management and Workforce Planning
- Talent Acquisition
- Compensation Management
- Organizational Training and Development
Your MBA. Your Career Success.
High staff-to-student ratio means you get unlimited support—and exceptional connections—as you step into your ideal career.
Learn more about our career-launching resultsConnect with us.
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