The BA in Human Resource Management (HRM) is a joint degree from the School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR) and the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS). As such, pursuit of the degree is typically made through the Rutgers New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences. Students within SAS who are in good academic standing are eligible to declare the human resource management (HRM) major. It is also possible for students within other Rutgers New Brunswick schools to declare the HRM Major as a second major through their respective schools.

Program Requirements

The major consists of a total of 42+ credits or 14 courses of which 9 courses are to be taken from a mixture of Human Resource Management & Labor Studies courses (students may include no more than three Labor Studies, 37:575, courses within the HRM major), 3 courses from a select list of related courses in Psychology, Economics, and Sociology and 2 courses from a list of applicable quantitative courses. Course descriptions for the HRM courses and applicable courses from the Labor Studies curriculum are available on the SMLR website. Students should consult the Rutgers New Brunswick Undergraduate Catalog for descriptions of courses applicable to the major from Psychology, Economics, and Sociology as well descriptions of applicable quantitative courses,

Introduction to Human Resource Management (37:533:301) is a prerequisite for the Human Resource Management Bachelor of Arts Program. Students must achieve a grade of "C" or higher in this course before the major is declared. Grades of "C" or better must be earned in all courses used to fulfill the requirements of the human resource management major.

For a concise summary of the BA in HRM program, students should consult the 2020-2021 BA HRM checklistStudents who declared the major prior to September 1, 2018 should reference the previous Fall 2013 version of the HRM checklist.

Prospective Students

Individuals wishing to pursue the BA in HRM are advised to apply directly to the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences. The admissions application can be found on the New Brunswick Undergraduate Admissions website. Upon acceptance into SAS, students are required to complete the SAS core requirements, those of the HRM major, and those of a minor (or a second major) for a minimum of 120 credits in order to graduate.

Students Within SAS

Declaration of intent to complete the HRM Major can take place after students have taken and completed Introduction to HRM, 37:533:301, with a “C” or better. Once the Introductory course has been successfully completed, then actual declaration of the HRM major is made through the SAS MyMajor Portal at mymajor.sas.rutgers.edu. To ensure that students are able to complete the major within four years, it is advised that they make an appointment with the HRM Undergraduate Student Counselor to review their record.

Students Within Other Rutgers New Brunswick Schools

As with those students who are within SAS, students within other schools in Rutgers New Brunswick who wish to declare the HRM Major as a second major may do so after Introduction to HRM, 37:533:301, has been taken and completed with a “C” or better. In order to declare the HRM Major, students must meet with their school advisors to have the major added to their record. It is recommended that students also make an appointment with the HRM Undergraduate Student Counselor to go over the requirements needed to complete the HRM Major.

When to Declare

Typically, full-time students normally declare their major in the second semester of their second year, although some students opt to declare earlier in order to facilitate the planning needed for an appropriate sequence of the courses required to complete the major within four years. 

Students are encouraged to directly declare the major as soon as they are eligible to do so. Declaration of the HRM Major immediately places students on the Undergraduate HRM listserv for current HRM students (both majors and minors). The listserv is utilized to send out announcements regarding human resource management events, program information, and applicable internship opportunities.

In addition, formal declaration allows us to identify our students and extend our consideration to them when issuing special permission numbers during registration periods. Declared HRM Majors and HRM Minors also have access to employment and internship opportunities designated for HRM students through the Handshake system as well as access to the SMLR Career Counselors.