HR is changing – it is more business focused, internationally oriented and adds more value than ever.
This course provides new or unqualified practitioners and line managers with the knowledge, understanding and skills to be highly effective HR specialists.
Using critical analysis and investigation, you will develop an understanding of the business context of HR, and its role in driving performance.
Intermediate qualifications available:
In the fast moving world of HRM, professional qualifications are an important way to build your knowledge and demonstrate expertise in the workplace. This course will develop your critical thinking and understanding of organisations as well as your learning how to develop creative and strategic HR solutions for sustained organisational performance. The professional level of Associate membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is achieved upon completion.
Assessments are closely linked to the CIPD’s objectives and learning outcomes for their advanced standards in HRM and are therefore written with this in mind.
The overall assessment strategy for this course is therefore to achieve a balance between the assessment of academic understanding and evaluation and the assessment of competences and skills that are valuable in organisations and to your development as a HR practitioner and member of the CIPD.
Your learning will be gauged through a variety of summative and formative assessments. For example, summatively there will be:
All assessments explore topical HR issues to enable the integration of theory and practice into authentic ‘real world’ contexts. There will be key emphasis on continuous learning with every piece of work, questioning: what have you learned from this activity?
This approach then becomes part of your pedagogic practice allowing you to become better autonomous reflectors. Underpinning each assessment, consideration must be made to ethics, diversity and legal issues impacting the business.
Formative assessment will be provided through verbal feedback on: in-class presentations, coursework activities, mock exams and through the management research report supervision.
The creation of your reflective portfolio in the second year will also assist in your CIPD membership upgrade.
Applicants should have a good undergraduate degree at Honours level, or equivalent.
To apply for a place on a postgraduate course (MA/MSc/MBA) at the University of Bedfordshire you should have a good first degree and the required English language qualification
Find out more about specific entry requirements for your country
To apply for a postgraduate degree (MA/MSc/MBA/LLM) at the University of Bedfordshire you should have a good honours degree (or equivalent qualification) in an appropriate subject from a recognised university or HE institution.
We will also consider candidates with other relevant qualifications or appropriate work experience.
You also need to have the required English language qualification
Contact your country’s International Admissions Team for more information.
The course welcomes applications from potential students with no formal qualifications furthering the widening participation strategy of the University and increasing the diversity of the course in line with the University's Education Strategy. The course also welcomes applicants from all sectors and job roles ranging from HR assistants through to senior HR managers and a variety of junior, middle and senior management roles. You will be interviewed by the course co-ordinator (where applicable) to determine suitability for the course. You will be required to be working within an HR role or as a line manager or supervisor (with responsibility for managing other workers).
Additional: You will be expected to register as a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Where you are not currently in work you must have previous experience in work organisations as well as access to an organisation for research information.
This course is designed for you to pursue a professional career in the field of human resource management. The portfolio that you will create for the Reflective Practice in Business Leadership unit can be used as partial evidence towards your upgrade from Associate Member to Chartered Member of the CIPD.
On completion of the course you are provided with an extra opportunity to meet with the teaching team (CIPD regional branch committee members and past and present membership upgrade panel members) to discuss the CIPD’s expectations for upgrading and how you might best fulfil the stated criteria.
On completing this course you are likely to progress into one or more of the following areas:
You may wish to transfer your credits (RPL) to complete the MSc in Human Resource Management at the University (60 further credits).
The standard fee for a Postgraduate Diploma for the Academic Year 2019/20 is £4,893
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
Scholarship Available
The University of Bedfordshire is proud of its alumni and is delighted to offer a tuition fee discount for those who choose to continue or return to the University for on campus Postgraduate level studies.
We offer a 20% discount on full and part-time Masters courses to those who were successful in completing an Honours Degree with the University of Bedfordshire, DMU’s Bedford campus or the University of Luton.
The standard fee for a Postgraduate Diploma for the Academic Year 2019/20 is £8,000
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
Management Practice – simulation
You will take part in a week-long management practice simulation as part of one of the course units. The simulation is supplied by an external company who charge a fee of around £32 for registration and participation.
CIPD membership
You will also need to budget for the membership fee of the CIPD. Currently membership for the first 12 months is £130. After that the fee is scaled depending on membership grade.
*The information above is for guidance only. Exact costs may vary.
The Gateway Building located at the entrance of the Bedford campus holds a wide range of facilities including the main reception, student information desk, a café on the ground floor, large lecture theatres as well as a range of study rooms & breakout spaces on all floors.
Part of the University's 'greening of the campus' initiative, the £25m investment in the Gateway includes a number of sustainable and low carbon technologies such as rainwater harvesting. The project team are aiming towards a BREEAM sustainability rating of 'excellent'.
The Bedford Campus Centre holds the large 280 seat professional theatre on the ground floor and the 80 seat studio theatre on the first floor as well as a box office just inside the entrance where students, staff and the wider community can get tickets for the variety of student performances that are held by our School of Media & Performance.
Also on the ground floor is the main campus café which offers a wide variety of tasty food & drink and is a great social space for meeting friends and group working.
The University guarantees accommodation to all new students.
Choose from Liberty Park's en-suite study bedrooms or the Student Village which offers standard rooms with shared bathroom facilities, and en-suite rooms with a private shower. All have fully-equipped kitchens.
Our rooms are on-campus and have easy access to the town centre and train station.
Our specialist labs give students a fantastic environment to develop their research skills and expertise, where a student can explore the biology of an elite athlete who could be performing simultaneously within the sports hall.
Few Sport Science courses in the country offer students such unique discipline leading research experience and skills, alongside intimate access to world leading researchers within their field. Students are regularly offered the opportunity to be involved within discipline defining Sport, Health and Exercise Science research
Our state-of-the-art laboratories are purpose built for research and teaching in the fields of exercise and nutrition science. This includes specialised equipment and facilities for assessing human health risk and delivering exercise and diet interventions for health promotion.
Set within the Campus Centre is a 260 seat professional theatre on the ground floor with industry-standard lighting, media desk, roll-down screen, full backstage comms system and large dressing rooms with en suite showers. On the first floor there's also a well-equipped 80 seat studio theatre.
Our theatres welcome new and existing audiences to see a range of student work including contemporary dance, theatre and performing arts; holding regular performances.
The Aspire Gym has state of the art cardiovascular equipment with smart phone compatibility.
There is also an extensive range of fixed resistance machines and a small free weights area.
Changing rooms with showers and lockers are available for members to use.
The teacher education centre is set out over a number of blocks on campus containing realistic mock classrooms for students to learn and train within.
As part of this our Forest School also provides the opportunity for teachers to be trained in outdoor learning and the educational benefits of outdoor play.
We have a long-established history in teacher training and education with over 500 partnerships with schools, colleges and other organisations.
The sports hall is an integral space in the School of Sport Science and Physical Activity, complementing discipline leading Sport and Exercise Science and modern biological analysis laboratories, all co-located on the Bedford campus.
The sports hall is proud to host all Bedfordshire Bulls students' sports matches as well as national standard sporting events including British University College Sports championships – one of the few indoor sporting venues in the county to host prestigious tournaments all year round.
The facility also plays host to a number of University promoted Get into Sport activities which are open to all University students and staff.
Alongside the large sports hall the campus is surrounded by sports fields and a multi-use games area for the University's Sport and Physical Education degree students.
The Bedford campus is located just outside the centre of town within easy walking distance. For students and staff travelling by train we also run a free regular bus service from Bedford Station to the Campus. Bedford has excellent transport links to the rest of the UK as it sits between the M1 and the A1. The town connects by train to Luton (20 minutes) and London (40 minutes).
UK students applying for most postgraduate degrees at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form
International students applying for a full-time postgraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form or via our representatives in your home country. You can also apply online
Find out more about how to apply as an International student
International students applying for a full-time postgraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form or via our representatives in your home country. You can also apply online
Find out more about how to apply as an International student