Business and Human Resource Management
Entry requirements
A level
112-120 points from 3 A levels.
112-122 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma.
Cambridge Pre-U score of 54-56.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
5 GCSEs at grade C/4 or higher including English Language or Literature
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
29 points from the IB Diploma. 655/754 at Higher Level - 29 points from the IB Diploma. 664 at Higher Level.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
H3,H3,H3,H3,H4-H3,H3,H3,H3,H3
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
112-120 Tariff points.
T Level
UCAS Tariff
112-120 points from 3 A levels, or equivalent.
112-120 points from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate including 2 A levels, plus the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**This is a Connected Degree**
Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.
**Overview**
People are a vital business asset — and getting the human side of business right leads to a competitive advantage in industry.
Prepare for a successful career in human resources (HR). As a human resources manager you'll formulate policies that address modern workplace issues like flexible working, remote working and equality and diversity, and lead on strategies to recruit and retain the right workforce.
HRM covers the strategic approach to the employment, development and wellbeing of people in business. On this degree you'll develop your understanding of human resources in the context of business, as well as discovering the core business disciplines that make organisations successful.
You’ll apply your learning through real-world scenarios and learning projects, with opportunities including paid industry placements throughout your studies. If you take on a Business Consultancy Project you'll work on a live client project with a local business in your final year.
By taking an industry placement year before or after your third year, you’ll graduate with a year of experience in the workplace as well as your degree.
You'll graduate from this course with a head start in the job market, and be able to apply for Associate Membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) — something that is often only available after postgraduate study.
**Course highlights**
- Develop a holistic understanding of how businesses operate as you explore operations, business finance, marketing and data analysis alongside your human resource management modules
- Learn the human resource management skills you need in a post-Covid world, focusing on workforce retention and talent management, managing equality and diversity and developing creativity and business improvement
- Practise your skills by setting up recruitment campaigns and getting involved in simulated interviews, selection panels and employment tribunals
- Benefit from an active programme of specialist and industry talks and networking events
**Accreditation**
This course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
This means, if you successfully complete all the required modules, you'll be able to apply for Associate Membership of the CIPD when you graduate. This membership is sought-after by employers and is likely to give you an advantage when looking for your first job.
Please note that you will need to pay a membership fee when you apply for your membership.
**Careers and opportunities**
As a human resource manager you can work in any sector that you're passionate about, whether that's sport, charities, manufacturing, or maybe the arts.
Your CIPD accreditation means you're likely to earn more money and have more job options than your non-accredited peers (Reed UK).
Best of all is that this qualification opens up many possible career routes. You might want to specialise in workplace training and development, become an expert in employment law, or lead on business development.
Graduates of this course have secured jobs as:
- HR executive
- learning and development coordinator
- human resources business partner
- HR and employment law consultant
- internal auditor
- project manager
- police officer
- buyer
(Data sourced from HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey.)
Our Careers and Employability service can help you find a job that puts your skills to work in the industry when you finish the course. You can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years after you leave the University.
Modules
**Year 1**
Core modules in this year include:
- Business Accounting
- Business Operations and Systems Management
- Managing People in Organisations
- Marketing Principles and Practice
- Introduction to Human Resource Management
- Introduction to Business Analytics
There are no optional modules in this year.
**Year 2**
Core modules in this year include:
- Human Resource Development
- Human Resources For the Professional
- Leadership, Ethics, Governance and Sustainability
- People Resourcing and Talent Management
- Business and Law Undergraduate Work Placement Event
- Employability, Research and Professional Development
Options to choose from in this year currently include:
- Business and Employment Law
- Business Analysis and Decision Making
- Modern Foreign Language
**Placement year (optional)**
On this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.
**Year 3**
Core modules in this year include:
- Contemporary Employment Relations
- Strategic and Comparative Human Resource Management
- Dissertation - Organisation Studies and Human Resource Management
Options to choose from in this year currently include:
- Business Consultancy Project
- Cross Cultural Awareness For Business
- Discrimination and Conflict in Employment Law
- Business Improvement & Creativity
- Managing Equality & Diversity At Work
- Responsible and Sustainable Business
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed through:
Individual and group coursework
Examinations
Online activities
Presentations
Your choice of independent research
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
The way you're assessed will depend on the modules you select throughout your course. Here's an example from a previous academic year of how students on this course were typically assessed:
Year 1 students: 58% by written exams and 42% by coursework
Year 2 students: 15% by written exams, 17% by practical exams and 68% by coursework
Year 3 students: 27% by written exams and 73% by coursework
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University of Portsmouth
Faculty of Business and Law
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Human resource management
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Human resource management
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This subject is much more common at postgraduate level, and so be aware that many of the good jobs in HR and personnel management go to graduates with Masters or other postgraduate qualifications in this subject. Work experience for first degree graduates can help to get around the lack of postgraduate qualifications, but if you want to go into management you might find that Masters to be an advantage. Although human resource roles are much the most common outcome for graduates from these courses, they take those jobs in an impressive array of industries so there are plenty of options for the kind of employer you can work for. If you would like to know about graduate prospects for your chosen course more specifically, head to an open day to talk to tutors about what previous graduates went on to do.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Human resource management
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£22k
£27k
£34k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Explore these similar courses...
This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
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Course location and department:
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here