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Associate of Science: Business Administration

The concentration in human resource management gives students a broad overview of the knowledge base and applications used by professionals in the field. Students receive exposure to a wide range of topics reflecting the body of knowledge recommended by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) standards for coursework in HR.. After graduation, students are prepared for employment in the public or private sector as human resource management generalists or as specialists in human resource management functions such as recruiting, compensation management or benefits administration.

Human resource management is a major functional area of all businesses and includes employee recruitment and selection, training and development, employee relations, compensation and benefits, performance evaluation, and human resource planning. Individuals working in human resources undertake a full range of activities related to attracting and selecting employees to work in an organization, motivating and facilitating high performance, and retaining employee talent. Decisions made in organizations about how to structure jobs, who to hire, how to reward them contribute directly to organizational effectiveness and a firm’s competitive advantage. These processes can be applied in small, medium, and large firms as well as non-profits. Early career opportunities typically include compensation analyst, employee benefits specialist, human resource assistant, human resource manager, employment recruiter, employment interviewer, and training and development specialist. Later stages may see transitions into senior management positions including chief human resource officer.