Online Human Resource Management Certificate
Gain the Skills You Need for Success in Human Resources
Human resource experts play an essential role in helping organizations thrive. Employers need trained HR professionals to attract and retain top talent while supporting company culture. Take a leap toward leadership in your human resources career and prepare for in-demand positions within this dynamic field with a 100% online certificate program from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
The online Human Resource Management certificate is a graduate program exclusive to Saint Mary’s University and delivers job-ready skills for your chosen career path. Consisting of 12 credits, this program is a part of Saint Mary’s Accelerators, a carefully crafted series of master’s-level graduate certificates designed to help you meet your professional goals. The certificate may be completed alone, or you can apply your certificate credits toward a master’s degree to finish your education and advance your career faster.
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Why Earn Your HR Management Certificate Online?
The online Human Resource Management certificate from Saint Mary’s delivers advanced skills that many of today’s HR employers demand. With expert instruction from top-skilled faculty, you’ll study strategic management, negotiating tactics, and employment law while earning credit you can apply to your graduate degree. This accelerated program allows you to prepare for human resource manager roles on your schedule through an online platform you can access at the times and in the locations you choose.
Program Highlights
- Apply Credits to Select Graduate Programs
- Hands-on Human Resources Training
- Digital Badging for all Graduate Certificate Courses
- Earn SHRM Professional Development Credits. Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities.
Course List & Requirements
Our online Human Resource Management certificate includes four courses for 12 credit hours, all of which can be completed online in just two semesters. You may complete the certificate as a standalone program or accelerate your education completion time by applying your credits toward a master’s degree.
HRM 601 Human Resource Management Strategy (3 credits)
This course examines human resource management in the context of business policy and competitive strategy. The core competencies required to become a successful human resource manager are discussed. Topics include an overview of business policy, the role of human resource planning, strategic human resource management, initiating organizational change, promoting an ethical perspective, and using technology for planning and administering human resource functions.
Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:
- Outline the core competencies needed to become a successful human resource manager
- Analyze how business strategy, competition, labor markets, technology, labor unions, and government regulations affect human resource planning activities, including skill inventories and supply/demand forecasting
- Formulate how human resource policies, systems, and organizational design support an organization’s business strategy
- Appraise employment practices related to recruitment, selection, and performance management
- Evaluate training and development practices such as career counseling, needs assessment, and career pathing
HRM 606 Employment Law (3 credits)
This course examines employment law and its impact on business. It reviews employment law practices and trends, the statutory framework, major court cases, how the law of contract and tort apply to employment situations, and anti-discrimination laws.
Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:
- Articulate legal definitions of and distinctions in the employer-employee relationship, including issues related to employment-at-will, independent contractors, and negligent hiring
- Analyze discrimination issues likely to be faced by human resource managers in compliance with Title VII and resulting legislation and court rulings
- Analyze state and federal issues addressed by business and industry, including fair labor standards, occupational safety and health, retirement income security, and employee right to privacy
- Evaluate employee accommodation and leave issues resulting from state and federal legislation
- Assess policies and procedures for terminating employees, including mass layoffs and plant closings
Prerequisite: HRM601
HRM 613 Compensation and Benefits (3 credits)
This course analyzes theories of total reward systems, including compensation, benefits, retirement, other rewards, motivation, and equity theories. Contemporary issues associated with the design, financing, communication, education, and legal issues of total reward systems are examined. Public policy and legal/regulatory issues affecting compensation, healthcare, and pensions and their impact for employers and employees are also discussed.
Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:- Articulate the components of an organization’s compensation and benefit system.
- Analyze current and future trends in managing total rewards systems, including issues related to executive compensation.
- Design performance management and variable/incentive pay plans, identifying key success factors and legal requirements.
- Apply reward incentives, including compensation changes, in an equitable, ethical, and cost-effective manner.
- Select, develop, and evaluate benefit programs that comply with federal, state, and local laws and regulations and meet employee needs.
- Plan training and communication with managers and employees on benefits programs and policies.
- Identify various benefit costing models and alternative funding techniques.
Prerequisite: HRM601
HRM 614 Negotiating and Consulting (3 credits)
This course examines the concepts and the application of internal consulting in the human resources function of any organization. It draws from thought leaders in practice and leverages real-world situations. The goal is to equip human resource professionals to be strategic business partners. Conflict resolution and alternative dispute resolution methods are also covered.
Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:
- Analyze the roles of the human resource professional as a strategic business partner, change agent, and employee advocate
- Design a collaborative engagement with an organizational manager using the key phases of internal consulting
- Articulate the opportunities and problems with internal consulting, including using audit data and reports to inform business decisions and the need for change management
- Synthesize risk management components, including financial implications
- Evaluate one’s strengths and development opportunities as a consultant and leader of special and cross-functional project teams
- Identify alternative dispute resolution methods and propose when such methods might be used to resolve individual, departmental, or organizational conflict
Prerequisite: HRM601
Course Information | Read More
Featuring 12 credits of hands-on human resources training, our courses are delivered in a format designed for your success. You will learn to be a strategic partner in any organization, implementing effective policies and procedures to accomplish business goals.
Students who possess current Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) or Society for Human Resource Management, Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certification prior to admission may substitute another three-credit elective course for the HRM 601 course. For more details, contact an enrollment counselor.
Course Catalog
Share Your Success
Saint Mary’s supports your success by providing you with the tools necessary to not only achieve your professional goals but to share them with the world—especially the digital world.
As part of our commitment, Saint Mary’s offers an opportunity for you to be awarded digital badges. Digital badges are a graphic verification representing your achievement after completing a specific online course or program.
Admissions
The online Human Resource Management certificate is designed to be completed in one year and is financial aid eligible. No prerequisite coursework is required, and you don’t need GRE/GMAT scores to apply.
General Requirements
- An undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution
- A minimum GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale. If your overall GPA is below 2.75, you may receive conditional status in the program at the discretion of the program director
Prerequisite Coursework and Experience
No prerequisite coursework is required for the online human resource management certificate program.
GMAT and GRE Exam Scores
You don’t need GRE/GMAT scores to apply for this program.
Transfer Credits
Transfer credits are not accepted for this certificate program.
English Language Proficiency
Students with transcripts from universities located outside of the United States, unless from a waiver country listed here, are required to take and pass English Proficiency testing.
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum score of 4 (formerly 72)
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS) with a minimum score of 6.0
- Michigan Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) with a minimum score of 74%
- International Test of English Proficiency (ITEP) with a minimum score of 4.0 or Pearson Test of English with a score of 51
- Duolingo with a minimum score of 105
Application Requirements
Whether you apply through our online application via hard copy, or in-person with a Saint Mary’s admissions counselor, your application must include the following items:
Official transcripts: An official transcript issued to Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota from the institution posting the applicant’s completed degree and other relevant transcripts documenting program prerequisites and potential transfer credits must be sent separately and directly from your institution. Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota accepts official transcripts electronically from previously attended institutions. Transcripts should be sent to oladmissions@smumn.edu or mailed to:
Transcript Processing Center
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
851 Trafalgar Court, Suite 420
Maitland, FL 32751
Application Deadlines
Upcoming application deadlines for Saint Mary’s online Human Resource Management graduate certificate:
- Spring I: Dec. 19, 2025
- Spring II: Feb. 16, 2026
- Summer I: April 20, 2026
- Summer II: June 15, 2026
- Fall I: August (TBD)
- Fall II: October (TBD)
Notice of Acceptance
Once you’ve submitted your application, expect to be notified about acceptance approximately two weeks after your submission date.
Tuition and Fees
A college education is invaluable. You can take it wherever you want to go or as far as you want to go. The cost of quality education should not get in the way of reaching your goals. Here at Saint Mary’s, we are committed to providing an accessible, quality education that is focused on enhancing your personal and professional growth. Explore cost breakdowns for tuition and other fees of the online Human Resource Management certificate.
Human Resource Management Certificate Careers & Salary
With the online Human Resource Management certificate, you can gain the skills you need for various career opportunities. When you finish your studies, you will have relevant knowledge and experience for human resource manager roles and positions including human resources generalist and compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialist. These professionals are vital in organizations across industries as leaders and personnel experts. The salary breakdown of human resource professionals is:
Human Resources Specialists
$62,2901Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists
$64,1202Human Resources Managers
$126,2303Compensation and Benefits Managers
$127,5304growth rate is expected for human resources managers from 2020 to 20303
of human resources managers earned over $208,000 in 2021.3
What You'll Learn
As a graduate of this program, you will be able to:
- Analyze the role of human resources as strategic business partners in organizational strategy
- Demonstrate an understanding of total rewards practice and strategy, including compensation and benefits
- Analyze organizational policies and procedures on employment law and statutory frameworks
- Evaluate employment practices on recruitment, selection, and performance management
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this program accredited?
Will my Graduate Certificate say that it is from an online program?
Are there set times when I can start the program?
How long does the program take?
Can I transfer credits from another university and graduate program?
Is there a campus residency requirement, or is the program entirely online?
Will I be required to attend online classes during set times?
Is this a self-paced program?
What are the admissions requirements?
Are there any special technology requirements I need for my coursework?
What type of support is available to me? What if I have a question about homework or need help with a technical issue?
Is financial aid available?
How do I get started?
Sources
- Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Human Resources Specialists.” April 18, 2022. Retrieved on June 10, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/human-resources-specialists.htm.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists.” April 18, 2022. Retrieved on June 10, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/compensation-benefits-and-job-analysis-specialists.htm.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Human Resources Managers.” April 18, 2022. Retrieved on June 10, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/human-resources-managers.htm.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Compensation and Benefits Managers.” April 18, 2022. Retrieved on June 10, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/compensation-and-benefits-managers.htm.
*Completion times may vary