The MS in Human Resource Management (HRM) with a concentration in Positive Human Resource Development trains HR professionals to provide positive, strengths-based leadership to functions in management, recruitment, training, and development.

In the first-ever program in Positive Human Resource Development, you’ll learn positive, strengths-based leadership skills critical to the future of the human resources field, including how to leverage employee and organizational strengths to drive success. Learn what it takes to create an attractive corporate culture, increase employee engagement, infuse meaning into work, cultivate organizational commitment, and enhance employee well-being in an array of professional settings.

Program Highlights
  • CGU’s MS program in Human Resource Management has been recognized by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) as being in alignment with the SHRM HR Curriculum Guidelines.
  • You can pursue dual degree options within Management (MBA) and Psychology (MA).
  • The MSHRM program offers flexibility by scheduling only evening and weekend classes to accommodate busy working professionals.
  • Your faculty are a combination of high-level working HR professionals mixed with academics who publish in areas of HR, leadership, organizational effectiveness, and HRM.

In the Positive Human Resource Development concentration, you will benefit from our proximity to the Positive Organizational and Positive Developmental Psychology programs and faculty of CGU. You will learn state-of -the-art theory and practice in small, intimate classes taken alongside other HRM and positive psychology students, taught by world-renowned faculty who are advancing the science of positive psychology.

Consider the Human Resource Management program at Claremont Graduate University if:

  • You are looking for an application-driven master’s program rather than a theory-driven or research-intensive one.
  • You are interested in organizational behavior, organizational development, and consulting.
  • You are looking to transition into a career in HR.
  • You are a seasoned HR professional seeking career advancement.

The human resource management program seeks students who have strong leadership ability or who show the potential for strong leadership ability in order to be successful strategic business partners in their organizations. Our students come from a diverse range of academic and professional backgrounds. They are in high demand because they understand how to be successful in a technology driven and globally representative economy.

Program at a Glance

UNITS
40 – 44 units

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME*
2-3 years

*Actual completion times will vary and may be higher, depending on full- or part-time course registration, units transferred, and time to complete other degree requirements.

COURSES BEGIN
Fall | Spring

DIVISION
Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

DEGREE AWARDED
MS in Human Resource Management

Featured Courses

HRM 360
Positive Careers & Coaching

Explores classic and contemporary research on career development and coaching, with a focus on the psychology of career decisions, mindsets, and models of career coaching.

PSYCH 342
Science of Human Flourishing

Provides a powerful formative experience at the graduate level to engender a transdisciplinary dialogue around the complex phenomenon of human flourishing.

PSYCH 329
Foundations of Positive Psychology

Introduces the history, intellectual sources, and main topics of research and application in the burgeoning field of positive psychology.

HRM 324
Global HR & Diversity

Covers major cultural differences in values and attitudes, and encourages students to identify the future agenda of international HRM for themselves and/or their organizations.

PSYCH 319
Organizational Behavior

Surveys core areas of organizational behavior, exploring theory, research, and selected applications on topics such as organizational structure, roles, technology, communication, and more.

HRM 357
Workforce Planning, Talent Management

Examines analytical methods for evaluating internal and external information for short- and long-range strategic HR planning.

Faculty & Research
  • Jessica Diaz profile image

    Jessica Diaz

    Director, Human Resource Management
    Assistant Professor

    Research Interests

    Organizational behavior, employee experience, psychological safety, diversity, equity, and inclusion, leader development, statistics and methodology

  • Cindi Gilliland profile image

    Cindi Gilliland

    Professor of Practice in Organizational Psychology

    Research Interests

    Social Innovation, Resilience & Well-Being, Diversity and Inclusion

  • Michelle Bligh profile image

    Michelle Bligh

    Executive Vice President & Provost
    Professor of Organizational Behavior

    Research Interests

    Leadership, Organizational Culture, Charismatic Leadership

  • Becky Reichard profile image

    Becky Reichard

    Associate Professor

    Research Interests

    Development of those not typically represented in leadership roles (e.g., women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+), Psychological mechanisms underlying the process of leader development (e.g., feedback, goal striving, self-views, implicit theories, leader development readiness), Development of leadership through experiences outside of the work context (e.g., global, sports, volunteering, crisis)

  • M. Gloria González-Morales profile image

    M. Gloria González-Morales

    Associate Professor of Psychology
    Faculty Director, Preparing Future Faculty

    Research Interests

    Work stress; work-life issues; workplace victimization and incivility; relational practices and cultures; diversity; positive organizational interventions to enhance well-being and performance.

  • Stephen Gilliland profile image

    Stephen Gilliland

    University Professor

    Research Interests

    Organizational Justice, Employee Attitudes and Motivation, Leadership

  • Paul J. Zak profile image

    Paul J. Zak

    Professor of Economic Sciences, Psychology & Management
    Director, Center for Neuroeconomics Studies

    Research Interests

    Neuroeconomics, Neuroscience of Narratives, Neuromanagement

Adjunct Faculty

Paola Amaro Alvarez, MS, SPHR, PHRca, SHRM-SCP, PCC

Vice President, West Region
Human Resources Business Partner
Hines


Maren Dollwet Waggoner, PhD

Senior Vice President, Field People
Walmart U.S.


Jennifer Jaffe, MS

Chief People Officer
FIGS


Dana Mayhew, MPA, SPHR, PHR-ca, SHRM-SCP

Founder and Principal, TDC Consults
Chair Governmental Affairs, PIHRA


Scott Mazo, MS, SPHR

Human Resources Director
DCI Hollow Metal


Scott Schroeder, PhD

Professor of Management, School of Business & Communication
Chaminade University


Ron Smedley, MS

President, Founder
Synergistic Resource Associates


Scott Wheeler, Esq.

Proprietor/Owner
Law Offices of Scott Wheeler


Sheilesha Willis, PhD

Head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
GEM

Where You Can Find Our Alumni

Request information about the Positive Human Resource Development program

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Regina Burch

Assistant Director of Admissions
T: 909-607-9421
E: regina.burch@cgu.edu