Human Resources Management students.

Graduate Certificate in Human Resources Management

Elevate Your Human Resources Management Career

This graduate certificate equips professionals in schools, nonprofits, and small businesses with practical HR skills and a strong theoretical foundation to apply in their workplaces.

The Graduate Certificate in Human Resources Management is designed for professionals working in school districts, non-profit organizations, and small businesses who want to enhance their HR expertise. The program combines practical skills with a solid theoretical foundation, preparing students to manage human resources effectively in a variety of organizational settings.

Through five carefully structured courses, participants will develop competencies in key areas such as employee relations, recruitment, performance management, and organizational development. The program also emphasizes applying knowledge directly to real-world contexts, allowing students to implement HR strategies that address the unique challenges and needs of their workplaces.

What will you study?

    • Human resource management activities across a variety of professional contexts
    • Competencies to develop, support, and improve organizational effectiveness
    • Designing and supporting staff training, development, and appraisal
    • Relevant labor laws, labor negotiations issues, and practices
    • Benefits, compensation & enhancement of the work environment and their connection to successful employee retention strategies

Program Coursework Requirements

Completion of this graduate certificate requires five core courses designed to provide a comprehensive foundation in human resources management.

BUS 500 Human Resources Management

The objective of this course is to provide the student with a fundamental background in all the functional areas of human resources such as recruiting, selecting, training, developing, and evaluating personnel. Human resource management teaches theories and practices related to hiring processes, administrative services, performance management, staff administration, and employee performance appraisal to students to learn how to motivate and enhance employees’ contributions to maximize the productivity of an organization. Various current topics in human resources will be discussed such as reverse discrimination, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, managerial obsolescence, labor law, collective bargaining, Artificial Intelligence as well as international human resource management.

BUS 505 Organizational Theory & Design in Non-Profit Organizations
BUS 510 Legal Issues in Human Resources Management
BUS 515 Performance Management and Employee Training
BUS 520 Compensation and Benefits

Contact Us

Division of Graduate & Continuing Education
University of Maine at Farmington
Theo Kalikow Education Center
186 High Street
Farmington, Maine 04938