Become a Leader in Human Resources

It’s more important than ever for employers to attract, motivate, and retain the most qualified employees. Organizations of all kinds — corporations, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, etc. — depend on their human resources staff to not only match employees with the jobs for which they are best suited, but to enhance their productivity and limit turnover.

Increasingly, employers look for college graduates who have majored in human resources, human resources administration, or industrial and labor relations to lead the organization’s workforce in a positive direction.

Why Labor and Employment Relations at Penn State

Penn State World Campus, in partnership with the University’s highly regarded Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations, offers two bachelor's degree programs in labor and employment relations to prepare you for careers in human resources as generalists or specialists in compensation, benefits, diversity, labor relations, safety and health, and training and recruitment. They can also prepare you for careers in government, unions, and in dispute resolution.

Penn State’s Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations has offered undergraduate degree programs since its founding in 1942. As a student in one of the United States’ largest undergraduate programs for labor studies and employment relations, you can acquire the comprehensive knowledge you need to address today’s most important issues in human resources and employment relations.

Choose the Online Labor and Employment Relations Degree That Fits Your Career

• The bachelor of arts program relies on a curriculum steeped in the social sciences, humanities, and language as a supplement to the prescribed labor and employment relations courses. It helps you explore the world of work from the perspectives of sociology, rhetoric, and literature.
• The bachelor of science program offers the prescribed curriculum in labor and employment relations, with additional course electives in management, communications, and accounting to prepare you for the more quantitative aspects of a career in the field of labor relations.

Both degree programs are excellent pre-law majors and can also prepare you to pursue a graduate degree in human resources management, industrial and labor relations, social sciences, and public administration. One such graduate degree opportunity is the Master of Professional Studies in Human Resources and Employment Relations that is also offered online through Penn State World Campus.

Who Should Apply

The bachelor’s degrees in labor and employment relations are designed for people who are either currently working in human resources or labor relations, or who are interested in pursuing a career in these areas.

Career Opportunities for HR Graduates

Most of our graduates pursue a career in human resources working with private companies, health care facilities, educational institutions, or other nonprofit organizations. Others may choose instead to work with government agencies such as the Department of Labor or the National Labor Relations Board to administer and enforce labor and employment laws. Still others have used their new skills in dispute resolution to pursue careers as arbitrators, mediators, or in labor unions as a representative of the interests of employees in the workplace.

As a graduate of a labor and employment relations degree program, you can prepare for positions such as:

• human resources generalist
• human resources — compensation specialist
• human resources — benefits specialist
• human resources consultant
• training specialist
• employee recruiter
• field agent, National Labor Relations Board
• administrator, U.S. Department of Labor
• union organizer
• union representative and negotiator
• mediator, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
• arbitrator
• labor and employment relations attorney (with JD degree)

Online Education at Penn State

Penn State has a history of 100+ years of distance education and more than a decade of experience in online learning. We strive to create an online learning environment that brings you as close to the face-to-face experience as possible. Learn more Penn State World Campus.