Information about the degree program
Human Resource Management - nowadays, this includes more than just organizing employees’ wage payments or managing personnel files. In an increasingly complex and dynamic environment, modern HR work is based on the understanding that a company's employees are the crucial resource for its sustainable success. The identification, recruitment, development and long-term retention of skilled employees are the central tasks in human resource management today.
The master’s degree program Human Resource Management (M.Sc.) includes theoretical and methodological knowledge as well as practical skills in dealing with personnel-related tasks and enables students to develop and apply company-specific solutions in human resource management.
In the degree program, scientific demands and practical orientation complement each other, and in addition, students learn soft skills through teamwork and presentations and develop the ability to work independently through project work. In accordance with the didactic concept, the various modules teach social and methodological skills, and here, in particular, the practical skills and abilities needed to master methods and instruments required for future responsibilities.
The modules complement and build upon the content and concepts developed in the modules of the bachelor's degree programs related to human resources. The goal is to promote the ability to grasp complex and cross-disciplinary connections [interdisciplinarity]. By means of case work and exercises, the acquired knowledge is made clear and intensified in a practice-oriented manner.
The integration with other master's degree programs at the Department of Economics at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences offers suitable elective modules in the areas of business law and business administration in the 1st and 2nd semesters.
Additional information
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Types of instruction of the program
Lectures are largely held in seminar style (including discussions). Students deepen their specialist knowledge with interactive case studies focused on current issues in human resource management. The relatively small group size of up to 25 students provides a suitable framework for interactive learning and supports the feedback process between lecturers and students. In the seminars, groups work on theoretical assignments and practice-oriented case studies. Students demonstrate the contents and results through presentations. In addition to the presentation, students are required to write a term paper as assessed coursework for a seminar. The specific goal of this type of instruction is to promote students' methodological and social skills. In their project work, students independently develop solution proposals within project assignments formulated form practice and practical exercises. In addition, internships allow students to apply the theoretical knowledge they have acquired to a corporate environment. Excursions are designed to give students an exemplary insight into the working methods, organization and production methods of companies. Find out more information about the degree program in the examination and degree program regulations as well as in the module description handbook
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Degree program modules
The degree program is module based. A module is a content-related course in which students are required to take an examination or submit some other type of verifiable academic achievement. In addition to the compulsory modules, elective modules with a certain number of credits must also be completed.
Module description handbook MA Human Resource Managament [PDF, 2.000 KB] (in German)
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Curriculum
1st Semester
Compulsory modules
- Operatives Human Resource Management
- Seminar Compensation & Benefits
- Organisationsentwicklung
- Managerial Economics
Elective modules (choose 1 each)
- Elective modules (elective module catalog for Commercial Business Law)
- Elective modules (elective module catalog for Business)
2nd Semester
Compulsory modules
- Human Resource Management
- Business Coaching
- Managerial Leadership
- Human Resource Projekt
Elective modules (choose 1 each)
- Elective modules (elective module catalog for Commercial Business Law)
- Elective modules Multivariante Methoden oder Survey Analysis
3rd Semester
- Compulsory modules
- Mobility semester (semester at another domestic or foreign institution)
4th Semester
- Compulsory modules
- Master’s thesis
- Master’s colloquium
The compulsory modules of semesters 1 and 2 teach in-depth knowledge of human resource policy fields of action. The seminars “Compensation & Benefits” and Business Coaching address topics that are particularly important due to their high significance for HR work in companies. The modules contained in the elective catalog are from the fields of business studies, economics and business law and were selected to meet the objectives of the program. They are directly related to areas of action in personnel policy. The module Human Resource Management - Projekt, as well as the extended scientific project in semester 3 include practical assignments in the field of human resource management. The extended academic project must generally be completed in cooperation with a company; the projects of semesters 1 and 2 can also include practice-related topics without cooperation with a company.
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Program sequence
The master's degree program in Human Resource Management includes course work in the scope of 120 ECTS credits with a workload of 30 hours per ECTS point. The program is divided into three program sections. Semesters 1 and 2 each contain 4 compulsory modules (a total of 8 compulsory modules in both semesters) and 2 elective modules per semester (a total of 4 elective modules in both semesters). The goal is to specialize students in a professional field through the teaching of scientific models and methodological concepts offering in-depth knowledge of human resource management. Semester 3 is available to students as a mobility semester. In this semester, students must complete an extended academic project in practice with a minimum duration of 24 weeks involving a thematic focus on human resource management. Alternatively, students can complete course work totaling 30 ECTS credits at a partner university abroad. A learning agreement is the basis for the recognition of coursework completed at a university abroad and thus ensures that the selected modules at partner universities are relevant to the degree objective. As a third option, students can complete modules from other master's degree programs of the Department of Economics at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences to the amount of 30 ECTS credits. The master's thesis and the colloquium in semester 4 conclude the degree program.
Semester schedule
1st Semester
- 12 weeks - lectures
- 4 compulsory modules
- 2 elective modules - 4 hours per week per semester
- 3 weeks examinations
- 30 credits
2nd Semester
- 12 weeks - lectures
- 4 compulsory modules
- 2 elective modules - 4 hours per week per semester
- 3 weeks examinations
- 30 credits
3rd Semester
- Mobility semester (semester at another domestic or foreign institution) with 3 different options:
- Remaining at Anhalt University
- Completing a subject-specific module in a master's degree program at a partner university abroad
- Extended scientific project in a company with a minimum duration of 24 weeks with subject-specific tasks related to the master's degree program
- 3 weeks examinations
- 30 credits
4th Semester
20 weeks master's thesis and colloquium 30 credits (25 master's thesis, 5 colloquium) Total: 120 Credits
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Cooperation agreements
The connection to business practice is developed based on existing cooperation agreements of the Department of Economics of Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and will be expanded in the future. On the initiative of individual professors, a wide range of contacts are maintained with regional and supra-regional business enterprises and organizations (e.g., Solvay Deutschland GmbH Bernburg, Serum-Werk Bernburg, Datev eG, SAP-AG, etc.) and are used to ensure a practice-oriented education. This specific orientation is expressed in particular through the joint supervision of students in internships, projects and the master's thesis, but also through excursions to companies, guest lectures by practitioners, and through cooperation in inter-company committees and working groups (e.g., regional personnel managers' group, BVMW, etc.).
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