Many organisations say "our people are our greatest asset"; HR helps take this statement from aspiration to reality. The HR major helps develop an understanding of motivation at work, how HR functions identify talent to match the needs of the business, and how organisations ensure that employees gain competence required for their roles. Legal, ethical and evidence-based approaches underpin decisions about people and stakeholders in organisations; the major covers these issues along with contemporary industrial relations/modern employee-employer relationships. The major also covers organisational design, change management, developing human capital, strategic HRM, performance management, people analytics, recruitment and selection.

What can students do with this major? Graduates take roles in HR teams providing support to managers. They can then progress to designing interventions to support productivity, change or growth, leading (global) teams, partnering with senior executives and providing advice to boards. HR careers exist in public & private sectors, employee associations, and in consultant roles providing specialised advice in national and international business arenas.