Course description

• This degree is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development(CIPD), which paves the way for you to secure associate membership of this prestigious professional body when you graduate
• You will learn how to create HR policies and strategies which engage employees, nurture talent and improve organisational performance
• You can combine your HR specialism with strong business credentials and gain a respected Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Diploma to complement your degree
• Professional mentoring will enrich your study experience: you will have the opportunity to engage with an external CMI and CIPD mentor – business professionals currently working in HR and Management in the workplace
• Work-related learning, live consultancy projects, topical case studies and business simulations will give you plenty of opportunities for hands-on experience
• You can choose to take a placement year between years two and three of your degree

This degree fosters specialist HR skills and knowledge alongside business acumen so that you are fully prepared for HR roles where you can add significant value to an organisation.

It is closely aligned to standards set by the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. You’ll gain up-to-date and relevant skills, learning how to plan and implement HR policies and strategies in the workplace and exploring the contribution of HR in the wider context of talent management, employee engagement and business performance.

We cover vital themes including the recruitment, management and retention of employees; how employment law can be used to tackle workplace problems; discrimination, equality and diversity; development of effective management and leadership; the role of HR in high performance working; and the contemporary issues shaping the HR landscape in modern organisations. The BA (Hons) Business Management and Human Resource Management is offered as a four-year degree to include a placement year. You can, however, study on a three-year full-time basis, with opportunities for internships in the summer breaks.

Professional recognition

CIPD membership is a key requirement for most UK jobs in the HR field and is increasingly recognised globally too. Because this course is accredited by the CIPD, you can join the Institute as a student member during your studies. On successful completion of the degree, you can then become an associate member, which will help you secure your first HR role and support your developing career.

We expect you to take up student membership of the CIPD during the second and third stages of the course. There is a wide range of membership benefits including exclusive study and career resources, local branch events and the CIPD mentoring scheme. (You will need to pay the Institute directly for membership.)

The BA (Hons) Business Management and HRM has also been developed in close collaboration with the premier professional body for managers, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Ours is one of the few degrees in the country where you can graduate with an extra CMI qualification: the Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership. The Diploma is the benchmark qualification for full CMI membership and takes you a step towards Chartered Manager status. You won’t need to take extra exams or coursework to achieve it: our combined module and CMI assessments offer a smooth route to both qualifications.    

Specialist mentoring

Thanks to the CIPD and CMI accreditation, this degree introduces you to a privileged network of contacts. You’ll have the opportunity to be supported by a CMI mentor at every stage of your degree.

Your mentor will be a senior business person – either a Chartered Manager or Fellow of the CMI with a wealth of experience and insights to share with you. They will advise and coach you from a business perspective, showing how the management and HR principles you are learning can be applied directly to the workplace.

To sharpen your focus on the HR profession, you are also encouraged to apply for a CIPD mentor to give you additional guidance in the second and third stages of the degree.  

Hands-on learning

You’ll take the theories off the page and put them into practice in real-world scenarios. You can test your ideas through business simulations, topical case studies and employer-led projects that show how academic knowledge can be translated into management practice in the workplace. You can expect to take an active role in classroom sessions ­– whether learning how to negotiate for your share of a salary pot, to appraise an employee or to design and run a training and development session.

We support you to take an optional placement year or summer internship to enhance your employability. Our students have secured invaluable experience with organisations such as the NHS, the National Trust and Lubrizol. One student completed a placement in Europe working on the recruitment of legal professionals. If you take a year-long placement, you will have the chance to gain an additional qualification – the Diploma in Professional Practice – to add to your CV.

Live consultancy projects, where you help employers to improve their business performance, will build your HR, research, project management, problem-solving and decision-making skills. You could also benefit from fieldtrips to see business in close-up: recent visits have included a trip to the CIPD National conference in Manchester and the CIPD Midlands Student Conference.

Expert teaching

You’ll be taught by an experienced and highly qualified team with an impressive track record for research and a national reputation for excellence. The team has extensive contacts in the business and HR community and you can draw on those connections for inspiration and insight. You will be encouraged to engage with the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire CIPD branch to start to build networks with other HR professionals. The branch stages events at the University where you can make new contacts in a professional forum.

Global thinking

Your learning will be enriched by international perspectives. Ours is a global student community and the BA (Hons) Business Management and HRM not only attracts students from all over the world to Derby but is also delivered for our educational partners across Europe and Asia. It means there is a lot of potential for inter-country debates, seminars and guest lectures delivered online, international case studies and joint projects.

In your second year, you’ll have the option to spend an exchange week in Barcelona studying at the EU Business School, one of our academic partners which runs the same degree and where teaching is in English. You could also take advantage of other optional visits overseas: a trip to Copenhagen saw our students investigating issues such as art fraud and business ethics.