Degree Offered
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Nature of the Program
The Human Resource Management (HRM) Major prepares students for managerial roles and empowers students to unlock employee potential, promote well-being, and align workforce strategies with organizational goals within any business, government, or nonprofit environment. This major not only focuses on core HR functions like talent acquisition, training, compensation, and employee relations but also offers specialized knowledge in managing teams, leading diverse work units, and navigating the complexities of employment and labor law. Students can choose from three areas of emphasis: Artificial Intelligence in HR, Global HR, and People and Culture, aligning their education with specific career aspirations. In response to evolving industry demands, the curriculum also integrates data analytics, enhancing students' ability to make informed decisions and optimizing organizational performance. Our graduates develop robust skills in communication, ethical decision-making, coordination, conflict resolution, and team management, equipping them to become effective leaders and valuable assets in any organizational setting.
The HRM Major offers career opportunities such as:
- HR Generalist
- Payroll Specialist
- Talent Acquisition Specialist
- HR Coordinator
- Benefits Administrator
- Recruiting Coordinator
- Onboarding Specialist
- Employee Relations Specialist
Faculty
Chair
- Olga Bruyaka Collignon - Ph.D. (Jean Moulin University Lyon 3, EM Lyon)
Strategic Management, Technology Management and Innovation
Professors
- Mark Gavin - Ph.D. (Purdue University)
Organizational Behavior, Research Methods - Jeff Houghton - Ph.D. (Virginia Tech)
Leadership, Organizational Behavior
Associate Professors
- Olga Bruyaka Collignon - Ph.D. (Jean Moulin University Lyon 3, EM Lyon)
Strategic Management, Technology Management and Innovation - David Dawley - Ph.D. (Florida State University)
Strategic Management, International Business - Tianxu Chen - Ph.D. (Drexel University)
Strategic Management, International Business - James Field - Ph.D. (Virginia Commonwealth University)
Organizational Behavior, Research Methods - Kayla Follmer - Ph.D. (Penn State University)
Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior - XiaoXiao Hu - Ph.D. (George Mason University)
Research Methods, Organizational Behavior - Abhishek Srivastava - Ph.D. (University of Maryland)
Organizational Behavior
Teaching Professor
- Rebecca Thacker - Ph.D. (Texas A&M)
Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior - Thomas Zeni - Ph.D. (University of Oklahoma)
Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Business Ethics and Law
Professors Emeriti
- Neil Bucklew
- Randyl D. Elkin
- Jack Fuller
- Richard W. Humphreys
- Ali H. Mansour
Associate professors emeriti
- Gerald Blakely
Teaching associate professor emeritus
- David Cale
Admissions for 2026-2027
For specific information regarding the admissions requirements for First Time Freshmen to the John Chambers College of Business and Economics, please visit Chambers admissions.
Students who are direct admitted to the major as first-time freshmen must possess an overall university GPA of at least 2.5 and have completed the course prerequisites listed in the table below with minimum grade of C-, unless otherwise noted, to be eligible to enroll in upper-division course work.
Students who are not direct admitted to the major (i.e. Business) will declare the major at the beginning of the semester in which they satisfy the course prerequisites listed below. Applicants also must possess an overall GPA of at least 2.5 to be considered for admission to the major.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT 201 | Principles of Accounting 1 | 3 |
| BCOR 121 | Introduction to Business Applications | 2 |
| ECON 201 & ECON 202 | Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics | 6 |
| ECON 225 | Elementary Business and Economics Statistics | 3 |
| or STAT 211 | Elementary Statistical Inference | |
| Choose one of the following: | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
| Accelerated Academic Writing | ||
| MATH 124 | Algebra with Applications | 3 |
| Total Hours | 20-23 | |
Major Code: 2153
Click here to view the Suggested Plan of Study
Human Resource Management Program Requirements
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations | ||
| F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
| F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
| F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
| F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
| F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
| F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
| F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
| F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 31-37 | |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Degree Requirements
To qualify for the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration students must meet the following criteria:
- Complete a minimum of 120 credit hours.
- Possess an overall GPA of 2.0 or higher.
- Possess a minimum GPA of 2.0 for all Major Courses calculated using all attempted GPA hours unless excluded by the D/F repeat policy.
- The John Chambers College of Business and Economics accepts all baccalaureate transferable course work completed at public and private colleges in West Virginia and other regionally accredited institutions. Since the College is AACSB accredited, upper-division courses (courses equivalent to 300/400 level at WVU) must be evaluated by the Dean or designee before they may count toward business core, major core and major restricted electives in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration or Bachelor of Science in Economics program.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| University Requirements | 34 | |
| Program Requirements | 23 | |
| Business Core Requirements | 33 | |
| Human Resource Management Major Requirements | 30 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
University Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations (GEF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (31-37 Credits) | ||
| Outstanding GEF Requirements 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 | 16 | |
| BCOR 191 | First-Year Seminar | 1 |
| General Electives | 17 | |
| Total Hours | 34 | |
Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT 201 | Principles of Accounting 1 (Minimum grade of C-) | 3 |
| BCOR 121 | Introduction to Business Applications (Minimum grade of C-) | 2 |
| ECON 201 | Principles of Microeconomics (Minimum grade of C-; may fulfill GEF 4) | 3 |
| ECON 202 | Principles of Macroeconomics (Minimum grade of C-; may fulfill GEF 8) | 3 |
| Select one of the following (Minimum Grade of C-; may fulfill GEF 1): | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
| Accelerated Academic Writing | ||
| Select one of the following (Minimum grade of C-; may fulfill GEF 8): | 3 | |
| Elementary Business and Economics Statistics | ||
| Elementary Statistical Inference | ||
| MATH 124 | Algebra with Applications (Minimum grade of C-; may fulfill GEF 3) | 3 |
| Total Hours | 23 | |
Business Core Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENTR 102 | Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| BCOR 199 | Introduction to Business | 3 |
| BCOR 299 | Business Communication (Fulfills Writing and Communication Skills Requirement) | 3 |
| BCOR 320 | Legal Environment of Business | 3 |
| BCOR 330 | Information Systems and Technology | 3 |
| BCOR 340 | Principles of Finance | 3 |
| BCOR 350 | Principles of Marketing | 3 |
| BCOR 360 | Supply Chain Management | 3 |
| BCOR 370 | Principles of Management | 3 |
| BCOR 380 | Business Ethics | 3 |
| BCOR 460 | Contemporary Business Strategy | 3 |
| Total Hours | 33 | |
Human Resource Management Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Possess a minimum GPA of 2.0 for all Major Courses, calculated using all attempted GPA hours unless excluded by the D/F repeat policy. | ||
| HRMG 200 | Diversity and Inclusion Management | 3 |
| MANG 330 | Human Resource Management Fundamentals | 3 |
| MANG 422 | Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| HRMG 440 | Training and Development | 3 |
| HRMG 450 | Talent Acquisition & Performance Management | 3 |
| HRMG 480 | Employee and Labor Relations | 3 |
| Area of Emphasis | 12 | |
AI in HR | ||
Global HR | ||
People and Culture | ||
| Total Hours | 30 | |
Suggested Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| BCOR 199 | 3 | ACCT 201 | 3 |
| BCOR 191 | 1 | ECON 201 (GEF 4) | 3 |
| BCOR 121 | 2 | ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 |
| ENTR 102 | 3 | HRMG 200 | 3 |
| MATH 124 (GEF 3) | 3 | GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 3 |
| GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ECON 202 (GEF 8) | 3 | BCOR 299 | 3 |
| ECON 225 (GEF 8) | 3 | BCOR 340 | 3 |
| ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 | BCOR 350 | 3 |
| GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 3 | BCOR 370 | 3 |
| Minor or General Elective | 3 | Minor or General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| BCOR 320 | 3 | BCOR 360 | 3 |
| BCOR 330 | 3 | HRMG 450 | 3 |
| MANG 330 | 3 | MANG 422 | 3 |
| GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 3 | Area of Emphasis | 3 |
| Minor or General Elective | 3 | GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| BCOR 380 | 3 | BCOR 460 | 3 |
| HRMG 440 | 3 | HRMG 480 | 3 |
| Area of Emphasis | 6 | Area of Emphasis | 3 |
| Minor or General Elective | 3 | GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 3 |
| Minor or General Electives | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total credit hours: 120 | |||
Areas of Emphasis
AI in HR Area of Emphasis
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HRMG 455 | AI Applications in HRM | 3 |
| MANG 426 | Introduction to Decision Analysis | 3 |
| MANG 434 | People Analytics | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Business Data Mining and Visualization | ||
| Introduction to Business Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence | ||
| Managing Information Technology | ||
| Database Management Systems | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Global HR Area of Emphasis
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MANG 315 | Cross-Cultural Communication | 3 |
| MANG 360 | International Business | 3 |
| MANG 485 | Global Strategic Issues | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Intercultural Communication | ||
| Professional Field Experience | ||
| Faculty-Led Study Abroad | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
People and Culture Area of Emphasis
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| COMM 306 | Organizational Communication | 3 |
| MANG 434 | People Analytics | 3 |
| MANG 480 | Corporate Social Responsibility | 3 |
| or HRMG 491 | Professional Field Experience | |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Cultural Anthropology | ||
| Race and Ethnic Relations | ||
| Complex Organizations | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Major Learning Outcomes
Human Resource Management
The objective of providing a foundational education in management at the undergraduate level cannot be realized without appropriate curricula content, effective teaching, and ultimately, learning. Within the undergraduate management major, we subscribe to the following learning goals for each of our undergraduate students:
- Graduates will acquire the knowledge of basic functional areas of human resource management.
- Graduates will be able to deal with the dynamics of individuals and teams within organizations and to motivate, lead, and inspire employees toward achieving organizational goals.
- Graduates will have an appreciation of the ethical, legal, and regulatory issues impacting the decision-making process.
- Graduates will recognize the opportunities and challenges associated with the global marketplace.