MSc Human Resources Management Curriculum
The programme consists of 12 core taught modules, assessed through a blend of written examinations and continuous coursework. Taught modules run across two terms: Michaelmas Term (September–December) and Hilary Term (January–April). The final Trinity Term (April–August) is dedicated to your dissertation.
Michaelmas Term |
Hilary Term |
Trinity Term |
|---|---|---|
|
September-December Michaelmas Term |
January-April Hilary Term |
May-August Trinity Term |
Note: Modules offered each academic year are subject to change. The modules listed above and below are the modules for 2025/26.
Module Descriptions
HR Digitalisation & AI Practice (5 ECTS)
Explore how AI is reshaping the workplace. Engage directly with companies and real-world challenges to see how digital tools are transforming recruitment, engagement, and talent development. Learn by doing in Trinity’s AI-XR Innovation Lab, where immersive tech meets human resource strategy.
How this fits your MSc journey: Build practical expertise in cutting-edge HR practices that employers value, combining digital fluency with strategic thinking.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand people analytics: Grasp core concepts and why they matter in modern HRM.
- See theory in action: Discover how organisations use analytics to solve real HR challenges.
- Evaluate impact and ethics: Weigh the benefits and risks of AI-driven HR solutions.
- Think critically and ethically: Reflect on how data, storytelling, and ethics influence decisions.
- Deliver actionable insights: Craft responsible, evidence-based recommendations for real companies.
Human Resource Management (5 ECTS)
Shape organisational success by understanding how to attract, develop and retain talent through effective HR strategies. Gain practical insight into the policies and frameworks that align people management with organisational goals, culture and performance.
How this fits your MSc journey: Lays the foundation for advanced HR modules by building essential knowledge of HRM theory and practice.
Learning outcomes:
- Apply core HRM theory: Translate key concepts into effective people management strategies.
- Understand HR’s role: Evaluate how HR supports organisational goals within real-world contexts.
- Promote sustainability: Assess the wider impact of sustainable HRM on employees and society.
- Link HR to performance: Analyse how HR practices influence strategic outcomes.
- Use research effectively: Identify and apply high-quality HR research to practical challenges independently and in teams.
Learning and Organisation Development (5 ECTS)
Drive real impact by designing learning strategies that unlock talent and support organisational change. Build the skills to deliver engaging, effective development initiatives while shaping culture and leading transformation.
How this fits your MSc journey: Equips you to lead learning and change across teams and organisations.
Learning outcomes:
- Align learning with context: Evaluate how internal and external factors shape development needs and plans.
- Diagnose learning gaps: Apply methods to identify L&D needs across individuals, teams and organisations.
- Design impactful learning: Use theory to choose and justify effective instructional approaches.
- Facilitate with confidence: Deliver learning experiences tailored to diverse roles and organisational levels.
- Support organisational change: Assess culture and implement development strategies that drive transformation.
Performance and Rewards Management (5 ECTS)
Unlock high performance by aligning employee goals with organisational success. Explore how smart reward strategies can shape behaviour, reflect values and drive results beyond basic benchmarking. Learn to tailor reward systems that motivate, engage and support long-term business goals.
How this fits your MSc journey: Builds critical HR and strategy skills for designing performance and reward systems that support sustainable growth.
Learning outcomes:
- Develop strategic policies: Create performance management practices that enhance both employee and organisational outcomes.
- Apply performance techniques: Recommend the right mix of rewards and sanctions to drive results.
- Critically evaluate systems: Assess the effectiveness and challenges of reward management frameworks.
- Understand reward theory: Engage with key debates and models shaping modern reward thinking.
- Design competitive structures: Build equitable and market-aware reward systems, including for international and executive roles.
Researching HRM (5 ECTS)
Master the tools to ask sharper questions and design stronger studies. Learn how to plan and pitch empirical HRM research that stands up to academic and professional scrutiny. Build confidence in your ability to collect and analyse data, while developing a practical proposal to guide your dissertation.
How this fits your MSc journey: Equips you with the research mindset and methods needed to excel in your dissertation and any HRM research-led role.
Learning outcomes:
- Build research confidence: Gain practical skills to design and deliver HRM research projects.
- Understand research foundations: Explore key philosophies, methodologies and the role of theory in social science.
- Justify your approach: Learn to define research questions and select methods that fit your aims.
- Engage with literature: Review and apply existing research effectively to support your study.
- Practice responsible research: Understand ethical standards and best practices in academic research.
People Analytics (5 ECTS)
Harness the power of data to make smarter HR decisions. Learn how leading organisations use people analytics to align strategy, enhance employee experience, and drive business outcomes. Explore the ethical dimensions of workforce data while gaining hands-on skills in interpreting, evaluating, and applying analytics.
How this fits your MSc journey: Build a strong foundation in evidence-based HRM that prepares you to lead with insight and integrity.
Learning outcomes:
- Master core concepts: Understand the purpose and potential of people analytics.
- Apply analytics in context: See how data informs real HR strategies and decisions.
- Assess value and risk: Evaluate the organisational impact and ethical considerations.
- Think critically and ethically: Reflect on the role of data, narrative, and responsibility in HR.
- Make practical recommendations: Translate analytics insights into actionable solutions.
Developing Skills for Leadership and Coaching (5 ECTS)
Lead with purpose by mastering the behaviours and ethics that define responsible leadership. Develop the practical coaching skills needed to inspire teams, adapt to challenges and create lasting impact in any organisational setting.
How this fits your MSc journey: Sharpens your leadership mindset and prepares you to guide others through effective, ethical and situationally aware decision-making.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand leadership approaches: Explore key models including servant and ethical leadership.
- Adapt your style: Apply leadership behaviours that suit different team needs and contexts.
- Practise core skills: Build confidence through hands-on exercises and real-world simulations.
- Coach for impact: Use coaching techniques to support individual and team development.
- Lead ethically: Promote sustainable, human-centred leadership practices.
Employment Law & Business Ethics (5 ECTS)
Safeguard your organisation and people by mastering the legal and ethical foundations of the workplace. Learn how to navigate complex employment rights, resolve disputes and make sound decisions that balance business goals with fairness and compliance.
How this fits your MSc journey: Builds your capability to lead responsibly by aligning HR practices with legal standards and your own ethical values.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand key legal principles: Evaluate the foundations of Irish employment law and its practical impact.
- Advise with confidence: Identify legal risks and guide teams through employment law challenges.
- Respond to legal action: Lead strategic responses when disputes or legal proceedings arise.
- Stay legally informed: Keep pace with legal developments and assess their organisational implications.
- Balance ethics and law: Critically assess how ethical decision-making supports a fair and compliant workplace.
International Human Resource Management (5 ECTS)
Confidently manage people across borders by mastering global HR strategies and cultural complexities. Learn how to adapt HR practices to diverse environments, balancing global standards with local realities and ethical responsibilities.
How this fits your MSc journey: Prepares you to lead HR initiatives in multinational contexts, navigating cross-cultural and regulatory challenges with confidence.
Learning outcomes:
- Analyse global HR drivers: Understand the key factors shaping HR practices in multinational companies.
- Master IHRM theory: Apply core concepts and frameworks to international HR challenges.
- Address ethical issues: Evaluate the social and ethical dimensions of managing a global workforce.
- Adapt HR strategies: Critically assess and implement varied approaches to international HRM.
- Collaborate globally: Develop skills to tackle HR challenges independently and within diverse teams.
Managing Employee Relations (5 ECTS)
Understand what truly shapes the modern workplace by examining how global, legal and psychological forces influence the employment relationship. Gain a critical edge by learning how to manage complex dynamics between employers, employees and institutions in an ever-evolving landscape.
How this fits your MSc journey: Equips you to navigate and influence employee relations in diverse organisational and international contexts.
Learning outcomes:
- Explore core theories: Understand competing perspectives that explain employment relations.
- Manage key actors: Analyse how different stakeholders shape the employment relationship.
- Evaluate legal impacts: Assess how law and policy influence HR strategies and outcomes.
- Understand psychological dynamics: Examine how individual experiences are affected by organisational practices.
- Integrate systems thinking: Connect employment relations processes with performance and engagement outcomes.
Resourcing and Talent Management (5 ECTS)
Secure your organisation’s future by mastering how to attract, develop and retain the right people. Explore strategic talent planning across the employee lifecycle, from recruitment to retention, while embedding inclusion and agility into every step.
How this fits your MSc journey: Strengthens your ability to build workforce strategies that align with business goals and adapt to changing labour market trends.
Learning outcomes:
- Respond to labour trends: Analyse how market shifts affect talent strategies and workforce planning
- Manage the talent cycle: Understand and apply key activities across recruitment, development and retention
- Plan with precision: Carry out effective job analysis and workforce planning
- Evaluate selection methods: Critically assess tools for hiring the best-fit candidates
- Champion inclusion: Design talent systems that promote equality and diversity
Work Design and Health (5 ECTS)
Create healthier, more productive workplaces by learning how design, psychology and culture shape employee wellbeing. Understand the science behind stress, safety and performance, and discover how to design roles that support mental health and minimise risk.
How this fits your MSc journey: Equips you to build work environments that enhance wellbeing and reduce burnout, supporting long-term organisational performance.
Learning outcomes:
- Design for wellbeing: Apply key work design principles to improve employee health and efficiency.
- Understand workplace stress: Identify causes, impacts and solutions for managing stress at work.
- Apply positive psychology: Use strengths-based approaches to boost motivation and resilience.
- Reduce errors and accidents: Examine how design and culture influence safety outcomes.
- Promote mental health: Implement job crafting techniques to support psychological wellbeing.
Dissertation (30 ECTS)
Take charge of your learning with a self-directed research project that strengthens your analytical and problem-solving skills. Explore a key HR issue and support it with empirical evidence and academic research. Build your expertise, refine your research techniques and enhance your career focus.
How this fits your MSc journey: Apply your knowledge to a theoretical issue, demonstrating your readiness for professional or academic advancement.
Learning outcomes:
- Frame a strategic HR issue: Identify a problem that matters to theory.
- Interrogate current thinking: Critically engage with literature, policies and practices in HR.
- Choose and apply research methods: Assess and implement the best tools for your research context.
- Deliver evidence-based insights: Analyse data rigorously and communicate results with clarity.
- Reflect and project forward: Articulate what you’ve learned and how it supports your next steps.