Best Online Human Resources Degrees of 2024

Earning an HR degree can help you make a difference in the lives of employees and companies of all sizes. Human resources professionals can work in areas like talent acquisition, retention, and benefits packages. Their skills and expertise can be essential for building a positive company culture.

A bachelor’s in HR can prepare you to become a human resource specialist. HR specialists are in high demand, with jobs projected to grow faster than the average growth rate for all occupations over the next decade. Below, you can find the best online HR degree programs, average program costs, and career options for the next steps.

A bachelor’s degree in human resources usually requires 120 credits and takes four years of full-time study. Earning a degree online gives you the flexibility to take asynchronous or synchronous courses and fit studying into your schedule.

Some HR programs are generalized in their focus, while others offer concentrations in areas like business administration or organizational leadership.

Common classes in an online human resources program include:

When choosing an online human resources program, consider factors that can influence your online education experience. Here is an overview of other major considerations:

Programs can be synchronous or asynchronous. Some online schools use a cohort model where you and a group of classmates all take classes together in a predetermined schedule. Other institutions let you choose your own courses each semester. Look for programs that fit your schedule and learning style. Research schools’ degree concentrations and minors if you want to specialize your knowledge toward specific subfields.

Seek schools with institutional accreditation from a recognized accrediting body. Institutional accreditation signifies that a school meets standards of academic excellence and is required for the school to qualify for state or federal financial aid. Employers typically prefer employees with accredited degrees.

Programmatic accreditation is optional, but demonstrates that a specific department or program’s coursework helps prepare students for jobs in the industry. While human resources programs don’t have their own programmatic accrediting body, HR is a business specialization, so you can look for programmatic accreditation from major business accreditors.

The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs and AACSB International are two of the most widely recognized business-specific programmatic accreditors.

Most bachelor’s degrees take four years to complete, but you can finish your HR degree in as few as three years with an accelerated program. If you want a graduate degree, you can also complete a dual BA-MBA in human resources in 4-5 years. Part-time programs, which can take five years or more, can be helpful if you’re trying to earn your degree while working full time.

According to the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), the average cost of undergraduate tuition at public institutions in the 2022-23 school year was $9,750 for in-state students and $28,297 for out-of-state students. Not factoring in annual tuition increases, this equates to a total of $39,000 and $113,188 for four years of undergraduate study. For private colleges, the average annual tuition was $35,248 — $140,992 for four years.

Some colleges offer reduced or in-state tuition for online students, which can make distance education more affordable. Applying for financial aid through private scholarships and grants, FAFSA, and your school can help lower tuition costs.Many undergraduate human resources degrees run as concentrations within business programs. The table below compares the average tuition costs of online and traditional, in-person business programs.

According to Payscale data from October 2024, HR managers with under a year of experience earn an average salary of $56,000 annually, while professionals with 10-19 years of experience average $81,000.

Job title, employer, geographic location, and experience can all influence salary. For example, HR managers in Washington earned an average annual wage of $91,220 in 2023, while those in Indiana only averaged $65,610.

Human resources can be a good career if it matches your professional goals and your skills. In this people-centered job, you can make positive impacts on your company’s culture. All HR-related careers offer higher-than-average salaries, with manager-level roles paying median salaries more than twice the national median wage for all workers, which was $48,060 in 2023.

Careers in this field are also in demand: The BLS projects job growth rates ranging between 6% and 12% from 2023 to 2033 for jobs in this field, all faster than the national average growth projection of 4%.