University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2021/22 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Social Sciences and Law > School of Management - Business School > Human Resource Management and the Future of Work (MSc) > Specification
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Programme code | 9MGRC020T |
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Programme type | Postgraduate Taught Degree |
Programme director(s) |
Huw Thomas
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Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
School/department | School of Management - Business School |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 1 years (full time) |
The University of Bristol’s MSc in Human Resource Management (HRM) and the Future of Work (FoW) is a specialist postgraduate master’s programme designed in response to the challenges, opportunities and questions posed by the future(s) of work. The future of work has been subject to significant debate in recent years. Leaving aside the question of whether robots will ‘take our jobs’ or create a utopian ‘automated worklessness’, it is clear that technological development may mean that today’s skills may not match the jobs of tomorrow. The greening of our economies will inevitably create millions of jobs, but many traditional forms of work will also disappear and left to its current course, the digital economy is likely to widen both regional and gender inequality and facilitate increasing precarity and exploitation. The future(s) of work may create several challenges, but countless opportunities exist to improve the quality of working lives, close the gender gap and reverse the damages inflicted by global inequality. To seize these opportunities, students need not just the knowledge and intellectual abilities to understand the world of work, but to be better at complex problem-solving, communicating to different audiences, working, collaborating and empathising with others and adapting to changing trends and developments. This programme will equip students with these necessary future skills enhancing their employability, engagement and citizenship.
This programme is distinctive because of its emphasis on engagement and influence and a critical and reflective learning approach that responds to, understands and addresses the contemporary and future challenges facing the world of work. Innovative aspects of the curriculum will include (amongst many others) a focus on alternative work and organisation, digital economy, sustainable work and international employment relations. Driven by the pedagogic innovation and enhancement emanating from the Bristol Institute of Learning of Teaching (BILT) the curriculum of this programme will be research-rich, intellectually challenging and internationally relevant. The programme will also equip students with the necessary skills to enhance their employability.
This 12-month full-time programme provides state-of-the-art knowledge of the future(s) of work. Graduates from the MSc in HRM and FoW will not only be able to demonstrate a deep knowledge and understanding of the studied subject and ability to engage in future thinking, but they will also have a critical self-awareness of their role and capabilities within the organisational and institutional environment. Throughout the programme, students will be encouraged to apply their knowledge and intellectual abilities to address a number of the ‘grand challenges’ noted above. This will improve their decision making and practice capabilities for their future professional careers in a wide range of organisations. Students who graduate from the programme will have garnered skills in: future-casting, critical thinking, synthesising different kinds of evidence, framing complex questions and lines of inquiry, socially responsible decision-making, collaborative working and self-reflection.
The main aims of this programme are to:
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Lectorials will be used combined with self-directed learning (individually or part of a group) to achieve all Programme Intended Learning Outcomes in the ‘Knowledge and Understanding’ category (PILO A1- A5) Where possible and appropriate, delivery of unit content will be technology-enabled, e.g. using blended learning techniques (PILO A4, A5) because learning contemporary issues in the area of HRM and FoW requires collaboration, co-production and co-design. Students are empowered to learn in a structured and facilitated learning environment. Problem-based learning will also be employed where appropriate (PILOs A1- A5). In-class exercises or mini-case study projects can be used for students to engage in problem-solving and active learning. For dissertation projects, students will be allocated a supervisor with whom they will hold regular supervision meetings during the whole duration of dissertation project (PILOs A1-A5). |
Methods of Assessment | |
The following methods of assessment are related to all the Programme Intended Learning Outcomes (PILOs A1- A5) in the ‘Knowledge and Understanding’ category. Students will be subject to a range of formative and summative assessments across the programme. Formative assessment may be formally or informally delivered according to what is appropriate to the learning outcomes of the individual units. The form and/or method of assessment and associated learning outcomes should reflect those in the summative assessment to allow students to assess the progress of their learning. Students will be notified of the mode the formative assessment will take, its purpose and method of assessment at the outset of the unit and details will be included in unit handbooks and Blackboard. The summative assessment strategy for each unit will be clearly outlined in the unit handbook, together with the learning outcomes to be assessed and the assessment criteria. A unit’s summative assessment strategy will be determined by what unit directors believe to be pedagogically appropriate given the required intended learning outcomes. They may take a variety of forms; reports (PILOs A1- A5), individual or group presentations (PILOs A1- A5), posters and policy guidelines (A1, A3, A5) literature reviews (PILOs A1, A2) and reflective diaries (A1, A4-A5). Problem-based assessment, inclusive assessment and technology enhanced assessment for individual units will be used as appropriate. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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The development of intellectual skills is embedded in the delivery of unit content/knowledge; the teaching methods are similar to those used in knowledge and understanding namely, lectorials (PILOs B1-B4) and self-directed study - individual and in groups (PILOs B1-B4). Embedded within those, we would also use: problem-based learning; and blended learning where appropriate. |
Methods of Assessment | |
The assessment of intellectual skills will be embedded in the assessments for all the units to be delivered. A holistic approach to assessment will be taken by the Programme Director to ensure this. Students are expected to proactively engage with unit content and participate actively to develop intellectual skills and abilities. Chosen methods of both formative and summative assessment of Programme Intended Learning Outcomes (PILOs) will be determined by what individual unit directors believe to be pedagogically appropriate given their unit’s intended learning outcomes. Each unit’s assessment strategy is mapped against the PILOs to make sure all programme level ILOs are addressed by the unit level ILOs. Formative assessment may take a range of forms but should reflect the nature or learning outcomes and thereby allow the student to gauge levels of personal progress. Types of formative assessment may include (but are not limited to) poster presentations (PILOs B1-B4) group presentations (PILOs B1-B4), self-reflective diaries (PILOs B1-B4) or literature reviews (PILOs B1-B4). Summative assessment of intellectual skills can take a range of forms and may include (but not limited to) individual presentations (PILOs B1, B3 and B4), group presentations (PILOs B3, B4), literature reviews (PILOs B1 and B3) and group projects (PILOs B1-B4). Furthermore, problem-based assessment, inclusive assessment and technology enhanced assessment for individual units will be deployed as appropriate. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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The teaching method and strategy for employability and transferable skills is not standalone but integrated in the teaching and delivery of the units drawing upon the Bristol Skills Framework. Each unit has designed ILOs for employability and transferable skills, which will be aggregated to contribute to the overall programme level of employability and transferable skills. The use of lectorials will facilitate and augment these practical, professional and transferable skills (PILOs C1-C5). |
Methods of Assessment | |
The assessment of employability and transferable skills will be embedded in all the units to be delivered. Students are expected to proactively engage with unit content and participate actively to develop employability and transferable skills, alongside their intellectual skills, knowledge and understanding. Chosen methods of both formative and summative assessment will be determined by what individual unit directors believe to be pedagogically appropriate given their unit’s ILOs. Each unit’s assessment strategy is mapped against the PILOs to ensure all programme level ILOs are addressed by unit level ILOs. The assessment of practical, professional and transferable skills is mostly conducted in the lectorials, essays/assignments and guest lectures by experts from a wide range of organisations. Summative assessment of practical, professional and transferable skills related to how students engage with the theoretical and applied content of the unit/programme can take a range of forms including individual presentations (PILO C1, C2, C3 and C5), group presentations (PILO C1- C4), individual projects (PILO C1-C3 and C5), group projects (PILO C1-C5) through engaging with contemporary and future issues in organisations and using appropriate theoretical frameworks to understand and address these issues. Formative assessment may include (but not limited to) poster presentations (PILO C1- C4) and group presentations (PILO C1, C3, C4). Summative assessment will be set to enable students to demonstrate transferable skills and is not limited to personal and group presentations. |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level M/7 - Postgraduate Certificate |
For a Postgraduate Certificate, students are required to complete the first term taught units in the programme. The structure of the degree programme has been designed to engage the student in a cumulative process of developing skills and knowledge through a sequence of complementary stages. In the first term, all Certificate, Diploma and Masters’ students develop foundational knowledge and understanding of the main subfields of human resource management and the future of work and their theoretical and conceptual frameworks; they develop general intellectual skills and attributes necessary for that knowledge and understanding; and are required to develop several practical skills. |
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Level M/7 - Postgraduate Diploma |
For a Postgraduate Diploma, students are required to complete all the taught units in the programme. In the second term, all Diploma and Masters’ students acquire a deeper knowledge and understanding of the main subfields of human resource management and the future of work and their theoretical and conceptual frameworks. These units explore more specialised topics that nevertheless build on the material learned in the first term. The intellectual and practical skills learned in the first term are also developed, applied and extended. |
Level M/7 - Postgraduate Masters |
The dissertation or applied extended project acts as the culmination of the student's progress through the degree programme, as she/he applies the appropriate technical, methodological and intellectual skills that have been developed to a piece of applied research or extended project devised in consultation and supervised by a staff advisor and located clearly within the field of human resource management and the future of work. |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the postgraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/postgraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
The University of Bristol MSc in HRM and FoW is a globally competitive, distinctive and interdisciplinary programme and will be taught by world leading academics. It will emphasise a critically driven, theoretically ambitious, empirically embedded and analytically reflective learning approach, to understand and address the societal and industrial challenges related to the world of work. Innovative features of the programme include a focus on the future(s) of work, sustainability and a transition to a low-carbon economy, alternative organisations, the governance of labour, people management in a global context and ‘decent work for all’. This programme builds on the School of Management’s commitment to a social science approach to research and education, to create a flourishing, equitable, and sustainable world by advancing a progressive approach to management and organisation in business, government, and society. Successful completion of the programme driven by the University of Bristol’s Education Strategy (2017-2023) and Bristol Skills Framework will enable students to find relevant careers in a wide range of private, public and non-for-profit organisations.
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Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
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Human Resource Management in the Global Economy | EFIMM0131 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
International Employment Relations and Governance | EFIMM0132 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Work in Capitalist Society: Change and Continuity | EFIMM0133 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Alternative Work and Organisations | EFIMM0134 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Researching Human Resource Management and the Future of Work | EFIMM0135 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Sustainable Work Futures in the Digital Economy | EFIMM0136 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Dissertation in Human Resource Management and the Future of Work | EFIMM0137 | 60 | Mandatory | AYEAR |
180 |
The pass mark set by the University for any level 7(M) unit is 50 out of 100.
For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.
All taught masters programmes, unless exempted by Senate, must allow the opportunity for students to exit from the programme with a postgraduate diploma or certificate.
To be awarded a postgraduate diploma, students must have successfully completed 120 credit points, of which 90 must be at level M/7.
To be awarded a postgraduate certificate, students must have successfully completed 60 credit points, of which 40 must be at level M/7.
An award with Merit or Distinction is permitted for postgraduate taught masters, diplomas and certificates, where these are specifically named entry-level qualifications. An award with Merit or Distinction is not permitted for exit awards where students are required to exit the programme on academic grounds but is permitted in designated programmes (as set out in the programme specification) where students choose to withdraw from the intended programme but otherwise achieve the necessary credit points for the exit award.
The classification of the award in relation to the final programme mark is as follows:
Award with Distinction*: at least 65 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for masters awards, at least 70 out of 100 for the dissertation. **Faculties retain discretion to increase these thresholds.
Award with Merit*: at least 60 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for masters awards, at least 60 out of 100 for the dissertation. Faculties retain discretion to increase these thresholds.
* The MA in Law has separate regulations for awarding distinction and merit.
** For the award of Distinction, the Faculty of Engineering requires at least 70 out of 100 for the taught component overall and, for masters awards, at least 70 out of 100 for the dissertation.
All taught masters programmes, unless exempted by Senate, must allow the opportunity for students to choose, or be required, to leave at the postgraduate diploma or certificate stage.
To be awarded a postgraduate diploma, students must have successfully completed 120 credit points, of which 90 must be at level M/7.
To be awarded a postgraduate certificate, students must have successfully completed 60 credit points, of which 40 must be at level M/7.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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