Human Resource Management MA: After you graduate

"Having recently graduated from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)-accredited masters in human resources, I am even more confident that my decision to read this course has been a life changing one for me, both professionally and personally.

To study in a foreign university with an extremely diverse set of students, a different course structure and duration (normally masters-level courses are for two years) and the return to being a full-time student after a hiatus of nearly two years were certain contextual challenges that made me a bit sceptical initially. However, all these 'fear-points' acted as enablers for me and eventually at the end of the course became the 'learning-points' which enriched my overall experience at Kingston University.

The unique selling point of this course was its rich and diverse batch of students comprising of students coming in from all parts of the world, from different academic backgrounds and with different levels of professional experience. This ethnic, academic and professional mix was the true value addition to the course which helped me appreciate how important individual differences are for learning. This aspect also helped prepare students for the professional life ahead.

The pedagogy of the course combined with the course structure (reports, case studies and exams) has been effective in helping me develop the ability of critical enquiry into the human resources theories and frameworks as well as address live issues in host organisations. I have also learned how to make effective use of the academic resources like books and journals in the library to produce well-researched assignments and management reports; something which will imminently be a part of my professional life.

Like with many learning processes, I can sense that the activities that I carried out on this course have disciplined my attitude towards my goals and sparked that drive for continuous learning and improvement along with an ability to network and form professional relationships within the University as well as with professional bodies like the CIPD. While working on my dissertation, I was placed in the Human Resources Department at the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science. This for me was an example of my improved employability.

After the completion of the course, I was awarded the Dean's Prize which was an honour and recognition of my efforts and contribution on this course. In a nutshell, the course has definitely made a huge difference to my professional skills and HR-specific knowledge which was my aim when I decided to take up the course. I joined the course as an individual who had limited employment choices but I graduated from it with new found confidence and sound HR knowledge to take on professional challenges in life."