Master of Management Studies in Human Resource Management

at The University of Waikato - Hamilton Campus New Zealand

Explore how national, regional and local state institutions formulate and implement policies when you study Public Policy at Waikato. You'll also examine how non-profit organisations, individuals and businesses address issues of public concern.

Government decisions influence our lives on a daily basis. They affect the price of our housing, clothes, food, transport and water. They determine the types of jobs we do, how much we are paid and where we live.

Studying Public Policy equips you with the skills to understand and interpret current affairs, deal with government in your future profession or business, and work within government or for groups that lobby government. It is particularly suitable for students who want a career in the public sector, and for employees of organisations that are seeking to influence public policies.

At Waikato, Public Policy is an interdisciplinary subject. That means you can combine it with programs from a variety of other disciplines, creating a program, of study to suit your needs. The minor in Public Policy offers both structure and flexibility – there's a compulsory paper at each level of study, but you'll also have the freedom to focus on the particular policy areas that most interest you. Choose from papers on economic, educational, environmental, ethnic, foreign, population and social policy.

In your studies you'll discuss theories of organisation, decision-making and administration, public management, and how public officials work and interact with the public sector and the political executive. You'll learn to examine policies in the context of political values and culture, economic constraints and political party agendas, and come to understand how and why particular policies are adopted by governments.

Geography matters because it is about basic human relationships - between people and the environment, and between people and other people. Ranked among the top geography program in the world, the Geography program at Waikato is the only solely human geography program in New Zealand.

Geography at Waikato goes beyond the classroom and opens you up to numerous career opportunities. Upon graduation, our students pursue careers in urban and regional planning, regional economic development, travel and tourism development, environmental consultancy, as well as the property and housing industry and local government.

The Environment and Society masters program is designed for graduates of undergraduate qualifications in social sciences, environmental sciences, law, economics or management.You build on your qualifying degrees to gain advanced knowledge and critical analysis of the many and diverse perspectives applied to understanding and addressing environmental challenges.

You will complete a selection of core papers and engage in independent research in the area of environmental and societal inter relationships. The structure of the degree also allows you to include relevant papers from other disciplines such as environmental science, law, and management, and provides an ideal way to encourage close interconnections between theory and practice across a broad range of issues and topics relevant to environment and society.

Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management (IR&HRM) builds your skills through papers in Education Studies, Human Resource Management, Labour Studies and Psychology. This interdisciplinary approach gives you a multi-perspective understanding of how legislation frames IR&HRM, the relationship between education and training and employability in a globalised environment.

We gear program content and learning experiences to prepare for employment as well as for those who want to further their studies. You'll benefit from combined learning with the Labour Studies and Social Policy programs, as well as a multitude of other programs in Economics, Education Studies, Geography, Psychology, Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies.

Labour Studies, Education Studies and Psychology are particularly advantageous to combine with IR&HRM due to their strong focus on disciplinary fields. While subjects such as Geography, Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies have a more theoretical perspective and interdisciplinary focus. You are also encouraged to explore second majors or supporting subjects relevant to your long term career aspirations such as Economics.

New technologies are revolutionising every aspect of business - from banking and finance to agriculture and healthcare, no industry has been left untouched. Successful businesses of the future will be digitally advanced businesses.

This subject prepares future managers for a fast-evolving world where 'disruptive' digital technologies – such as big data, mobile and gamification – have changed the rules of the game when it comes to business operations, marketing and customer service.

By studying Digital Business at Waikato, you'll be introduced to a wide range of e-business technologies that today's managers need to understand. And you'll develop the ideal blend of managerial, business and IT skills to pursue a career as a tech-savvy manager.

Once you graduate, you'll be in hot demand among companies looking to secure a competitive advantage.

In such roles, you're likely to be working on digital transformation projects with web developers, UX designers and analysts to introduce new technologies that offer superior business performance.

Computer Science is rapidly changing the world we live in. Studying Computer Science at the University of Waikato, you'll learn about software systems and how people and computers interact. You’ll also learn how to create new software, and ensure it's easy for people to use.

A major in Computer Science is flexible, allowing you to focus on a particular area, or to complete a more generalist major. The papers available are carefully designed to ensure you have a good mastery of a particular area of Computer Science and will equip you with the skills you need to succeed in your chosen career.

Waikato is well-recognised internationally for our computer science research, and have especially enjoyed success with open source software development.

Students have the opportunity to work alongside internationally-respected academics on a wide range of exciting and innovative research projects in areas such as:

• Broadband communication
• Data compression
• Digital libraries
• Formal methods
• Human-computer interaction
• Machine learning
• Software engineering
• Cyber security.

Learn about Population Studies through the National Institute for Demographic and Economic Analysis at Waikato and gain a solid, research-led understanding of the population issues facing developed and developing countries, with a particular emphasis on the South Pacific.

The National Institute for Demographic and Economic Analysis (NIDEA) is a research institute based in the University's School of Social Sciences. It is New Zealand's sole national institute of demographic and population-focused research, and the only such unit to generate and coordinate New Zealand research in population studies.

Population problems are among the most serious challenges we face for the 21st Century. Population issues have implications for the environment, employment, families, health, urbanisation, migration, security in old age and refugee movements. It is vital that research develops integrated approaches to these issues, and policy makers and planners pay serious attention to population trends, their causes and effects.

At Waikato, our Population Studies program takes a particular look at trends in New Zealand and the broader South Pacific region. You will learn about, and be involved in, research into Maori demography, population health, family structures and formation, fertility, the labour force and employment relating to New Zealand, as well as work on India, Africa, Europe, the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. You will become familiar with themes such as mortality, social policy, fertility, migration, families and households, labour force and income, and will understand the contrasting population problems faced by developed and developing countries.

Marketing is essential for attracting customers to purchase a company's products or services. It helps to create strong, unique brands that will stand out from their competitors in the crowded global marketplace.

Marketing is far more than just selling or advertising – ultimately, it is marketing that decides what products and services an organisation will offer, to which customers, at what price, using which channels.

In first year you'll take part in a Marketing Tradeshow where you'll put theory into practice. In this fun assignment, you'll work in a team to develop an innovative idea for a new product or service based around a theme, such as tourism, board games, chocolate or sports. Your team will conduct customer research and plan a full marketing mix strategy, including product / packaging design, promotion, price and place of distribution. You'll be encouraged to dress up in costumes on the night, with prizes awarded for best stand, best costumes, and best overall product.

You'll also have the opportunity to study specialist areas of marketing such as digital marketing, brand management, marketing research, consumer and buyer behaviour, services marketing, and business development and sales.

If music is your passion, then Waikato has a programme of study to suit. We teach Western Classical Music – from Baroque to contemporary, through performance, composition and musical scholarship. If you're inclined to the modern, we offer papers in sonic art and new technologies.

Our staff are highly qualified professionals, active nationally and internationally as composers, performers and musicologists. Music is their passion too, and our common aim is to help you develop the technique and understanding you'll need to reach your full musical potential.

The Arts are an essential part of living. Engaging in the arts offers significant intrinsic societal value, enhances academic outcomes and contributes to overall quality of life. Students in Arts Education papers will gain specific discipline knowledge and a broader understanding of the Arts in educational settings through hands-on learning opportunities that nurture curiosity and creativity.

Arts Education papers invite participants to explore their passion, enhance their practice and articulate the value and significance of the Arts in society.