MBA in HR: Syllabus, Subjects and Books

MBA in HR is one of the most sought-after courses in India today. It is also one of the core courses in the field. This teaches you organisational relations and people management. It helps you develop skills for discovering talents, hiring employees, appraisal systems, training and development, company regulations, et al.

Moreover, the other aspects of business such as Finance, Marketing and Operations are also parts of its syllabus. If you want to pursue an MBA in Human Resource Management, it is recommended that you also stay updated about the syllabus and the subjects taught in the field. 

Semester-Wise MBA in HR Syllabus

The MBA in HR syllabus is arranged in a simplistic manner. It is also quite comprehensive and encompasses aspects of Finance, Marketing and Operations. This course is distributed among 4 semesters and each semester lasts for 6 months. 

The following table contains the specific courses that you will study if you pursue an MBA in HR:

SEMESTER 1	SEMESTER 2
Management Process and Organisation Theory	Strategic Management
Individual Behaviour in Organisation	Entrepreneurship Development
Managerial Economics	Human Resource Information System
Accounting and Finance	Human Resource Planning and Development
Marketing Management	Training and Development
Production and Operations Management	Performance Management and Competency Mapping
Human Resource Management	Quantitative Techniques in Human Resource Management
Fundamentals of Industrial Relations	Research Methodology for Business
Cross Culture and International Human Resource Management
SEMESTER 3	SEMESTER 4
Economics of Human Resources	Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics
Managing Interpersonal and Group Processes	Managerial Communication and Skill Development
Strategic Human Resource and Management	Compensation and Reward Management
Labour Laws, Compliance and Regulations	Contemporary Employment Relations
Organisational Change and Development	Human Capital Management and HR Audit

List of Subjects for MBA in HR

Human Resources is vital to every organisation's stability and compliance. While pursuing an MBA in HR, you will have to study a wide range of subjects such as Strategic Management, Career Development, Fundamentals of Industrial Relations, among others. 

The following list contains all the specific subjects you will study if you pursue an MBA in HR and the corresponding books that can help you understand the coursework:

Subjects	Book Name & Author	About the Book
Management Process and Organisation Theory, Individual Behaviour in Organisation, Organisational Change and Development	Management Process and Organisational Behaviour  Karam Pal	This book comprehensively covers 2 core subjects in the field of MBA in HR. It is easy to read and tailor-made for a global business and management scenario. It covers organisational practices and behaviour, management theory, et al.
Managerial Economics	Managerial EconomicsWilliam Samuelson	This book outlines the basics of managerial economics. It is written for undergraduates and beginners in the field of managerial economics.
Accounting and Finance Management	Financial and Management Accounting  Pauline Weetman	This book comprehensively covers the fundamentals of finance in business and account management. It is written for business undergraduates.
Marketing Management	Marketing Management  Rajan Saxena	This book covers all the essentials that are required to have a basic understanding of marketing.
Production and Operations Management	Production and Operations Management Paperback Kanishka Bedi	This is a beginner-friendly book that covers all basic concepts in production and operations management.
Human Resource Management, Cross Culture and International Human Resource Management, Strategic Human Resource Management	Human Resource Management Gary Dessler, Biju Varkkey	This book is easy-to-read, beginner-friendly and offers an overview of the Human Resource Management discipline at large. You can consult this book before opting for HRM.
Fundamentals of Industrial Relations, Labour Laws, Compliance and Regulations, Contemporary Employment Relations	Industrial Relations and Labour laws. C. Srivastava	This is an easy to read book that covers all the specific aspects of industrial relations and labour laws in business. It also contains updated information about the regulations and contemporary employee relations best practices.
Strategic Management	Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach, Concepts Fred R. David	This book covers all the various details that entail strategic management in today’s business operations. It is quite analytical
Entrepreneurship Development	Entrepreneurship Development  Abha Mathur	This book helps you learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. It covers all the useful information you need to start your own business or franchise.
Human Resource Planning and Development, Human Resource Information System, Human Capital Management and HR Audit, Economics of Human Resources	Human Resource Management for MBA StudentsIan Henderson	This book provides a holistic understanding of the core subjects in the HRM courses. It is quite beginner-friendly and is highly recommended if you’re looking for an insight into MBA in HR.
Training and Development	Employee Training and DevelopmentRaymond A. Noe	This is one of the best books that contain in-depth chapters about training and development.
Performance Management and Competency Mapping	The Handbook Of Competency Mapping: Understanding, Designing And Implementing Competency Models In Organisations  Seema Sanghi	This book covers various performance management techniques in use today and includes solutions to designing and implementing competency models. It is a beginner-friendly book.
Quantitative Techniques in Human Resource Management, Research Methodology for Businesses	Quantitative Techniques for Management Levine / Render	This book is perfect to learn research tools and methods to perform business or corporate research of any kind.
Managing Interpersonal and Group Processes	Group Work: Theories And Practices  Siddiqui H.Y.	This book provides apt explanations on the current practices and theories in organisational group processes and managing interpersonal relations at the office.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics	Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility  Nina Seppala, Paul Griseri	This book teaches you about ethical practices in business today. It includes guides to maintaining a holistic corporate social responsibility as well.
Managerial Communication and Skill Development	Managerial Communication for Professional Development  Reginald L. Bell,  Jeanette S. Martin	This book contains essential guides about corporate and managerial communications. It also includes chapters on professional development and skill development.
Compensation and Reward Management	Compensation Management  Dipak Kumar Bhattacharyya	This book provides an in-depth understanding of the basics of compensation management and reward systems.

The exact course structure and the subjects taught may slightly vary depending on the institution of your choice however, most of the fundamental subjects are often taught in the first two semesters. The focus is more towards an in-depth specialisation towards the latter semesters. 

Subjects in MBA HR First Year

The courses for an MBA in HR in the first year are similar to the structure of other courses. Most of the fundamentals in operations, finances and human resources are covered during this time. The following is the list of subjects taught in the first year of pursuing an MBA in HR:

Semester 1

Management Process and Organisation Theory

Individual Behaviour in Organisation

Managerial Economics

Accounting and Finance

Marketing Management

Production and Operations Management

Human Resource Management

Fundamentals of Industrial Relations

Cross Culture and International Human Resource Management

Semester 2

Strategic Management

Entrepreneurship Development

Human Resource Information System

Human Resource Planning and Development

Training and Development

Performance Management and Competency Mapping

Quantitative Techniques in Human Resource Management

Research Methodology

As stated before, most of these subjects are core subjects. In other words, most conventional MBA degrees cover these subjects as a part of the fundamentals of business management in the early days of the course itself. These form the basic backbone for the MBA degree in Human Resource Management

Subjects in MBA HR Second Year

In the 2nd year of an MBA degree, most of the specialised courses are taught. If you are pursuing an MBA in HR, this is when most of the specialised subjects will be taught. In this respect, the following are a few of the specialised subjects that will be taught: 

Semester 3

Economics of Human Resources

Managing Interpersonal and Group Processes

Strategic Human Resource and Management

Labour Laws, Compliance and Regulations

Organisational Change and Development

Semester 4

Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics

Managerial Communication and Skill Development

Compensation and Reward Management

Contemporary Employment Relations

Human Capital Management and HR Audit

The exact distribution of the subjects depends on the faculty of the institution you are applying to. Most of the course is distributed in a manner to simplify business processes and organisation understanding. 

Elective Subjects for MBA in HR

In human resources, there are several unique electives you must learn to understand the discipline at large. The following are a few of the subjects you will have to take up if you plan to specialise in human resources:

Human Resource Information System

Human Resource Planning and Development

Training and Development

Performance Management and Competency Mapping

Quantitative Techniques in Human Resource Management

Compensation and Reward Management

Contemporary Employment Relations

Human Capital Management and HR Audit

Economics of Human Resources

Managing Interpersonal and Group Processes

Strategic Human Resource and Management

These courses, however, differ from college to college. Moreover, more than one of them may be clubbed together in certain cases. For instance, a few reputed B-schools provide a specialisation instead of an elective. These specialisations can be in training and development, staffing, talent acquisition, compliance and regulations, to name a few. 

MBA in HR Syllabus of Top Management Colleges in India

In India, most of the top B-schools have a similar curriculum for all the core MBA disciplines. These disciplines include human resources, finance and operations. Moreover, if you are looking to pursue an MBA degree in HR, you must always look up the syllabus and courses taught. 

The data about most of the top B-school courses is available online. You can visit the website of top colleges like IIM Calcutta, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bengaluru, among others to find out more about the course structure and syllabus of the MBA course with a specialisation in Human Resource Management.  

Best Books for MBA in HR

There is a wide range of books to follow in the discipline of Human Resource Management. However, a few of them have been listed below for your understanding of the discipline better:

Sl No	Name of Book	Author/Publisher
1.	Human Resource Management for MBA Students	Ian Henderson
2.	Human Resource Management	Gary Dessler, Biju Varkkey Pearson Publications
3.	HR from the Outside In: Six Competencies for the Future of Human Resources	David Ulrich, Jon Younger, Mike Ulrich, McGraw Hill Publications
4.	Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead	Lazlo Bock
5.	10 Must Reads on Reinventing HR (with bonus article "People Before Strategy")	Harvard Business Review
6.	Design Thinking for Training and Development: Creating Learning Journeys That Get Results	Laura Fletcher, Sharon Boller
7.	Training & Development For Dummies	Elaine Blech
8.	Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility	Nina Seppala, Paul Griseri
9.	Managerial Communication for Professional Development	Reginald L. Bell,  Jeanette S. Martin
10.	Compensation Management	Dipak Kumar Bhattacharyya
11.	Employee Training and Development	Raymond A. Noe
12.	The Handbook Of Competency Mapping: Understanding, Designing And Implementing Competency Models In Organisations	Seema Sanghi
13.	Quantitative Techniques for Management	Levine / Render
14.	Group Work: Theories And Practices	Siddiqui H.Y.
15.	Industrial Relations and Labour Laws	S. C. Srivastava
16.	Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach, Concepts	Fred R. David
17.	Entrepreneurship Development	Abha Mathur
18.	Bring Your Human to Work: 10 Surefire Ways to Design a Workplace That Is Good for People, Great for Business, and Just Might Change the World	Erica Keswin
19.	The Essential HR Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager Or HR Professional	Barbara Mitchell, Sharon Armstrong
20.	Strategic Human Resource Management: An HR Professional's Toolkit	Karen Beaven

There are many other books that you can choose to follow. Besides, you should at least know the syllabus and the subjects that you will be learning throughout the 2 years of pursuing a Master of Business Administration with a specialisation in Human Resource Management.