By The Numbers

Illinois’ human resources graduate programs are widely known by employers and students as one of the top three programs in the world for human resources and industrial relations.

Enrollment

Our 2022-23 student body includes 168 MHRIR on-campus master’s students who come from 73 undergraduate institutions (44 domestic and 29 international), 55 majors, 13 states + Puerto Rico and eight countries.

The class is 72% female, 48.8% minority (20.2% African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian; 28.6% Asian American). The class is 32% international. Thirty-five percent have at least one year work experience and the average age is 24.

The Ph.D. program typically has 12-15 students enrolled concurrently.
Doctoral Student Profile

New Graduate Salaries

Domestic graduates reported a total first-year salary of $5,802,422. For full-time entry-level hires, the average private sector salary was $82,500.  Interns reported a total summery earnings of $1,060,910 averaged $5,300 per month or $31 per hour.
Full Salary Statistics (PDF)

Alumni Network

At this time, there are over 3,200 alumni employed in more than 30 countries around the world. Among them are senior corporate executives, government officials, HR consultants, union officials, faculty members and university administrators.

What our grads say.

Our alumni enjoy amazing careers from the moment they graduate because of the education and preparation they received while in the program. But don’t just believe us… listen to their own words! You can also hear from alumni and current students on the Listen & LERn Podcast!

“The program is a game changer for HR careers”

“This ended up being the
best decision I ever made… by far”

Learn more about our Ph.D program

Master’s isn’t what you’re looking for? The human resources Ph.D. program at Illinois will provide an invaluable depth of knowledge to begin an academic career in employment relations.