Human Resources & Industrial Relations Requirements & Deadlines

All MHRIR applicants must complete the University Online Application. For full-time program: select "Human Resources and Industrial Relations M.HRIR" as your proposed major in the application. The University's application can be saved and continued later.

To be considered for admission, you must have a first university degree that is equivalent to a 4-year U.S. bachelor's degree. Students with a 3-year degree from India do not satisfy this minimum requirement and must complete an additional year of accredited post-baccalaureate study before submitting an application to the program.  

Unofficial transcripts must include your name and the name of the institution and can be uploaded in the online application or emailed to [email protected] for attachment to your application file. Please do not mail in paper copies of your transcript. 

You will need to submit a transcript from each college or university where you have completed coursework before your application will be considered complete and reviewed by the admissions committee. This includes institutions where you have earned credit that transferred towards degree credit at another college/university. Third Party credential evaluation reports and degree planning audit documents are not accepted as equivalent to a transcript.

If you have previously enrolled at any University of Minnesota campus, you can obtain electronic copies of your transcripts from OneStop Services. 

There is no need for official transcripts or academic records for initial admissions review. Official transcripts will be required if you are admitted to the program.

The University of Minnesota reserves the right to require the submission of official transcripts or credentials any time during the admission review process.

You must submit essay responses to the questions detailed below (approximately 2 pages maximum). Please answer each prompt separately. You may copy/paste each prompt into your document. The admissions committee will review both the content of your responses and your ability to communicate clearly in writing.

• What attracts you to human resources as a field? Why is the Master of Human Resources & Industrial Relations program the next logical step for you in your career, and why are you interested in the Carlson HRIR program specifically?
• Tell us about a time you contributed to improving a process, system, or experience for others in one of the following situations: at work, during an internship, in a student organization, or in a classroom project. Describe the challenge, the steps you personally took to address it, and the outcome.

• The video essay is a required component of the application that provides candidates with an opportunity to show the admissions committee the authentic you.  Think of this video essay as if you were answering an interview question with a member of our admissions committee.
• You will need to use a computer with camera and microphone capabilities. You will have the ability to test your technology before starting the video essay and submit a practice video essay.
• You can test your technology and run the practice simulation as many times as you wish to be comfortable with the format and technology.  You will be able to review your practice video essay(s) and your recording(s) will not be saved beyond the testing phase and will never be reviewed.
• You can also practice responding to impromptu questions offline with a friend or colleague before completing the video essay portion of your application.
• You will be prompted to click "Ready" once you are prepared to submit an official video essay.  You will be asked one impromptu question from a bank of imaginative or behavioral questions selected by our admissions team.
• Two minutes (120 seconds) will be provided to prepare an answer and two minutes (120 seconds) to record an answer.   Recording will automatically stop after two minutes.  You are not required to use the full two minutes.  If you have time remaining once complete with your response, click the "Stop Recording" button to end the recording.
• You will only be provided one attempt to record your official video essay.

Prepare a current resume that includes a detailed education and employment history in no more than 3 pages.

Resume guidelines

• Include any honors or scholastic awards you have received.
• Be sure to include any national or international fellowships for which you are currently applying or have received.
• Give titles of publications and of any research, inventions, or other creative work you have done.
• Include any relevant extracurricular or volunteer activities in which you've participated.
• List both employer and official position held.
• Specify both month and year for dates of employment in each role.
• Detail job responsibilities and accomplishments in approximately 3-5 bullet points.

For additional guidance, visit our Carlson Business Career Center's resume advice webpage, and feel free to use their resume template to simplify the process.

Upload your completed resume in the online application where prompted for Resume or CV.

We require two recommendations for application to the Human Resources and Industrial Relations (HRIR) program. These recommendations can be from any combination of professional and academic recommenders, though we strongly prefer that at least one recommendation come from a supervisor or current employer if you have professional experience.

Please note that you do not need to solicit letters of recommendation from your recommenders. We partner with GMAC for the Common Letter of Recommendation, so you simply need to provide contact information for your recommenders and the form will be automatically routed to them via email for completion. The form does include an optional section to attach a letter of recommendation if your recommender chooses to add that component.

We recommend getting started on your application early so you can enter the recommender contact information right away before continuing to work on your application. Both recommenders must complete the GMAC form before your submitted application is considered complete. This means all recommendations must be received before the deadline for which you would like to be considered.

Standardized tests (the GRE or GMAT) are part of how we review your application for admission. These tests can help to show your ability and potential in our program. However, you may opt out of submitting these scores and still be considered for admission.  (Note: An Academic Readiness Statement is no longer required to apply).

Some applicants may feel that test scores do not fully reflect their academic potential. If this is the case for you, you may choose not to supply the GRE or GMAT scores with your application. Key elements to highlight include coursework in a relevant field (e.g., performance in microeconomics, business administration, law, public policy, sociology, or industrial/organizational psychology courses); a summary of experience with industry research; structured professional development activities; and/or quantitative work relevant for the field of HRIR.

The GRE or GMAT continues to be a part of our holistic admissions process and we encourage you to submit your scores if you feel that they are reflective of your academic ability and potential. We know that you may be taking one of these tests for other schools and would encourage you to submit your scores here as well if you wish. Although there are no absolute qualifications for admission to the MHRIR program, most admitted students score at the 40th percentile or better on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE or GMAT. 

For those students submitting GRE or GMAT scores, those scores must be from within the past five years. And you should send your official scores to us by using the following codes:

• GRE: (institution) 6874, (department) 4204 - If this department code is not listed, please choose undecided. As long as the institution code is correct, it will be sent to the Grad School.
• GMAT: D2N-VJ-64 - Please self-report your scores on your application as well as sending them to us. We will use self-reported scores for the admission decision and if you are admitted, we will then add your official score report and verify that it matches your self-reported scores.

GRE (Graduate Record Examination)

GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test)

In a document, please list all relevant courses you have taken in each of the following five subject areas under the appropriate subject name. Please do not list courses more than once under different headings. Then upload the document below.

1. Human Resources and Industrial Relations
2. Business/Management
3. Economics
4. Psychology
5. Statistics/Math

International and domestic applicants whose first language is not English must provide proof of English language proficiency. Proof of English language proficiency is measured according to the categories detailed below. You are not exempt if you have lived in an English-speaking country for several years, but have not completed any prior education in English.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Applicants providing an exam score must have an exam date within two years of the graduate program start date. Exams exceeding two years will not be accepted.
• We do not offer an option for the English language ability to be assessed upon arrival on campus.

For additional details regarding this requirement, please visit the Office of Graduate Admission's website or contact them at [email protected].   

$75 (non-refundable) for U.S. citizens
$95 for international applications and U.S. residents with foreign credentials

Your application fee will be automatically waived if you have served in the U.S. Armed Forces for any length of time prior to submitting an application. We are unable to offer application fee waivers to any other applicants.

Make sure you don't miss a step in your application process. 

Additional Information and Requirements for International Applicants