Human Resource Education & Workforce Development (Graduate Program)

For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.  

Program Overview

The general mission of the School of Human Resource Education & Workforce Development is to prepare professionals who train, educate, and lead people in developing human capital for the workplace at the local, state, national, and international levels. This mission is achieved through a balanced program of teaching, research, and service.

The school has two areas of primary focus: human resource and leadership development; agricultural adult, extension, and international education. These areas address human capital development, organizational science, workplace training and retraining concerns and issues: globalization, human resources, environment and health, occupational safety, the changing workplace, technology, communication skills, workplace literacy and diversity, and career change.

Delivery systems associated with these areas encompass distance learning, contextual learning (applied academics and variable environments), extension and non-formal settings, workplace settings, and formal classrooms (corporate, school, institution). The expected results of study in one of these areas includes better leaders and professionals (e.g., trainers, instructors, administrators, supervisors, researchers, evaluators, consultants) who can address issues related to the establishment and management of worksites, training, and changes in one or more settings of paid or unpaid employment for self, employer, and the community.

The school, recognized as one of the top 20 programs in human resource education in the U.S., maintains membership in the distinguished University Council for Workforce and Human Resource Education. The school has the only comprehensive university human resource education program in Louisiana.

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources must be mailed to: Graduate Student Services, 114 West David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically and departments have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Students seeking admission to this school must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, acceptable GRE or GMAT scores, and three letters of recommendation. International students whose native language is not English must also submit an acceptable TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE score.

Students applying to the M.S. program may have the GRE/GMAT waived if they meet the following criteria:

1. A minimum of a 3.0 GPA in their last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework

2. A minimum of a 3.0 GPA on all previous graduate coursework

3. Three letters of acceptable recommendations

4. Three years of demonstrated successful professional work experience

5. Successful completion of a criterion-based essay as specified by the faculty (see here for more details)

Admission to the PhD program normally assumes successful completion of a master’s degree. Each student must submit at least three letters of reference and evidence of appropriate professional experience. A student may be required to demonstrate acceptable performance in an entrance qualifying examination conducted by appropriate faculty from the school.

Financial Assistance

Graduate assistantships in the school are awarded on a competitive basis to qualified MS and PhD students. All students on assistantship are responsible for a portion of student health care costs, vehicle registration fee, graduation fees, and other fees.

Students who have graduate assistantships are expected to maintain a 3.0 GPA (“A” = 4.0) must register for at least nine semester hours in the fall and spring and six hours in the summer. Most assistantships require the student to be involved in research being conducted in the school; however, some teaching assistantships are available.

Highly qualified students may also be nominated for competitive assistantships awarded by the College of Agriculture and the Graduate School.

Graduate Faculty

(check current listings by department by clicking this link)

Reid Alan Bates ( M) • Human resource development, international development
James C. Bunch (6A) • Technology integration and technology-enhanced instruction by teachers/trainers in K-12, post-secondary, and the workforce, the effects of technology on learner’s achievement and motivation, and contextualized teaching and learning
Michael F. Burnett (M) • Research methodology, research design
Melissa W. Cater (6A) • Evaluation of youth programs and youth engagement, purpose and agency within a non-formal youth development program context
Janet E. Fox (M) • Volunteer Development
John Paul Hatala (3F) • Human resource development, adult learning
Elwood F. Holton III (M) • Human resource development, training and development
Earl C. Johnson (3F) • Philosophy
Geraldine H. Johnson (3A) • Adult learning, diversity
Joe W. Kotrlik (EM) • Curriculum development, program evaluation, career development
James G. McMurry (EM) • Vocational, technical, and industrial education; distance learning
Sunyoung Park (6A) • Organizational culture, learning in the workplace, knowledge sharing, the integration of human resource development, human performance technology, and instructional technology
Petra Robinson (6A) • Issues of race, class, gender, and color; International Adult Learning and Development; Social Justice in Education and the Workplace
Donna H. Redmann (EM) • Philosophy, teacher education, business education
William B. Richardson (O) • Leadership
Tracy Rizzuto (7M) • Industrial/Organizational - Acceptance and training, new technology implementation
Satish E. Verma (EM) • Extension and international education
Sheri Maples Wischusen (3F) • Student Success

Degree Programs

The school offers the MS and PhD degrees. The process leading to the doctoral degree includes completion of all coursework, the general examination, completion of the dissertation, and the final examination.

Programs

• Human Resource Education, Ph.D.

• Human Resource Education, M.S.