The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has named DePaul University’s Master’s of Science in Human Resources degree program as the first program in the nation to fully align its curriculum with new academic guidelines established by SHRM.

The designation recognizes DePaul’s program for its quality and thoroughness and signifies that graduates of the program are being taught the skills that employers emphasize when seeking human resources (HR) professionals.

“This stamp of approval from the preeminent human resources society shows that we offer a curriculum that is practical and relevant,” said Daniel Koys, associate dean of the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, who founded the program.

The curriculum guidelines were issued in 2006 by SHRM, which worked with HR practitioners and academics to identify the standard set of skills that HR students need to succeed in the business world. The guidelines recommend 13 core course topics and 11 complementary elective subjects that a graduate human resource degree program should include, while encouraging flexibility, creativity and innovation in the teaching of these topics.

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the main business school accreditation body, supports the curriculum template, calling it a “significant effort to build a bridge between theory and practice.” More than 120 human resource graduate degree programs are offered by universities across the country.

DePaul’s HR master’s degree was launched in 2001. It encompasses 12 courses that teach core business, public administration, strategic human resources, staffing, development and compensation topics, as well as HR-related areas, such as change management, negotiation and organizational psychology. The program enrolls 25 to 30 students each year. DePaul also offers HR courses to students in its Bahrain and Czech Republic MBA programs.

“The program produces graduates who are well versed in the functions and processes involved with leading an in-house or outsourced HR department,” said Marty Martin, associate professor of management, who directs the program.

DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the nation and largest private university in the Midwest. The university offers highly respected, flexible, practical programs of study in a student-focused learning environment. DePaul’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business enrolls 1,800 students. Its part-time MBA program is ranked 11th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in its “America’s Best Graduate Schools 2007” guidebook, which surveyed 399 schools.

Editors’ Note: For media interviews or more information about DePaul’s HR graduate degree program, contact Marty Martin at 312/362-6973 or martym@depaul.edu, or visit the Web site: http://condor.depaul.edu/~mshr/.

For more information about SHRM and to request a copy of the SHRM Human Resource Curriculum Guidebook and Templates for Undergraduate and Graduate Programs, contact Jeanene Harris, SHRM media affairs specialist, at 703/535-6356 or jharris@shrm.org, or visit the organization’s Web site: www.shrm.org.