9 Fastest Online Bachelor’s in Human Resources

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Colum­bia Col­lege is the #1 school for a fastest online human resources bach­e­lor’s degree.
• Accel­er­at­ed online pro­grams are designed for faster com­ple­tion, often tak­ing around 18 months, enabling grad­u­ates to advance their careers more quickly.
• Fastest online pro­grams are tai­lored to enhance careers by quick­ly equip­ping stu­dents with essen­tial human resources skills.

Choos­ing to pur­sue an accel­er­at­ed Human Resources degree online does have its advan­tages. Accel­er­at­ed degree pro­grams are designed to speed up the edu­ca­tion process so that the stu­dent can move for­ward faster in terms of reach­ing their goals and earn­ing high­er wages.

Orig­i­nal­ly pub­lished: July 2020
Last Updat­ed: Decem­ber 2023

A 2‑year or 24-month degree pro­gram can be com­plet­ed in approx­i­mate­ly 18 months enabling the stu­dent to apply for high­er-pay­ing jobs with more respon­si­bil­i­ties in a much short­er peri­od. Accel­er­at­ed Human Resources online degree pro­grams are ide­al for indi­vid­u­als who don’t need a full degree pro­gram but will still ben­e­fit from hav­ing addi­tion­al information.

Earn­ing an accel­er­at­ed Human Resources degree online makes it pos­si­ble for the stu­dent to work full-time and also incor­po­rate what they are learn­ing into their job in real time. This helps them to build expe­ri­ence while they are learning. 

It rein­forces the lessons they are being taught and may even encour­age them to ask more in-depth ques­tions when it comes to per­form­ing their duties and tak­ing the ini­tia­tive to move for­ward in their career. In many cas­es, an accel­er­at­ed degree pro­gram is just what the stu­dent needs to give their career a lit­tle push in the right direction.

Relat­ed:

• Top Bach­e­lor’s in Human Resources
• Top Online Bach­e­lor’s in Human Resources
• Most Afford­able Bach­e­lor’s in Human Resources
• Top Online Train­ing and Devel­op­ment Degree Programs
• Schol­ar­ships for HR Students

Methodology: Ranking the Best Accelerated Human Resources Degree Online Programs

Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter edi­tors built our rank­ing of the best online accel­er­at­ed human resources degrees around more than just speed, although the pool starts with accred­it­ed insti­tu­tions offer­ing accel­er­at­ed-for­mat online pro­grams. From there, we ranked pro­grams by the tuition rate, stu­dent sat­is­fac­tion, and job mar­ket reputation.

1. Columbia College

Colum­bia Col­lege of Missouri’s Plas­ter School of Busi­ness offers either a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence or Bach­e­lor of Arts (BA) degree pro­gram in Human Resource Man­age­ment that has received accred­i­ta­tion from the ACBSP, the Accred­i­ta­tion Coun­cil of Busi­ness Schools and Programs. 

These accel­er­at­ed human resources degree online pro­grams each require degree can­di­dates to com­plete 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. Stu­dents who grad­u­ate are pre­pared to enter the work­force in the areas of: 

• Tal­ent Acquisition
• Labor Rela­tions
• Risk Man­age­ment
• Train­ing
• Ben­e­fits
• Man­age­ment

Stu­dents attend­ing Colum­bia Col­lege’s under­grad­u­ate human resources pro­gram enjoy small class sizes and the lat­est tech­nol­o­gy in cut­ting-edge classrooms.

What We Like: Colum­bia Col­lege oper­ates near­ly 20 cam­pus­es on mil­i­tary bases across the country.

Degree: Human Resource Man­age­ment, BS/BA

2. Florida International University

Flori­da Inter­na­tion­al University’s Lan­don Under­grad­u­ate School of Busi­ness offers a Bach­e­lor of Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion (BBA) in Human Resource Man­age­ment that can be com­plet­ed entire­ly online. 

FIU’s accel­er­at­ed human resources degree online pro­grams require stu­dents to com­plete 120 semes­ter cred­its, with half of the cred­its ded­i­cat­ed to upper-divi­sion course­work. To name a few, class­es includ­ed in FIU’s under­grad­u­ate human resource man­age­ment degree include: 

• Staffing
• Employ­ment Law
• Diver­si­ty
• Recruit­ment
• Train­ing & Development
• Inter­na­tion­al Human Resource Management

Every FIU degree can­di­date part­ners with a per­son­al suc­cess coach dur­ing their school tenure.

What We Like: FIU holds the dis­tinc­tion of hav­ing grown into the largest uni­ver­si­ty with­in the greater met­ro­pol­i­tan Mia­mi area.

Degree: Human Resource Man­age­ment, BBA

3. Louisiana State University

Louisiana State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Lead­er­ship and Human Resource Devel­op­ment (LHRD) that is avail­able as an accel­er­at­ed human resources degree online program. 

Degree can­di­dates grad­u­at­ed pre­pared for reward­ing careers as cor­po­rate train­ers, cur­ricu­lum devel­op­ers, human resource man­agers, or improve­ment con­sul­tants, among oth­ers. A min­i­mum of 24 semes­ter cred­its must include course­work that is a 1000-lev­el course or higher.

What We Like: Louisiana State Uni­ver­si­ty is a flag­ship cam­pus and flag­ship school of the state.

Degree: Lead­er­ship and Human Resource Devel­op­ment, BS

4. Dickinson State University

Dick­in­son State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BBA in Human Resource Man­age­ment that is avail­able entire­ly online or on the Bis­mar­ck and Willis­ton campuses. 

The accel­er­at­ed human resources degree online pro­gram from Dick­in­son State Uni­ver­si­ty requires degree can­di­dates to com­plete 120 semes­ter cred­its in class­es such as busi­ness law, labor rela­tions, com­pen­sa­tion man­age­ment, work­force diver­si­ty, and staffing, to name a few. Busi­ness core course­work includes: 

• Lead­er­ship
• Busi­ness Policy
• Man­age­r­i­al Finance
• Mar­ket­ing Orga­ni­za­tion­al Behavior
• Busi­ness Ethics

What We Like: DSU was one of more than 120 schools that par­tic­i­pat­ed in the Navy train­ing pro­gram dur­ing World War II.

Degree: Human Resource Man­age­ment, BBA

5. Indiana State University

Indi­ana State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Human Resource Devel­op­ment for High­er Edu­ca­tion and Indus­try that is avail­able entire­ly online. Best Col­lege Reviews and sussessfulstudent.org have rec­og­nized ISU’s accel­er­at­ed human resources degree online program. 

The under­grad­u­ate human resources pro­gram from Indi­ana State Uni­ver­si­ty has received accred­i­ta­tion from the Soci­ety of Human Resource Man­age­ment (SHRM). Course­work for ISU’s human resource degree includes: 

• Orga­ni­za­tion­al Development
• Social and Behav­ioral Science
• Occu­pa­tion­al Liability
• Indus­tri­al-Orga­ni­za­tion­al Psychology

What We Like: Indi­ana State Uni­ver­si­ty’s library sys­tem includes a col­lec­tion of more than 2 mil­lion items.

Degree: Human Resource Devel­op­ment for High­er Edu­ca­tion and Indus­try, BS

6. University of Maryland Global Campus

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land Glob­al Cam­pus offers a BS in Human Resource Man­age­ment that can be com­plet­ed 100% online. Degree can­di­dates who are enrolled in UMD Glob­al Cam­pus’ accel­er­at­ed human resources degree online pro­gram must com­plete 120 semes­ter hours to graduate. 

These class­es include: 

• Orga­ni­za­tion­al Communication
• Labor Rela­tions
• Finance for Non­fi­nance Managers
• Human Resource Management
• Employ­ment Law for Business

UMD Glob­al Cam­pus offers a gen­er­ous cred­it trans­fer pol­i­cy of up to 90 eli­gi­ble credits.

What We Like: The school is a sea-grant and space-grant uni­ver­si­ty with a stu­dent enroll­ment that exceeds 41,100 students.

Degree: Human Resource Man­age­ment, BS

7. University of Arkansas

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Arkansas offers a BS in Human Resources and Work­force Devel­op­ment Edu­ca­tion that is rec­og­nized among the best accel­er­at­ed human resources degree online pro­grams by US News. 

UA’s under­grad­u­ate degree in human resources and work­force devel­op­ment requires the com­ple­tion of 120 semes­ter hours over a two to four-year peri­od. Addi­tion­al­ly, stu­dents enrolled in this pro­gram are required to com­plete a cap­stone project to graduate.

What We Like: The school is sit­u­at­ed on ‘the hill’ as it over­looks the beau­ti­ful Ozark Mountains.

Degree: Human Resource and Work­force Devel­op­ment Edu­ca­tion, BS

8. Portland State University

Port­land State University’s School of Busi­ness offers a Bach­e­lor of Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion (BBA) degree pro­gram in Human Resource Man­age­ment that is avail­able 100% online. 

Degree can­di­dates enrolled in PSU’s accel­er­at­ed human resources degree online pro­gram find reward­ing careers in: 

• Labor Rela­tions
• Employ­ee Compensation
• Human Resource Management
• Per­for­mance Management
• Orga­ni­za­tion­al Culture 
• Lead­er­ship Development

PSU’s human resource degree has received accred­i­ta­tion from the AACSB – the Asso­ci­a­tion to Advance Col­le­giate Schools of Business.

What We Like: The Prince­ton Review’s School of Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion is among the top 294 and PSU has been con­sid­ered among the most inno­v­a­tive schools in the nation.

Degree: Human Resource Man­age­ment, BBA

9. Wilmington University

Wilm­ing­ton Uni­ver­si­ty’s School of Busi­ness offers a BS in Human Resource Man­age­ment that requires stu­dents to com­plete 120 semes­ter cred­its to graduate. 

Their accel­er­at­ed human resources degree online pro­gram includes course­work such as: 

• Busi­ness Ethics
• Human Cap­i­tal Management
• Orga­ni­za­tion­al Development
• Staffing
• Com­pen­sa­tion Administration
• plus, a senior intern­ship in a relat­ed field

The uni­ver­si­ty offers a con­cen­tra­tion in non­prof­it man­age­ment for those human resource degree can­di­dates inter­est­ed in work­ing in that sector.

What We Like: The Col­lege of Busi­ness has received accred­i­ta­tion from the IACBE – the Inter­na­tion­al Assem­bly for Col­le­giate Busi­ness Education.

Degree: Human Resource Man­age­ment, BS

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