Organizational Behavior &
Human Resource Management

Career potential

There are many employment opportunities for professionals trained to manage employee benefits, payroll and other areas associated with personnel operations. Additional employment opportunities are available in general management, management consulting, industrial/organizational development and leadership. By choosing to study organizational behavior and human resource management at the University of North Texas, you will be prepared for these and other organizational positions. Other possible employment areas include:

• compensation manager - establishing and maintaining a pay system for a company
• coordinator of retirement benefits or health insurance
• education/training manager - planning and coordinating professional development programs for employees
• equal employment opportunity officer - investigating discrimination complaints
• recruiter - traveling to colleges and universities to provide students with information about job opportunities with your company
• industrial relations manager - negotiating collective bargaining agreements, handling contract disputes and acting as a liaison between unionized employees and managers

No matter your career choice, a master's degree could aid your promotion potential.

UNT's Career Center can help you prepare to pursue your career. The center has information about jobs and employers, and the staff can help you with resume and letter writing, job search strategies, and interview preparation .

Majoring in organizational behavior
and human resource management

As an organizational behavior and human resource management major, you may study:

• employee benefit programs
• employee and labor relations
• employee health, safety and security
• ways to organize training and development programs
• supervisory techniques
• wage and salary administration
• current legislation and its impact on human resource policy and practices
• business communication

Faculty members in the Department of Management have a strong commitment to high-quality teaching. One faculty member was named HR SOUTHWEST Educator of the Year in 2007 for her impact on students academically and professionally. Faculty members also have been named Regents Professors for outstanding teaching and research, while others have earned the President's Council University Teaching Award or the Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award. The faculty's commitment to high-quality teaching is also reflected in consistently high marks given by students in their instructor evaluations.

UNT has a student chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management. Through this organization, you can meet professionals in organizational behavior and human resource management in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The chapter also competes in several annual events that test students' knowledge of human resources and in which the chapter could earn the distinction of top SHRM chapter.

Getting hands-on experience

Upon completion of 12 semester hours at UNT with at least a 2.5 GPA, you may work in a job related to your field through UNT's Cooperative Education and Internships office. Co-op employers pay extremely well, and the jobs usually last several semesters, often until graduation.

More than 1,800 employers work with the office to provide excellent learning opportunities, many of which become permanent full-time positions upon graduation. The office assists with placing students in internships, which last for one full semester or summer.

Preparing for UNT

If you are a high school student, we suggest you prepare for college by becoming computer proficient and taking:

• English … 4 years
• Math … 4 years
• Social science - economics, geography, government, history … 4 years
• Science … 3 years
• Foreign language … 3 years
• Fine arts … 1 year

You will need to take courses in most of these subjects under the university core curriculum required of all undergraduates, in addition to your major courses. It is also recommended that you take as many communication courses and courses that focus on problem solving as you can.

Talk with your high school counselor about preparing for college, including the entrance exams (SAT Reasoning Test or ACT) that you should take during your junior year.

As a benefit for transfer students, UNT participates in the Texas Common Course Numbering System. This system makes it easier to transfer credits for general academic courses from one Texas institution to another.

If you're attending a Texas community college, you should consult the UNT Transfer Guide, the UNT Undergraduate Catalog and an academic counselor/advisor to discuss your degree plan. Proper planning will help you receive the maximum amount of transfer credits.

Charting your path with academic advising

Full-time staff advisors in the College of Business Administration and faculty members in the organizational behavior and human resource management program will help you each semester to select courses necessary to earn your degree. Your professors also can give you career advice. The Department of Management office is in the Business Administration Building, Room 315.

Curious about courses and other features of this major?
See the current catalog.