Human resource development (HRD) aims at improving the human potential in public and private institutions/organizations through various activities related to training and development. Human resources are the greatest asset for these institutions/organizations, and effective utilization of these resources is the key to their success in their area of operation. Developing human resources in today's complex institutional/ organizational environments requires professionals with special skills and knowledge in the area of training and development.

The human resource development field has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years. Many adults are going through training to update their knowledge and skills related to their jobs in corporate, industrial and governmental training environments. At the same time the field has undergone essential changes. Traditional training activities for employees/professionals mainly included skill-based seminars offered by content area experts in the respective fields, and the role of human resources personnel was to arrange those seminars. Today high performance organizations hire human resource education specialists who fulfill a role beyond the traditional one. These specialists assume roles in maximizing human capital and effectiveness in their institutions/organizations through short and long term planning of strategic human resource education activities. They identify training needs, develop training programs, implement training activities, assess training and performance, and carry out follow-up. The training activities are considered to be an essential part of institutional/organizational development. In this sense, the individuals who are prepared to take roles in human resource education functions of institutions/organizations face a great challenge in improving themselves in line with up-to-date knowledge, perspective and skills in the area of HRD.

Non-thesis Human Resource Development in Education (HRDE) Program aims to respond to this challenge. It is designed to meet the competency needs of training and development specialists who are seeking to gain knowledge, understanding and expertise in the area of HRDE. This program is suitable both for new graduates wishing to make a career move into HRDE and for those who are currently working in this area but wish to strengthen their capabilities. Those who graduate from the proposed program are expected to enhance their ability in thinking creatively and producing solutions to training problems of their institutions/organizations.

Program goals

The major goal of the program is to enhance and develop the key competencies required of current and future practitioners in the training and development field. Goals include the preparation of practitioners who can contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of training and development programs, and to positively affecting performance of their human resource units through an integrated program. It is integrated in the sense that it meshes theory and experiential training for its students in various areas of education such as administration, curriculum development and instruction, assessment and counseling. The emphasis is on a right "dose" of theory and research combined with clinical inquiry as a means of enhancing human resources in institutions/organizations. With this major emphasis in mind, the program focuses on the needs of the following institutions and individuals:

The new university graduates who are planning to seek careers in human resource departments of institutions.

Individuals who are currently employed as training and development specialists in human resource departments of public and private organizations.

Individuals who are responsible for human resource training in public and private schools/institutions.

Program description

The program deals with human resource development in education from both a strategic and operational point of view. From a strategic point of view, the courses are designed to support and reinforce human resources education strategies and objectives. The coursework provides students with essential knowledge and skills on various dimensions of organizations and training programs, and perspectives with working with individuals in educational organizations. From an operational point of view, the coursework equips students with skills in designing and implementing the procedures and processes to optimize the organizational and institutional functions.

The program establishes a balance between academic emphasis and workplace relevance to prepare individuals by sharpening their understanding of human resources concepts and enhancing their training and development skills. All courses emphasize active learning and application of knowledge and skills through small scale fieldwork, experiential exercises, discussions, case studies, group activities, and establishing relations to real life problems. The program assists students in the process of planning, needs assessment, staff and program development, implementing training activities, evaluating training programs and projects, collecting and analyzing data relevant to human resources. In addition, program participants have the opportunity to develop specific skills in certain areas related to training and development through the elective courses offered in the program. The required and elective courses in the program were designed to respond to both common and varied needs of the students with different backgrounds.

One of the unique aspects of the proposed program is its emphasis on field practice through an internship. The benefit of this approach may be twofold: On the one hand, participants sharpen their skills and knowledge through a hands-on experience in real organizational settings like human resource departments of organizations. On the other hand, such an internship scheme strengthens the ties between our faculty and public and private organizations which leads to further collaborative activities in the future.

Another distinct feature of the proposed program is its interdisciplinary orientation where teamwork and communication skills are emphasized. As it is evident from the content of the program, it is founded on the spirit of effective collaboration among at least three different disciplinary orientations in the field of education: administration, curriculum development, and guidance and counseling. In addition, course contributions from the field of educational technology enrich the program scope.

Coursework

The coursework includes a total of 6 required and 4 elective courses, and an internship in the last semester of the program. This is in line with the Non-thesis master's program regulations put forward by the Higher Education Council. When students complete the coursework, they collect at least a total of 30 credits. Course descriptions are presented at the end of this document. The list of required and elective courses is provided below.