Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations

Format: Online
Application Deadlines
  • Spring 2024 Priority Deadline: November 6, 2023
  • Spring 2024 Regular Deadline: December 4, 2023

Beginning in Summer 2021, the BA in Human Relations degree program will be offered as a fully online asynchronous program (with very few exceptions in Fall 2021 for upper-level in-person classes for students who began this program in-person). Starting in Spring 2022, all courses in the HRL program will be offered fully online asynchronously. Any questions pertaining to the program should be directed to Lianna Scull, Assistant Director, Sociology and Human Relations programs.

Human Relations is a field of study for those who enjoy working with people, and have good ideas about how to make the workplace more effective and satisfying. The BA in Human Relations degree prepares students to understand and skillfully respond to various challenges of human behavior, interaction, and relationships in our evolving and increasingly global, diverse, and technologically oriented world of work. Additionally, students gain the leadership, managerial, and supervisory skills to advance within their organizations.

Drawing on the fields of psychology, sociology, business, communications, and the humanities, students examine the organizational forms, practices, and policies that can foster or hinder the development of productive relationships and organizational success.  Students develop the necessary knowledge and skills to make these relations and their workplaces more effective.

Students in the program:

  • Evaluate workplace problems, and construct and communicate well-researched and relevant solutions. 
  • Utilize key human relations, sociological, and psychological concepts to foster collaboration, motivation, and employee engagement. 
  • Investigate how various forms of social inequality and difference impact human relations in the workplace, and contribute to efforts to improve organizational policy and culture. 
  • Develop relevant strategies for conflict prevention, negotiation, and resolution in workplace settings.

For Information About This Program

Please contact Lianna Scull at lianna.scull@cuny.edu.

Career Prospects

Students of the program are prepared to enter or further their careers in a wide spectrum of government, corporate, and non-profit organizations in areas such as health care, human and social services, education, public administration, business, coaching, and human resources. The degree also offers students a solid foundation to pursue graduate studies in organizational behavior and development, industrial/organizational psychology, human resources, social work, healthcare management, business and public administration, and applied sociology.

Articulation Agreements

Articulation agreements are formal agreements between CUNY School of Professional Studies, (CUNY SPS) and two-year colleges and universities, allowing students to transfer the maximum number of credits with ease to our BA in Human Relations program from institutions with which we have an established transfer process in place.

Scholarship Opportunities

Admissions Criteria

Applicants must possess at least 24 transferrable credits from an accredited institution with a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Applicants need to demonstrate basic proficiency in reading, writing, and math.

Application Deadlines

  • Spring 2024 Priority Deadline: November 6, 2023
  • Spring 2024 Regular Deadline: December 4, 2023
Apply Now

Student/Alumni Profiles

Nini Larkin

BA in Human Relations 2022

"I hope to participate in CUNY SPS events as a proud alumna. I already see how quickly our School is evolving and can't wait to see its impact in the next five years!"

Parshotam Lal

BA in Human Relations 2021

"Coming to CUNY SPS and finding my passion in the Human Relations program really helped me understand who I am and where I want my education to be applied."

Krystyna Audain

BA in Human Relations

"I chose the BA Human Relations degree at CUNY SPS because I believe it is a degree that STANDS OUT. The course structure will challenge, motivate, and inspire you to not just be a better professional, but also a better person."

Samaya Yashayeva

BA in Human Relations

"My inspiration for completing the bachelor’s degree in human relations is to show my four children and me that anything is possible."

Recent News About Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations

Logo for CUNY SPS business club MELO

Startup Contest Awards Students with Innovative Business Ideas

July 13, 2023

Students pitched their business ideas at the 3rd annual Entrepreneurial Ideation Fair, hosted by the Management and Entrepreneur Leadership Organization (MELO) student club.

CUNY SPS Class of 2022 Graduates Celebrate at Commencement

CUNY SPS Hosts Joyous In-Person Tribute to Class of 2022

June 03, 2022

CUNY SPS honored the Class of 2022, along with the Classes of 2021 and 2020, in the School's first in-person Commencement celebration in over two years. 

Thomas Brasch: The Life of an Artist

May 23, 2022

Leo Baeck Institute

Melanie Lorek, assistant professor of sociology and human relations, will moderate a panel discussion about the life and legacy of East German artist Thomas Brasch and the broader aftermaths of the GDR. The panel on May 24 is entitled Thomas Brasch: The Life of an Artist and is being co-organized by the Leo Baeck Institute, the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Goethe Institut, the German Film Office, Deutsches Haus NYU, and the University of Freiburg Liaison Office.

The social and symbolic meanings of recipes in negotiating East German identity

December 09, 2021

Food, Culture & Society

Dr. Melanie Lorek, assistant professor of sociology and human relations at CUNY SPS, recently published a peer-reviewed article in which she explores the social and symbolic meanings of recipes in online communities. The article, which is titled "The social and symbolic meanings of recipes in negotiating East German identity," appears in the journal Food, Culture & Society.