You have a bachelor’s degree, or you are finishing one, and you want a career in human resources. Most HR management roles in France assume five years of higher education, and getting into a master’s has become a selection process in its own right, with a national calendar, an application file and sometimes an interview. Places in the most popular programmes are hotly contested. This guide helps you choose the right kind of master’s, understand what selection panels look at, build a credible academic CV and cover letter, and prepare a plan B if the first round of answers does not go your way.
Types of HR master’s degrees
Behind the phrase “HR master’s”, several families of programmes coexist. They do not lead to quite the same jobs, and a panel will check that your choice fits your plan.
GRH master’s at universities and IAE schools
This is the most common route. The “gestion des ressources humaines” (HR management) degree covers generalist tracks and specialised ones: HR development, compensation, employee relations, HR and corporate social responsibility, training design. IAE schools, the university management schools, offer many of them, often with a lot of work-study. The IAE France 🔗 network gives an overview of the institutions.
Employment law master’s
They suit you if you are aiming for employee relations, in-house legal advice or an HR manager role deeply rooted in labour law. They usually require a law degree and a very good level in private law subjects.
Work psychology master’s
They train people for recruitment, assessment, quality of working life and career transition support. They are reserved for psychology graduates and also lead to the protected title of psychologist.
Business school programmes
Business schools offer HR majors at the end of their grande école programme, or specialised MSc degrees. Admission goes through the schools’ competitive exams or their own application process, outside the national platform. Tuition fees are higher, often offset by work-study.
How to choose
Ask yourself two questions: which first role do you want (generalist, recruitment, payroll, training, employee relations), and do you want to do your master’s as a work-study programme or with internships? The Onisep profiles of the HR manager 🔗 and the HR analyst 🔗 jobs help you connect programmes and outcomes.
Selection criteria and the profile of admitted students
Each master’s publishes its criteria on its programme page. Almost always, the same elements appear, weighted differently.
Academic results
Bachelor’s grades count, especially in subjects close to the master’s: labour law, management, sociology of organisations, psychology, economics. A panel also looks at progression: a third year that is better than the first is reassuring.
A coherent plan
This is often what separates similar files. The panel wants to understand why you are asking for this master’s and not another, and what you want to do afterwards. A precise plan (“becoming a recruiter in manufacturing”, “working in employee relations”) is worth more than a general interest in “people”.
Experience
Internships, student jobs, work-study, volunteering: anything that shows you have already watched an organisation from the inside is useful. Even short experience in an HR department or a staffing agency carries a lot of weight.
Languages and sometimes a test
English is often expected. Some master’s programmes ask for a general knowledge and reasoning test, or a score on a management aptitude test; check this point very early on the programme page, because test sessions have their own calendar.
Building a suitable academic CV
The CV for a master’s application is not the CV for a job application. Its first job is to make your path easy to read.
Education first
Put your education first, with your results if they are good, the subjects that matter for the master’s and, if relevant, your dissertation or a supervised project. Mention a semester abroad if you did one.
Experience next, described precisely
Each experience should say what you did, even modestly. “Two-month internship in the HR department of a small company: updating employee files, preparing annual reviews, screening applications” shows more than a job title alone.
Useful skills
Languages with their level, office software with specific functions, possibly an HRIS or an ATS if you have used one. Our article on the skills to put on an HR CV will help you sort them.
A model to start from
The HR intern CV example shows a layout suited to a student profile. If you are aiming for a work-study master’s, the HR work-study student CV example will also help you in your search for a company.
Cover letter and interview
One letter per master’s
The letter is read by lecturers who know their programme. It must show that you know it too: mention one or two courses, a partnership, a work-study rhythm or a career outcome that matches your plan. A generic letter sent to several programmes is easy to spot. The principles of an HR cover letter, which we detail in our article on the HR cover letter, apply here with a stronger emphasis on your plan.
A simple outline
- what you have done and what it taught you about HR;
- what you want to do when you graduate, precisely;
- why this master’s will get you there better than another.
The interview, when there is one
Some master’s programmes invite shortlisted candidates for an interview. You will be asked to present your path, explain your plan and sometimes react to a current employment issue. Prepare an example of experience that you can tell in two minutes, and an answer to “what will you do if you are not admitted?”: it tests how solid your plan is.
Calendar and application documents
The national platform
For university master’s programmes, applications to the first year go through the national Mon Master 🔗 platform. The Ministry of Higher Education publishes its calendar every year; the one for the current academic year can be found on the page Mon Master: the procedure calendar 🔗. The pattern is now familiar: an application phase at the end of winter, file review in spring, then answers and the admission phase in early summer.
Schools and programmes outside the platform
Business schools and some private institutions have their own calendar, often spread out over several sessions. Note their dates in the autumn.
The documents to gather
- bachelor’s transcripts, and high school diploma results if requested;
- CV;
- cover letter or statement of purpose;
- internship or employment certificates;
- language certificate if required;
- for work-study, sometimes a job offer or proof of your search.
Prepare them in January: transcripts sometimes take several days, and internship certificates even longer.
Common mistakes and plan B
Mistakes that cost a place
- Applying at random, to tracks that have nothing to do with each other: the panel sees a vague plan.
- Sending the same letter everywhere, sometimes with the name of another programme left in the text.
- Forgetting a document or uploading it at the last minute, when the platform slows down.
- Neglecting work-study in a master’s that requires it: without a signed contract at the start of the year, enrolment can be called into question.
If you do not get a place
The platform has a complementary phase for remaining places, and schools often run late sessions. You can also consider a gap year with professional experience (a long internship or a job in HR) before reapplying with a stronger file, or a neighbouring master’s that will bring you closer to your goal.
Preparing what comes next right now
Whatever the outcome, your CV will serve you when looking for an internship or a work-study contract. Use the application to tidy it up: gather your experience, then create your CV for free. The template takes care of the presentation, and the document stays structured so that platforms and screening software read it without errors, which will save you from reworking it when you apply to companies.
Sources
- French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, Mon Master: the procedure calendar 🔗.
- Mon Master platform 🔗: programme catalogue and application filing.
- Onisep, job profiles of the HR manager 🔗 and the HR analyst 🔗.
- IAE France 🔗: network of university management schools.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get into an HR master’s with a bachelor’s degree that is not in HR?
Yes. Degrees in management, law, economics, sociology, psychology or applied languages regularly lead to HR master’s programmes. The panel will look at how coherent your plan is and at the experience that shows your interest in the function.
How many master’s programmes should you apply to?
Enough not to depend on a single answer, but not so many that your plan looks scattered. Aim for programmes that are consistent with each other, with a few more accessible ones alongside the most popular.
Is work-study compulsory?
No, but many HR master’s programmes offer or require it. If that is the case, start looking for a company in the spring, alongside your application.
Do you need HR experience to be admitted?
It is not always required, but it is a clear advantage. A short internship, a job in a staffing agency or a volunteer mission recruiting other volunteers shows that your interest in HR is real.