Best Human Resources Specialist programs in Virginia, ranked by enrollment
Recruit, screen, interview, or place individuals within an organization.
58 schools in Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 10,678 people a year. The job pays a median of $82,090 in Virginia across about 28,540 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Virginia that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in Virginia that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Virginia (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Virginia page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0201In Virginia → | 10,184 | 95.4% | 58 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 52.1003In Virginia → | 250 | 2.3% | 4 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
| 3 | CIP 52.1001In Virginia → | 167 | 1.6% | 9 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
| 4 | CIP 42.2804In Virginia → | 77 | 0.7% | 1 | $33,805 | $27,000 |
Top 25 schools in Virginia
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 39 of the 58 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liberty University Lynchburg, VA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 3,678 | Business Administration and Management, General | $49,772 | 65% | $28,911 | 99% |
| 2 | Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 710 | Business Administration and Management, General | $30,503 | 33% | — | — |
| 3 | William & Mary Williamsburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 519 | Business Administration and Management, General | $75,038 | 89% | — | 34% |
| 4 | University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 477 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 96% | — | 17% |
| 5 | Longwood University Farmville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 417 | Business Administration and Management, General | $49,213 | 61% | — | 90% |
| 6 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 387 | Business Administration and Management, General | $60,678 | 86% | — | 55% |
| 7 | University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 353 | Business Administration and Management, General | $68,151 | 85% | $24,049 | 22% |
| 8 | Regent University Virginia Beach, VA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 311 | Organizational Behavior Studies | $51,631 | 57% | $18,677 | 38% |
| 9 | University of Management and Technology Arlington, VA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 297 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 33% | — | — |
| 10 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA Public · 4 feeder programs | 248 | Business Administration and Management, General | $55,147 | 68% | — | 87% |
| 11 | Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 224 | Business Administration and Management, General | $46,680 | 46% | — | 90% |
| 12 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 218 | Business Administration and Management, General | $65,931 | 80% | — | 72% |
| 13 | Tidewater Community College Norfolk, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 204 | Business Administration and Management, General | $35,919 | 32% | — | — |
| 14 | University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 200 | Business Administration and Management, General | $47,315 | 66% | — | 80% |
| 15 | J Sargeant Reynolds Community College Richmond, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 165 | Business Administration and Management, General | $32,111 | 32% | — | — |
| 16 | Radford University Radford, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 158 | Business Administration and Management, General | $45,380 | 49% | — | 90% |
| 17 | Washington University of Science and Technology Alexandria, VA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 146 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 67% | — | 7% |
| 18 | Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 137 | Business Administration and Management, General | $54,432 | 72% | — | 86% |
| 19 | ECPI University Virginia Beach, VA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 135 | Business Administration and Management, General | $43,435 | 42% | $21,909 | 75% |
| 20 | Shenandoah University Winchester, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 109 | Business Administration and Management, General | $45,499 | 67% | $27,455 | 77% |
| 21 | University of North America Fairfax, VA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 102 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | Bridgewater College Bridgewater, VA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 97 | Business Administration and Management, General | $40,434 | 53% | $19,485 | 92% |
| 23 | Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 97 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 63% | — | 93% |
| 24 | Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 91 | Business Administration and Management, General | $76,627 | 94% | $11,983 | 14% |
| 25 | Roanoke College Salem, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 83 | Business Administration and Management, General | $45,557 | 67% | $24,604 | 83% |
All 58 schools in Virginia
Every school in Virginia with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty University | Lynchburg | Private not-for-profit | 3,678 | 2 |
| Northern Virginia Community College | Annandale | Public | 710 | 1 |
| William & Mary | Williamsburg | Public | 519 | 1 |
| University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville | Public | 477 | 2 |
| Longwood University | Farmville | Public | 417 | 1 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Blacksburg | Public | 387 | 1 |
| University of Richmond | University of Richmond | Private not-for-profit | 353 | 3 |
| Regent University | Virginia Beach | Private not-for-profit | 311 | 3 |
| University of Management and Technology | Arlington | Private for-profit | 297 | 1 |
| George Mason University | Fairfax | Public | 248 | 4 |
| Old Dominion University | Norfolk | Public | 224 | 1 |
| James Madison University | Harrisonburg | Public | 218 | 1 |
| Tidewater Community College | Norfolk | Public | 204 | 1 |
| University of Mary Washington | Fredericksburg | Public | 200 | 1 |
| J Sargeant Reynolds Community College | Richmond | Public | 165 | 1 |
What human resources specialists earn in Virginia
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $75,940. Virginia pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Virginia
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Human Resources Specialists page.
How to become a Human Resources Specialist
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Virginia
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 6 majors mapped to Human Resources Specialists6 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 42.2804Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
- 52.1001Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General
- 52.1003Organizational Behavior Studies
- 52.1006Executive/Career Coaching
- 52.1099Human Resources Management and Services, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing human resources specialists programs in Virginia.
What degree do you need to become a Human Resources Specialist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 10,184 degrees in Virginia in 2024-25, 95.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Human Resources Specialist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Human Resources Management and Services, Clinical. Together they graduate about 10,678 people a year in Virginia.
How much do human resources specialists earn in Virginia?+
The median is $82,090 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.1% above the U.S. median of $75,940. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for human resources specialists growing?+
BLS projects a +6.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 81,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Virginia?+
58 institutions in Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 4 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do human resources specialists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Recruiter, HR Generalist (Human Resources Generalist), Human Resources Specialist (HR Specialist), HR Coordinator (Human Resources Coordinator) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-1071.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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