The Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations (ILIR) offers graduate work leading to both a master's and a doctoral degree. Students must meet the general admission requirements of the Graduate College, as well as the specific requirements of the Institute. Graduate study at ILIR is based on a multidisciplinary approach to human resources/industrial relations problems and a flexible curriculum. To achieve this, the Institute has joint faculty appointments or course cross-listings with economics, psychology, law, business administration, history, finance, political science, sociology, and social work.

The master's program can lead to a professional, terminal master's degree, or it can prepare students to continue their graduate study toward a Ph.D. or other doctoral degrees in law and other professional areas. The fields of concentration are human resource management, labor markets and employment and unions, management, and labor relations policy.

The master's degree requires 12 units of courses and usually takes three semesters to complete. The master's degree program has core requirements in human resources/industrial relations systems, quantitative methods, and research methods and a subject distribution requirement.

Admission to the master's program in either the fall or spring semester is based on an applicant's undergraduate record, letters of reference, GRE or GMAT test scores, and a statement of interest and career goals. The minimum requirements for admission are a course in statistics and an average grade of B in the last 60 hours of undergraduate work. A deficiency in statistics may be made up by taking the required course without graduate credit during the first semester of graduate study. International applicants must provide TOEFL test results with a recommended minimum score of 590 on the paper-based test (243 on the computer-based version).

This joint degree program with the College of Law is usually completed in three-and-one-half years. Students must apply to both the College of Law and the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations and must be accepted by both units. The degrees are awarded concurrently upon successful completion of joint degree requirements.

Students interested in pursuing this "custom-designed" joint degree make separate applications to each program. Independent admission decisions are made by each unit, and the student must be accepted by both. The program is experimental, and valid only for students who begin it in the fall of 1998, 1999, or 2000. The joint degree requires 24 units of graduate course work, which includes 15 units of M.B.A. courses and nine units of ILIR courses. The M.B.A. first-year core program consists of four integrated seven-week modules and two one-week "applying perspective seminars." The nine units of ILIR must include research methods, quantitative methods (may be waived depending on M.B.A. module selections), and at least one course in each of the subject distribution areas that define human resources and industrial relations. Since the M.B.A. begins in the fall semester only, students are encouraged to begin their degrees with the M.B.A. program. The objective of the joint degree is to combine the business training of the M.B.A. with the interdisciplinary philosophy of the Institute to prepare graduates for the challenges of managing the employment relationship.

The Ph.D. is an interdisciplinary degree which typically leads to a career in teaching and research, especially at business schools or industrial relations schools. Research-oriented careers outside the academic world are also available. The program can be completed in four years beyond the baccalaureate degree or three years beyond the master's degree. Doctoral students are required to complete 24 units of credit beyond the baccalaureate degree. Course work is usually completed in two years. There are two written qualifying examinations; the first focuses on industrial relations theory and human resource management theory, and the second focuses on the candidate's selected area of specialization. Examples of areas of specialization include the effects of technological change on the human resource function; motivation, morale and job satisfaction; labor-management relations in the public sector; labor markets and employment; and international comparative labor problems. Each student's program of study is chosen in consultation with the Ph.D. Advisory Committee at the Institute.

Students with outstanding academic credentials, with or without a master's degree, are encouraged to apply. Applicants to the doctoral program must submit evidence of research ability, such as a master's thesis, an undergraduate thesis, special reports or published articles. This is in addition to the other required application materials as indicated for the master's program. Admission to the doctoral program is made for the fall semester only. An exception is made for Institute master's degree students who may submit an internal application.

Although ILIR has no teaching requirement, doctoral students are encouraged to gain teaching experience in this program.

The Institute offers research assistantships and fellowships to high-ranking graduate students with superior academic credentials. An Institute research/teaching assistant receives a stipend plus exemption from resident or non-resident tuition and the service fee. The Graduate College also awards minority fellowships that carry stipends plus tuition and service fee waivers. The Institute seeks reimbursement from appointing units of the value of the tuition waivers associated with assistantship appointments made to ILIR master's students in other campus units. However, this restriction does not apply to students in the doctoral program.