Here you will find some of our most frequently asked questions about the Professional Masters of Industrial Relations (PMIR) program.
The main difference between a MIR degree and an HRPA designation is that one is a university degree and the other is a professional development certification. While both are recognized within the industry, the long-term career goals of those with only a CHRP designation tend to diverge from those with a MIR or both.
In fact, the HRPA now has an Alternate Route to meeting their coursework requirements for obtaining your HRPA Designation. The Alternate Route is intended for individuals with advanced HR education. The requirements necessary to write the HRPA Comprehensive Knowledge Exam (CKE 1 or CKE 2) can now simply be met with your Master of Industrial Relations degree.
For full details on how to apply a MIR degree towards a HRPA designation, please see the .
The normal minimum academic qualification for admission to the PMIR program is a four-year bachelor’s degree with upper second-class standing (B+), or equivalent, from a recognized university. In some cases, an applicant may not meet the standard requirements. The Admissions Committee will consider a strong candidate whose combined background of education and work experience would be considered as equivalent to the criteria.
For example, where an applicant has a three-year degree and superior academic achievement, the case can sometimes be made that his/her work experience or other post graduate certification be viewed as the equivalent of the fourth year of university. Please note the program will not vet application required documentation prior to submission of an application. Admission to the program is based on an applicant’s academic background, prior work experience, and references.
No. The PMIR is a part-time program designed for professionals who are working full-time. Due to study status restrictions, Queen’s University will only accept international students who are able to obtain a full-time study visa permit, part-time studies are not possible.
We do, however, accept international students in the full-time Master of Industrial Relations program.
Students can expect that 3 credit courses generally incorporate 120 learning hours, which include all aspects of learning. Of these, we have 36 in-class hours that are devoted to lectures and personal interaction. You can expect that the balance of your time would be spent reading, researching, writing papers, or working on presentations/simulations and projects alone or with your team members.
This varies by course. Skills seminars would be 40 learning hours/12 in-class hours.
Individuals are responsible for making their own accommodation arrangements. There are many hotels and B&Bs close to the Toronto learning facilities and Queen’s campus. The program tries to make arrangements for group rates where possible and will advise students accordingly. During May and June, accommodations in the university residences are usually available and are quite affordable.
Once your application fee is paid, the system will auto-generate an email to your references providing them a link to the referee form to fill out. If they advise you they did not receive one, please ask them to check their junk/spam folder. Sometimes a mail client will think it is junk mail.
Please note: The SGSPA requires two references for the PMIR Program. Current academic or professional references are welcome, and we will accept any combination of the two. If you have been out of school for over 5 years, we will accept 2 professional references. A professional reference should be someone from a current or former place of business that has managed/supervised you in a professional capacity (not a co-worker, family member, etc.). In all cases, the information in recommendations should relate to the prospective student's ability to undertake the academic requirements in the PMIR program.
Because the PMIR is a professional graduate program, funding through the university is not available.
The PMIR program is not eligible for OSAP funding.