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Studies & Degrees in Work Science, Labor and Work Place

Work science, also called labor studies, labor relations or industrial relations, is the study of work and of the relationship between employers and employees. It is an interdisciplinary subject. Programmes draw on labor law, economics, sociology, psychology, history and business organisation to explain how employment is regulated, how pay and conditions are negotiated, and how organisations manage people.

Students learn employment and social security law, collective bargaining, human resource management, labor market analysis, occupational health and safety, and negotiation and mediation techniques. Most programmes combine legal and social science courses with case work, and many include a work placement.

Qualifications and levels

The name of the degree depends on the country.

  • Spain. The usual route is the bachelor's degree (grado) in Relaciones Laborales y Recursos Humanos, an official degree of 240 ECTS credits taken over four years. The Universidad de Murcia, for example, lists its grado at 4 years and 240 ECTS, taught in Spanish. The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) teaches a Grado en Relaciones Laborales y Ocupación fully online, in Spanish or Catalan, combining law, economics, human resources and psychology. Official master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. The Universidad de Sevilla offers a one-year, 60-credit Máster Universitario en Ciencias del Trabajo.
  • United States. Universities offer bachelor's degrees in labor studies, labor and employment relations, or labor and human resources. At The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), the B.S. in Labor and Human Resources requires a minimum of 120 credits and draws on industrial relations, economics, history, law, sociology and psychology. Community colleges teach shorter programmes in related areas.
  • Other countries. In Latin America the subject is usually taught as a licenciatura in labor relations or industrial relations. In Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom it appears within degrees in human resource management, employment relations or social sciences, and as a master's specialisation.

A regulated profession in Spain: the graduado social

In Spain the degree is linked to a specific profession. According to the Universidad de Sevilla, its grado prepares students for labor advice and for practice as a graduado social, a professional who gives legal advice on employment matters, manages social security procedures or directs human resources. Graduados sociales belong to professional associations (colegios). Their general council groups 43 provincial colegios. Students from outside Spain should check with the colegio in the province where they plan to work whether their degree gives access to the profession.

Where to study it

SpainExchange lists 22 active schools for this subject. Ten are in Spain and seven in the United States. Australia has two, and the United Kingdom, Germany and Argentina have one each.

In Spain the listed schools include the Universidad de Murcia, the Universidad de Sevilla, the Universidad de Alcalá, the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, the Universidad de La Rioja and the Universidad de León. Two listed universities teach at a distance: the UOC and UDIMA - Universidad a Distancia de Madrid. In the United States the list includes Penn State, Old Dominion University and several community colleges. Other examples are the Universität Kassel in Germany, the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero in Argentina, and Central Queensland University and Charles Sturt University in Australia.

The language of instruction is normally the language of the country: Spanish in Spain and Argentina (and Catalan in some programmes in Catalonia), English in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, and German in Germany. Because labor law is national, the legal content of each programme is tied to the country where it is taught.

Careers

Graduates work in human resources departments, labor and social security advice firms, trade unions and employers' associations, public employment services, labor inspection and other public administration, occupational risk prevention, and mediation and arbitration. International bodies also work in this field: the International Labour Organization (ILO) has brought together governments, employers and workers since 1919 and has 187 member states.

In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) describes labor relations specialists as professionals who resolve employee-management disputes and negotiate labor contracts. They typically need a bachelor's degree in labor and industrial relations, human resources, business or a related field. The occupation had about 66,300 jobs in 2025, 72 percent of them in labor unions and similar organisations, and the BLS projects employment to grow 2 percent from 2025 to 2035. For human resources specialists, a much larger occupation, it projects growth of 6 percent over the same period. These figures apply to the United States only.

Frequently asked questions

Is work science the same as human resources?

No, although the two overlap. Human resources focuses on managing people inside an organisation. Work science also covers labor law, social security, collective bargaining, trade unions and public employment policy.

How long does a degree in labor relations take?

In Spain the grado in Relaciones Laborales y Recursos Humanos has 240 ECTS credits and takes four years, and an official master's degree has 60 to 120 credits. In the United States a bachelor's degree such as the B.S. in Labor and Human Resources at Penn State requires at least 120 credits.

Can I study labor relations online?

Yes. The UOC states that its official Grado en Relaciones Laborales y Ocupación is taught 100% online, and UDIMA is also a distance university. Penn State lists its World Campus among the campuses where the Labor and Human Resources degree can be completed.