What is a project management degree?

Project manager updating tasks and milestones progress planning with Gantt chart scheduling interface on a virtual screen

NicoElNino, Getty Illustrations or photos/iStockphoto

Undertaking professionals prepare, organize, and execute tasks within organizations. They lead development, laptop or computer systems, marketing and advertising, and merchandise launching assignments.

Probable professions incorporate:

  • Engineering project manager
  • IT challenge manager
  • Production undertaking supervisor
  • Marketing challenge supervisor
  • Job coordinator

Courses in a challenge administration diploma plan deal with project phases, which includes defining the project’s scope and preparing the timeline and finances. The curriculum also teaches core business enterprise skills and handles procurement, possibility management, and team management.

Venture management courses provide learners the likelihood to investigate subdisciplines via electives and concentrations. Browse on to find out if task management is a very good healthy.

Task management plans emphasize occupation-preparation competencies, but study course information varies by diploma amount. 

Associate diploma coursework trains college students to accomplish entry-level administrative responsibilities and guide undertaking professionals. 

Bachelor’s packages emphasis on analytical, interpersonal, organizational, and teamwork techniques. Most undertaking professionals require at the very least a bachelor’s diploma. 

Graduate college students get sophisticated techniques in interaction, strategic leadership, possibility administration, and excellent regulate. They also comprehensive qualitative investigate jobs and discover program and portfolio management competencies.

What sorts of task management levels are there?

Undergraduate certification in challenge administration

Undergraduate certificates ordinarily introduce standard job management principles like process dynamics, negotiation, leadership, cost administration, and job risk and transform management. 

Many applications are not market-specific. Some others concentration on IT, company, or construction undertaking management and may put together graduates to just take organization or tech certification exams.

Learners can earn these non-diploma qualifications in 4 to eight months. They might qualify for entry-degree positions as job administrators and coordinators, affiliate job supervisors and assistants, and venture controllers. 

Associate in project management

Two-calendar year affiliate degrees in task management offer chances to put together for bachelor’s-stage study or start at the bottom of the subject as an assistant and get the job done your way up. 

Some curricula prepare enrollees to consider countrywide certification examinations. Graduates could qualify for affiliate task manager and project coordinator positions. 

Systems may perhaps incorporate internships, which present precious palms-on teaching. Programs consist of things and ideas of task scheduling, task management system and ethics, accounting, and facts programs. 

Bachelor’s in venture administration

A bachelor’s in venture management degree focuses on prepping college students for leadership roles. The curriculum includes initiatives and displays. 

Coursework attributes core company and normal education and learning matters but also addresses venture management and challenge charge, high-quality, and chance management fundamentals.

Bachelor’s levels ordinarily just take 4 many years to receive, but accelerated bachelor’s levels and on-line review can shorten the timeline. 

Graduates may well work as construction project supervisors, industrial creation managers, and advertising and marketing, promotions, and marketing and advertising professionals.

Graduate certificate in project administration

Graduate certification in undertaking administration programs goal pros intrigued in occupation or instructional progression. 

These non-diploma credentials give coaching in choosing, organizing, executing, and completing jobs in roles as job administrators and senior venture administrators.

Several applications put together students for certification tests and allow for them to transfer credits toward master’s degrees. The undertaking-based mostly curriculum could include programs in procedures and tactics in undertaking administration, challenge lifecycles, and strategic management. These certificates commonly get a person calendar year of element-time study.

Master’s in undertaking management

Challenge administration master’s degree systems emphasize analytical and managerial techniques and offer concentrations in regions like capital administration, engineering challenge management, built-in provide chain administration, intercontinental jobs, and technological innovation. Systems may well demand a capstone, venture, or thesis.

Main courses ordinarily go over challenge cost administration and scheduling, strategic administration, and scope, top quality, and chance management.

Courses just take one to 4 a long time to entire and can guide to careers as IT venture professionals, architect and engineering undertaking professionals, and world task supervisors.   

Project administration vs. an MBA in project management

Job management master’s degrees educate pupils how to lead jobs in superior-level administration positions. MBA concentrations incorporate job management and present classes in common enterprise management abilities but also in project management.

Pupils fascinated in focusing on business enterprise versions, evidence-based project administration methods, and managing groups could want to go after an MBA.  

Doctorate in venture administration

A venture management doctorate will take three to 5 yrs to finish. This is a specialty region in a physician of organization administration degree (DBA) or a Ph.D. application. 

Ph.D. graduates become college professors and scientists. DBAs in undertaking management might do the job as senior venture managers and challenge management consultants.

Other doctoral diploma fields may possibly present task management concentrations, these types of as instruction, engineering, and technology. 

Doctoral curriculums normally need dissertations and extensive examinations.  

The Venture Administration Institute International Accreditation Heart for Job Administration Training Applications (PMI GAC) accredits challenge management levels.

Accreditation signifies the method undergoes frequent analysis to be certain that the curriculum fulfills high-quality specifications and constantly improves. Assure that any degree system you are intrigued in holds PMI GAC accreditation.

Getting a degree or certification in greater training can be complicated at any amount, and project management is no exception. 

You will master new content and hold up with assignments, looking through, and job deadlines, such as exploring and completing a thesis or dissertation if you happen to be a master’s or doctoral university student. These duties just take willpower, self-drive, and time administration. 

Methods for achievements incorporate:

  • Embracing the obstacle as an chance to hone dilemma-fixing techniques and resourceful contemplating
  • Partaking with classmates and faculty, even if on-line
  • Enrolling in a section-time or on the internet plan, which may possibly offer you much more versatility
  • Going through internships and connecting with mentors to acquire useful knowledge and assistance

In conclusion

With annual undertaking supervisor salaries averaging $77,500, in accordance to Indeed’s April 2022 figures, earning a challenge management degree can be a sound investment decision. 

Abide by the links on this website page to our application rankings and take a look at your options. 

This report was reviewed by Alexandra Tapia, MBA

Alexandria Tapia, a blonde woman, smiles at the camera

Alexandra is a driven, superior-spirited, unapologetically energetic, and optimistic man or woman. She prides herself on her devotion to turning into a better business leader and over-all human. She has an insatiable starvation for expertise, asks a million thoughts, and thrives on generating alter.

She has attained numerous populations through her career. She’s researched recidivism, served prior felony offenders reintegrate into society, and constructed trusting relationships when doing work at a homeless shelter. 

Her enthusiasm for training also shines through in her perform. She taught younger little ones for numerous several years but has considering that turned her emphasis to higher schooling. She enjoys collaborating with other folks to be a disruptor in the schooling sector, developing and delivering packages that are contrary to other folks — all when developing a better future for her shoppers and college students. 

Tapia is a paid member of the Crimson Ventures Training Integrity Network. 

Final reviewed Might 3, 2022.