Online Master’s Degree in Project Management

For people interested in managing small teams to achieve short and long-term goals, an online Master’s Degree in Project Management can be great way to kick-start a rewarding career. An accredited online project management masters degree is typically designed to supplement managerial experience with training in communications and operation optimization. Though an online bachelor’s degree in project management is sufficient for most entry-level positions, the added training provided by a good online masters program in project management is a necessary piece of attaining leadership roles within this industry.

Online Master’s Degrees in Project Management Requirements

Successful online project management masters degree students have strong communication skills and work well under the pressure of multiple overlapping deadlines. Typically, students studying to obtain accredited online master degrees in project management have great interpersonal skills and can also take criticism in stride. Students in top online masters programs in project management will have the opportunity to further develop and perfect these characteristics.

Students pursuing a master’s degree in project management should have completed a bachelor’s degree. The most common include:

• Business Administration
• Engineering
• Operations Research
• Economics
• Human Resource Management

In addition, many online masters school students have prior work experience as managers, researchers, and project engineers.

Online Project Management Master’s Degree Education

Good online master’s degree programs in project management typically take between 2 to 3 years to complete. The types of project management degrees offered by the best project management master’s programs online include:

• Master of Science in Project Management (MS in Project Management)
• Master of Arts in Project Management (MA in Project Management)

Information on Project Management Courses

Top online masters degree programs in project management emphasize the ability to manage teams, juggle complex deadlines and plan goals that are within reach given staff performance history. The courses required to obtain a project management master’s degree online are designed to develop communicative and critical thinking skills, while also exposing students to the financial aspects of leading a team to carry out a specified task. Online master’s degree project management courses will give students the opportunity to develop these characteristics into an appropriate professional persona.

Courses common to the best online masters degree programs in project management may include:

• Business Ethics
  This online master in project management course exposes students to the typical ethical dilemmas that arise during the management of many different types of projects.
• Conflict Resolution
  Students learn how to address common problems, both managerial and employee-related, that tend to crop up in the workplace.
• Risk Management
  This course teaches students how to appropriately assess and work with risk factors to ensure that project deadlines are met smoothly.
• Operation Optimization
  In this online master in project management course students learn common methods of project optimization, often from both operational and monetary perspectives.
• Project Quality Management
  Students learn how to control project quality standards on technical ventures that may be subject to state and federal regulations.

Specializations and Concentrations

Because project management is a broad field, in order to become an expert in a specific niche, some online master’s project management students will pursue specialties or concentrations in areas including:

• Environmental Project Management
• Air Quality Control
• Human Resource Management
• Consulting

Careers in Project Management

Graduates of accredited online master programs in project management have a wide array of career opportunities to choose from. Popular choices among online masters degree project management graduates include:

• Engineering Project Manager
  Also known as project engineers, these individuals combine managerial and technical expertise to oversee major engineering enterprises. These professionals make around $55,000 or more per year and are expected to enjoy good but competitive job growth until 2018.
• Human Resource Manager
  Human resource managers oversee the hiring, training, and labor relations departments of large businesses. Project managers can provide operational expertise to these environments, and make around $50,000 per year. Job growth is expected to be healthy into 2018.
• Entrepreneur
  Entrepreneurs turn big ideas into businesses. These professionals are hardworking and often spend their time networking, presenting to venture capitalists and hedging funds for the foundation of new corporations. Entrepreneurs make anywhere from $50,000 and up.
• Construction Manager
  Construction managers typically have backgrounds in civil engineering or architecture, and oversee construction of buildings and other structures from the ground up. These professionals make about $60,000 per year or more. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth is expected to remain around 17 percent until 2018.
• Managerial Consultant
  For those with more experience, managerial consultants provide advice to businesses on how to more effectively utilize project teams to carry out important tasks. These professionals can make $50,000 per year or more, with competitive growth expected in the job sector until 2018.

Those students graduating from online masters degree programs in project management enjoy stable careers as managers, with much room for growth, development and advancement. A master’s degree in project management from a top online school is a solid investment for the future of your career.