Project Management Courses

One of the many courses of study that is in high demand at Grantham University is the Project Management program. For students who are unsure of what to expect from a project management course, this description of the discipline may prove useful.

Project management courses focus on the discipline of organizing, planning, securing, and managing resources to complete specific project goals and objectives effectively. Project management is often used in association with engineering and technology projects, but many high level managers are also expected to have project management knowledge, which can be gained by completing project management courses. To achieve all of a project’s goals and objectives while honoring the preconceived constraints of the project is the challenge of a project manager. The goal of a project management program is to instill the knowledge necessary to do so.

Typical challenges that the project management course teaches students to handle are the project’s scope, completion time, and the project budget. Furthermore, a well rounded project management course will train students to optimize the placement and integration of all inputs necessary to reach all project objectives.

The history of project management and courses of training for project management is long and diverse. Early civilizations undertook grand projects which required disciplined planning and management; however, until the early twentieth century, engineering projects were overseen by the project’s architects and engineers themselves who often had no formal training in project management or any access to project management courses. In the latter half of the twentieth century, project management tools and techniques were finally applied systematically, and early project management courses began to develop.

Master of Science in Information Management – Project Management

Master of Business Administration – Project Management

Several fields contribute to project management and the related courses that treat project management as a field of study: the fields of civil construction, defense, and engineering all play key roles. Henry Gantt, who lived from 1861 until 1919, is considered to be the father of planning and control techniques which are used heavily for projects that are managed on an ad hoc basis. Other project management techniques that have had a bearing on the ideas taught in modern project management courses come from the United States military, especially the United States Navy, which developed the “Program Evaluation and Review Technique,” or PERT, which addresses many of the same challenges taught to students in project management courses.

Career Specific Information

Organization development is usually considered to be a specialized branch of management consulting. A Project Manager in Organizational Development helps corporate clients plan and implement programs to increase their organization’s efficiency. They also help clients institute policies that enable their organizations to evolve continually to meet new business challenges. As more businesses opt to change their organizational structures, and as the use of management consultants in general grows more widespread, the demand for organizational developers will also grow.

Course Highlights & Curriculum

“Educational requirements for entry-level jobs in the management analyst field vary between private industry and government. Many employers in private industry generally seek individuals with a master’s degree in business administration or a related discipline.”

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov