Building on our educational experience in leadership, technology and management

As anyone with experience in the business world can attest, many projects take longer than planned, come in over budget, and deliver fewer benefits than promised. Researchers estimate that as many as 70 percent of projects fail in some critical way. Why is the project failure rate so high? Of course, there are many answers to this question, but one major difference between successful projects and those that fail is the presence of a skilled project manager. 

Advantages of a master's degree

A master's degree in Project Management offers a deeper, richer curriculum than other project managment certificates available. Our program also focuses on the knowledge and skills required to be an effective leader with an emphasis in leading global and distributed teams. A major component of a project manager's role in any industry is to provide guidance and leadership for a given project. In an increasingly global work environment, an international perspective and an understanding of how to handle distributed teams are critical skills.

What does a project manager do?

A project manager is responsible for initiating, planning, monitoring, controlling and guiding a project from start to finish. Projects include a defined goal, are temporary in nature and result in a change to the organization. Project managers lead cross-disciplinary teams and coordinate activities across business units, making sure that all areas of a project are functioning well.

Project management is not an entry-level profession; on the contrary, it requires significant understanding and knowledge about one's industry, in addition to the leadership, change management, organizational and technological skills necessary to lead a major effort.

St. Scholastica and project management: A natural fit

St. Scholastica's online Master of Science in Project Management program builds on our leadership and experience in leadership, change management and technology. The successful track record of graduates from our MBA, M.A. in Management and IT Leadership programs positions us well to offer a project management degree that emphasizes ethical decision making, social responsibility, global awareness and professional excellence. 

Student Tested. PMI approved.

The College of St. Scholastica is approved as a Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) by the Project Management Institute (PMI). This means that most courses are worth 36 professional development units (PDU's) to meet the continuing education requirements needed by PMP certificate holders. 

PMP, REP logo, and [any other logos] are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.

Career outlook

Project Managers have opportunities across a variety of industries including construction management, computer and information systems management, engineering management or a number of other management roles. The master's in project management is designed to build on your current professional experience, providing you with the organizational, technical, and leadership skills necessary to bring large projects to completion. 

• Highly trained project managers can expect to see worldwide growth of more than 1 million new positions each year through 2016 (Source: Anderson Economic Group)
• The average annual salary for an experienced project manager is $144,000 (Source: 2011 PMI Annual Salary Survey)
• Project managers in their first three years of work can expect an average salary of $62,000 (Source: 2011 PMI Annual Salary Survey)