Project Management Certificate

Who Should Attend

Taught by experienced faculty instructors in a convenient and flexible online format, this series of online project management courses is ideal for:

• Those seeking a hands-on approach to gaining project management skills
• Those seasoned or new professionals seeking a salary advancement or promotion
• Career changers seeking to add competitive value to their resume

Benefits of USD’s Online Project Management Certificate Program

Here are some of the most compelling reasons to enroll in the University of San Diego’s Project Management Certificate program: 

• Learn best practices in the project management profession.
• Gain direct insight into applying them to your actual day-to-day project work or future aspirations.
• Explore the five processes or phases in a project management plan (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling and closing).
• Better understand the value of stakeholder and resource management when developing a project management plan and assembling a team.
• Learn strategies for mobilizing executive-level support and organization-wide support to help ensure project success.
• Describe and understand the best approach for estimating your project costs and mapping the project costs with your schedule management plan to create a time phased budget.  
• Develop an understanding of different contract types and strategies for evaluating the variables involved in selecting third-party partners.
• Recognize the difference between predictive and agile approaches to project management.

Project Management Certificate Program Curriculum

The online Project Management Certificate Program consists of four online “fixed date” courses spanning the full spectrum of the project management experience. All four are required to earn your certificate:

• PMP-X857 The Stakeholder & Team Performance Domains
• PMP-X858 The Development Approach and Life Cycle & Planning Domains
• PMP-X859 The Project Work & Delivery Domains
• PMP-X860 The Measurement & Uncertainty Domains

Certificate Requirements and Fees

To earn a professional certificate in Project Management, participants must:

• Complete the four required courses (course fee: $599 per course)
• Complete all coursework with a final grade of C or better
• Submit a one-time certificate fee of $45

Learn more about the University of San Diego’s Professional and Continuing Education Certificate Benefits and Policies.

Project Management Job Market and Career Outlook

The Project Management Institute’s Job Growth and Talent Gap in Project Management report shows a widening skills gap for project management professionals at a global scale — meaning there are not enough well-trained project managers to meet the growing demand.   

Expanding Job Markets

• Projections call for 2.2 million new project-oriented roles to be created globally each year through 2027.

Rising Salaries

• Project managers earn an average of salary of $108,000 in the United States, with a median salary of $89,286 for entry-level project managers.

Growing Industries

• Specific industries experiencing project manager job growth include Manufacturing, Business Services, Finance & Insurance, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Information Technology Services, Construction and Utilities.
• By 2027, employers worldwide will need nearly 88 million individuals in project management-oriented roles.

Experienced Faculty Instructors

Our instructors, most of whom hold advanced degrees, are experienced practitioners and subject matter experts who engage each student in a stimulating and participative learning environment. Meet a few of your Project Management Certificate program instructors: 

Marie Struttmann, PMP, is a program manager and consultant with broad experience in leading manufacturing and operations teams through organizational change both as a senior leader and project manager. She holds an MBA with a focus on organizational change from Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kentucky. Her additional certifications include Practical Process Improvement (PPI) and Certified ScrumMaster (CSM). Marie has been recognized and honored for her success and expertise in business transformation, continuous improvement and Lean Six Sigma across multiple industries. She has served on the executive board and is a mentor for PMI-SD.

Robert Key, PMP, is passionate about his work as a project manager and college professor. He served in the U.S. Air Force for nearly a decade and has earned both an MBA and a Master of Arts in Education (MAEd). Robert’s commitment to lifelong learning is evidenced by his wide range of professional certifications. In addition to Project Management Professional, these include Certified Professional ScrumMaster, Certified Six Sigma Green Belt, Agile Certified Practitioner and Amazon Web Services Certified Solutions Architect.

Testimonials

"I have been thoroughly impressed with the course content and the responsiveness of the Professor. I could not be more pleased with my decision to enroll in this certificate [course]."

Accreditation

The University of San Diego’s Division of Professional and Continuing Education is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges – Senior College and University Commission (WASC).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Project Management?

The discipline of initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria.

Do courses need to be taken in sequence?

Yes, the newly revised program has been developed to be taken in sequence, starting with course, PMP-X857 The Stakeholder & Team Domains.

How long are courses?

Each course is taught over 7 weeks. Courses are taught in an Online Fixed-Date modality. Learn more about the Online Fixed-Date format, here.

What textbooks are required?

Although most course materials are shared through our online learning platform, Blackboard, the following books are required for the program:

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition and The Standard for Project Management, Seventh Edition by PMI (available as a combined purchase) and An Introduction to Project Management by Kathy Schwalbe, all available at Amazon.com or your local bookstore.

Will this program prepare me for the PMP Certification Exam?

The Project Management Certificate program is intended to provide practical project management skillsets. It is real-world based and led by practitioners. It provides an in-depth overview of PM methodology; however, it is not a PMP exam prep course.

When should I pay for the certificate fee?

It is recommended that you pay your one-time certificate fee upon enrolling in your first course. 

Do you accept third-party funding options?

Yes, this program is approved by the following third-party funding sources:

• The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts Program (MyCAA)
• Segal AmeriCorps Education Award

For students using third-party funding, please contact Enrollment and Student Services at continuinged@sandiego.edu or 619-432-3790 to begin the registration process. Please have your funding source details readily available.

Are you a student who was registered in the Project Management Certificate program prior to January 2022? 

Contact your program advisors during office hours to learn more about transferring course equivalences to the updated Project Management Certificate program. Contact us at pce-bus@sandiego.edu today!