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Master of Science in Project Management
Is the master's in Project Management program for me?
If you're an aspiring project manager, program manager or general manager, our M.S.P.M. program gives you the
tangible, practical skills you need to help organizations operate smoothly and efficiently.
At City University of Seattle, our master's degree program classes are taught both in class and online to give you
flexibility and convenience. If you decide to earn your master's degree online, you'll still have access
to all CityU's great resources - without the commute.
What will I learn in the master's in Project Management degree program?
In the CityU M.S. in Project Management degree program, you'll learn to take charge and get things done - planning, scheduling,
budgeting and guiding projects from kick-off to completion. You'll learn how to negotiate and communicate your way through
multiple projects, satisfy internal and external stakeholder demands, and keep tabs on diverse, cross-functional teams.
We'll also help you put together a portfolio of projects you've managed, which can help you showcase your work to prospective
or current employers. Read through the P.M. degree course descriptions below for more details.
CityU is recognized by the Project Management Institute® (PMI) as a Global Registered
Education Provider. That means you'll gain credits toward PMI certification while you complete your M.S.P.M. degree.
What can I do with my master's degree in Project Management?
The field of project management is quickly growing. The project management training you gain while earning your M.S.P.M. degree could translate well to
senior-level jobs in government, the military, manufacturing, transportation, health care, information technology and education, to name just a few.
Why CityU?
- CityU is proud to be accredited by the Project Management Institute Global Accreditation Center for Project Management Education Programs (GAC). We are one of a few institutions to demonstrate and meet the GAC’s rigorous global standards.
- CityU is recognized by the Project Management Institute® (PMI) as a Global Registered Education Provider. That means when you complete a course, you can gain credit toward your educational professional unit toward your PMP.
- Because you want an education that's relevant to what's happening in the real world, right now.
- Our faculty teach what they do for a living, not just what’s in the book. Many are PMP-certified by the Project Management Institute and are actively engaged as working project managers in their local PMI chapter.
- You can get an education without sacrificing your lifestyle. Complete your coursework on a schedule that works best for you.
How to get started:
Do you have at least a bachelor's degree? If so, you're eligible to apply. Here's how:
- Chat with an admissions advisor or call 888.42.CityU
- Apply online
- Order your official transcripts from other schools you attended
- Submit application with application fee
MSPM Student Achievement Survey 2012
Download PDF document.
 
Introduction Courses (4)
PM 501
This course will introduce the practices that are fundamental to successful project management in a broad range of industry environments. The student will be introduced to the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in this fast growing professional field including project planning, scheduling, managing cost, quality, and risk, while monitoring the influences that can affect project scope and eventual project success. The challenges of working with diverse teams of internal and external resources will be explored through activities and interaction with distributed teams. The goal of this course is to give the student a sense of confidence in bringing projects to a successful close in any professional setting.
PM 602
This course provides an overview of productive reflective practice as applied to project management and the process of completing the Master of Science in Project Management program at City University of Seattle. Topics include design and maintenance of the project management notebook; PM leadership skills; using reflective practice; understanding the various forms of reflective process and how they apply to problem solving; moving the project through its life cycle; understanding ISO standards as applied to PM; the basic elements of a project and what is required to successfully manage complex projects; building an ethical PM Community of Practice (CoP); and maintaining a project's social and relationship capital network.
Core Courses (13)
PM 504
Effective planning is central to project management success. This course will examine project scope and schedule development processes based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). Advanced schedule development processes will be addressed, enabling the student to create a Work Breakdown Structure and to define and sequence activities into a project schedule. Scheduling techniques such as the use of activity calendars and the application of baselines for analyzing schedule performance against plan will be covered. The student will also explore the basic concepts of portfolio management, the use of project control techniques in managing multiple projects, and learn how to make effective project presentations. The assignments and core concepts in PM 504 are continued in PM 507. Prerequisites: PM 501.
PM 507
Cost, scope, and schedule are considered the triad of project management. This course is a continuation of PM 504 and will focus on the cost leg of that triangle and earned value management. Project activity-based financial principles will be presented to support the assignment of resource and cost loaded schedules for performing budget planning and estimating. You will learn cost estimating methods, budgeting, performance measurement and controls, as well as various project financial management terms, techniques, and tools and how to apply them in managing the various phases of a typical project. Topics will include an introduction to ANSI 748 Earned Value Standards. You will resource and cost load the schedule you developed in PM 504 and experiment with methods to deal with changes that affect the successful outcome of your project. Prerequisites: PM 501 and PM 504.
PM 511
Ensuring project health is a vital concern for all project managers. This certification course focuses on the underlying business goals that drive the need for projects. The course is designed to help project managers develop and implement a set of performance measures that evaluate and facilitate achievement of goals for the project and the business. Students will learn to integrate the historic triple constraint project performance measures (time, budget, and quality) with a larger set of business measures specific to operational and customer needs that together can define a successful project. Through this process of measuring performance, students learn how to determine and integrate appropriate performance targets, measures and metrics, then detail the means to collect baseline and actual performance data necessary to measure, analyze, trend and report findings and recommendations to project stakeholders. Prerequisites: PM 501.
PM 514
The work of a project manager is continually challenging and situational based upon the broader business context in which a project operates. This integration course is conducted using multiple simulations that allow students to apply critical elements of project management in a variety of real-world scenarios and situational contexts. Applying knowledge from prior coursework in simulations will build practical understanding and integration of core project management tools and activities. In concert with the simulations, students are professionally facilitated through a process of reflective learning about the simulations, the project management discipline, and their planned career. The integrative learning summarizes the prior course work while preparing students for the remaining courses in the master's program. Upon completion of this course, the student will be eligible for the Graduate Certificate in Project Management and ready to proceed toward higher levels of learning in the MSPM degree program. Prerequisites: PM 501, PM 504.
PM 603
In this course students begin their work on the Master of Science in Project Management (MSPM) capstone project. They will construct elements of the Project Management Notebook (PMNB)/e-portfolio as the capstone project moves through the initiation and planning phases, as well as plan the content for the execution and closeout phases of the capstone project. Prerequisites: PM 501, PM 504, PM 507, and PM 602.
Mastery Courses (28)
PM 502
Application of project management practices, methods, processes, and tools can vary significantly across industry sectors and business context (such as product, service or infrastructure development). The same is true concerning other environmental factors affecting the project such as where a project manager intercepts the project or program (beginning, middle, or project recovery), the velocity of implementation (industry typical lifecycle or fast-track), and whether it is a domestic or international project. This course explores the commonalities and differences in applying project management principles given these varying business and environmental factors, future trends in project and program management, and critical skills and competencies that are needed today and in the future for leaders to succeed. A personal skills inventory and leadership assessment by each student is a component of this course. Prerequisites: PM 505, PM 509.
PM 503
Communication is the glue that holds project teams and organizations together. Thus being a successful project manager means being an effective communicator. This course introduces communication strategies and proven techniques especially valuable in addressing the challenging dynamics of stakeholder interaction. The aim is to improve communication skills and increase clarity, relevance, and precision in communication to better interact among a diverse workforce and set of stakeholders. Students learn how to tailor project messaging and its timing to meet the needs of varying stakeholders (senior managers, team members, functional managers, customers, vendors, and partners). Importantly, students learn how communication can facilitate decision-making processes, negotiations between competing stakeholder objectives, and keep alignment between project outcomes and business goals.
PM 505
When the interdependencies of projects are not managed well, the result is always decreased organizational performance. This course reviews organizational best practices regarding the disciplines of portfolio management, program management, and project management, focusing specifically on the differences between program and project processes, tools, measures, and metrics. Students examine the tools and techniques that, when effectively used to manage a set of interdependent projects as a single program, result in improved business performance and keep projects aligned with organizational goals and strategy. From a portfolio perspective, the student will learn industry-proven approaches to ensure that an organization is investing in the right set of projects and programs that provide maximum return to an organization given both budget and resource constraints.
PM 506
Many projects today are managed on a global scale. This scale is very different than the much smaller, and less dynamic, domestic scale. With the expanded global marketplace, a project manager's ability to lead geographically distributed teams has become a critical skill. Successful project managers understand the dynamics of teams – domestic and global – and can deploy necessary strategies, tactics, and situational leadership techniques to build an effective project team. This course focuses on how to build and sustain alignment among team members by focusing on improved coordination, communication, and collaboration among team members regardless of geographical location.
PM 508
Risks associated with cost, schedule, quality, and performance are prevalent in project work and therefore need to be managed. This course exposes students to a plethora of project risks and the means for effective mitigation. Specifically, students will investigate principle theories and practices of risk management to learn the latest techniques for identifying, assessing, and evaluating trade-offs to manage the various types of risk associated with a project. These theories and practices will help students plan and predict potential project issues and have ready-to-implement mitigation plans if and when risk events materialize. From such work, students will learn about the impact of project risk as it relates to the probability of failure to achieve the business goals associated with the project and further determine the potential damage it has to the overall organization. Opportunity risk is also evaluated as it relates to project selection within the portfolio management process and toward achievement of strategic advantage for a business.
PM 509
Organizations are complex with a multitude of business activities being executed every day. Undergirded by the notion of general systems theory, this course provides business fundamentals for project managers. Students learn about business strategy, marketing, voice-of-the-customer, finance and accounting, operations, and human resource management. Understanding these fundamentals allows project managers to better deploy tools and techniques of the discipline (such as a project's business case, cash flow management plan, risk-mitigation strategy, schedule) and bridge the divide between customer needs, business goals, and project planning, designing, developing, and implementing. Further, students will be exposed to the effective use and management of vendors, partners, and contractors and their implications relative to decision-making, legal, and ethical concerns.
PM 510
The focus of this course is essentially decision making. Effectiveness regarding decisions starts with an understanding of organizational culture, power streams, and political structures. Students learn how to identify all organizational stakeholders (inside and outside the organization) associated with a project or program, analyze and assess stakeholder objectives, and then develop a stakeholder management plan that satisfies the needs of influential stakeholders while managing their competing objectives against the objectives of the project and business. Further, this course evaluates the sources of organizational politics and power struggles, and the resulting impact on a project or program. Students learn to master techniques to work appropriately based on the cultural pressures of the organization and reduce the negative impact of organizational politics. This ability allows project managers to foresee and overcome obstacles by building relationships within the complexity of organizations.
PM 512
This course ensures a 'master level' understanding of key tools and project management methodologies in the project and program manager's toolbox. Students will first learn to evaluate the use of various project management methodologies (waterfall, agile, six sigma, PRINCE) to use in varying business and project situations. The student will then learn how to evaluate and select the right suite of project management tools based upon what is being measured, project or program structures, local or distributed team environments, and alignment of tools to business goal achievement. Both strategic tools (portfolio maps, roadmaps, complexity assessments, strategy alignment matrices) and operational tools (budget reports, time management tools, program maps, project dashboards) will be applied in this course. Prerequisites: PM 501, PM 504, and PM 507.
PM 513
Organizations cannot remain static in today's ever-changing business environments. To do so would result in business failure. Projects and project managers aim to address this concern. With the understanding that projects are change endeavors, project managers are change agents and are looked to for leadership in times of business transition. With focus on diagnosing the root causes and need for organizational change, the personal psychology of change, and why change efforts commonly fail, this course enables the student to be an effective contributor and change agent in a constantly changing organization. To accomplish this aim, various organizational change management and business transition theories, concepts, techniques, and interventions are explored. Each student will define differing change management approaches most effectively applied in varying organizational situations and will create a business transition and change management strategy along with an integrated project plan and schedule that addresses the need for change and its interdependencies in complex business systems of today.
PM 604
This course will conclude the implementation of project work using the applied action learning method. Emphasis will be placed on lessons learned throughout the program as you have implemented project phases. You will reflect on the results of your project and create a plan for continued project iterations that will support your efforts after you have completed the program. This course will serve as the final checkpoint for your project e-portfolio and personal action plan progress. Prerequisites: All courses in MSPM should be completed or in process when this course is taken.
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