Bachelors (BS) in Project Management
Overview
The Project Management program is a 36-semester hour program designed to guide students in becoming effective project managers, equipped with the knowledge, tools, and skills to deliver successful projects in today’s fast-paced business environment. The course of study blends the tools and techniques advocated by the Project Management Institute (PMI) into a solid study of the theories, techniques, and approaches used by successful managers and leaders. Students who complete the program will be positioned academically to further their project management careers and to continue on to PMI certification, a commonly requested requirement of hiring managers.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate ways leaders and managers integrate management tools, Christian principles, and ethical values to lead effective teams.
- Apply project management methods and competencies to successfully deliver projects that advance an organization’s strategic and operational goals.
- Apply analytical methods and management tools to diagnose organizational challenges and implement innovative solutions.
- Develop communication strategies that engage stakeholders, resolve conflict, and facilitate organizational change.
Course Requirements
Students are required to obtain a minimum grade of C- in all courses taken for the major.
Major Requirements
Complete the following:
In Organizational Behavior, students study organizations and the people who work in them. Emphasis is placed on leadership and management roles and responsibilities, including team and group behaviors, biases, values, and attitudes, and their effects on organizations.
In Organizational Theory, students will explore how internal and external environments influence organizational designs, structures, cultures, processes, practices, and people. Change identification and execution will be discussed.
In this advanced course, students will engage in an in-depth analysis of worldview formation, with a focus on its implications for personal identity, professional paradigms, interpersonal communication, ethical decision-making, and faith development. Students will evaluate diverse perspectives and theological frameworks, including a discipline-specific exploration of the foundations of the Christian faith and its historical and societal impact. The course will guide students in refining a personal worldview that shapes their understanding of work, fostering a deeper integration of faith, reason, and ethical responsibility.
Topics covered will enable students to analyze and interpret both historical and estimated financial data used by management to conduct daily operations, plan future operations and develop overall business strategies. Prerequisites: MPJM 401 Organizational Behavior, MPJM 403 Organizational Theory.
In Operations Management students will be introduced to concepts and techniques for design, planning, and control of service and manufacturing operations. Students will learn the basic definitions of operations management terms, tools and techniques for analyzing operations, and strategic context for making operational decisions.
Complete the following:
MPJM 475 is optional and not required for Project Management majors.
Predictive Project Management Methodology exposes students to predictive project management domains and life cycles. Students will explore the requirements outlined in the Project Management Institute (PMI) Standards and PM Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) associated with development and delivery of projects using predictive methodology. Students will apply their knowledge through development of a team-oriented project.
Introduction to Project Management provides students an overview of the field of project management, with a focus on the responsibilities project managers (PMs) have to help achieve operational and strategic goals. Students will be introduced to ways to integrate and manage projects in modern organizations according to the tenets of the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Project Management Standards and Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). Students will be introduced to various methodologies employed by PMs to achieve their goals and to the ethical responsibilities of being a PM.
Students will explore the operational cycles of an adaptive implementation in modern project management organizations. Students will be introduced to the various roles and components involved in adaptive delivery and integration with the PMI project lifecycle. Students will participate in an adaptive project management plan, delivering artifacts required of good project management practitioners.
Required for Project Management majors and minors. Project Risk Management provides a framework for approaching, evaluating and implementing project risk principles to obtain optimal project results. Students will understand a variety of methods deployed in the project management industry to manage and respond to risks in projects, including a variety of components that integrate into a complete risk attitude and appetite for an organization. Students will introduced to tools and methods for project management.
Managing Project Communication & Change exposes students to two key skills related to project management -- communication and change management. Students will learn to assess the project environment as it changes through the life cycle to identify the appropriate timing and types of communications that are needed. Additionally, students will learn the importance of scope management, and to recognize how “scope creep” can derail a project and what to do about it.
Project Leadership provides students the opportunity to evaluate themselves as leaders and understand their position as project leaders working to deliver the strategic goals of an organization. Students will explore the complexities of virtual team leadership, especially in a global environment. Students will be introduced to performance domains, project life cycles, and project management principles as described in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).
Applied Project Management is the capstone course of the project management degree program. This course is developed around the framework of strategic management, which opens up avenues for discussing the organization and project management more holistically. Students will investigate how PMs and organizational leadership work with the Project Management Office (PMO) and organizational structure and processes to achieve strategic goals.
Supervised experience in the discipline including internships and practica required for professional programs. This advanced experience must have an on-site supervisor and/or a departmental instructor overseeing, designing, and evaluating the content of the course.