StudyQA — Master: Project Management

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Description Contents Requirements Funding

KU’s School of Engineering M.S. in Project Management degree addresses workforce needs by providing the management knowledge and performance competencies that can be used by graduates from multiple disciplines who are involved in managing a variety of projects. Course work can be completed entirely on the KU Edwards Campus. A degree from the Edwards Campus is a degree from the University of Kansas.

In practice, Engineering Manager and Project Manager are often quite different, as as such require the development of distinct technical skills and management strategies. Engineering managers are responsible items such as coordination of activities, assigning key staff responsibilities to project managers, designing and implementing policies and procedures for effective and efficient processes, training and development of staff, and administering personnel functions.

The engineering manager bridges the gap between the field of engineering, technology, people and the field of business. They are in a management position in charge of an engineering project, program, team, division or department. They are responsible permanent or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or services.

A Project Manager (PM) is a manager in charge of administering a project. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables), undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value. Key PM responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraint for projects, which is cost, time, and scope.

PM uses cross-functional teams to assist in the process of planning, organizing, securing, leading, delegating and controlling of resources to achieve specific goals for a finite objective. This is one distinction from business as usual, operations or permanent business functions. A project manager is often also a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client based on knowledge of the firm they are representing.

Academic Catalog Course Listing

Concentration Courses (12 cr.)

PMGT 816: Project Management Fundamentals I
PMGT 817: Project Management Fundamentals II
PMGT 818: Project Management Fundamentals III
PMGT 819: Project Management Fundamentals IV

Core Courses (12 cr.)

PMGT 802: Innovation and Change Management Process
PMGT 810: Financial Management
COMS 730: Writing and Speaking for Decision Makers
COMS 930: Seminar in Speech: Applied Organizational Communication
- COMS 930 will soon be replaced by COMS 811: Applied Organizational Communication

Capstone (3 cr.)

PMGT 835: Project Management Capstone Course

Elective Courses (Pick Two - 6 cr. Total)

PMGT 820: Management of Intra-Organizational Projects
PMGT 821: Management of Consulting Projects
PMGT 822: Management of Governmental Projects
PMGT 823: Risk Management for Project Managers
PMGT 824: Project Cost Estimation, Analysis, and Control
PMGT 825: Portfolio Analysis for Project Managers
PMGT 826: Program Management
PMGT 827: Project Team Management and Development
PMGT 828: Management of Global Projects
PMGT 829: Management of Distributed Project Teams

Admissions Requirements

A Bachelor of Science or closely related science
A 3.0 undergraduate grade point average (on a 4.0 scale)
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score: Quantitative - 155+; Verbal - 146+.
The GRE may be waived, upon departmental review, if the applicant has 2 + years of qualified professional and related experience
Three letters of recommendation
Current resume
International students must meet KU’s English proficiency, Visa/I-20, and financial support document requirements

School of Engineering Scholarships and Fellowships for First Year Graduate Students

Scholarships and fellowships are awards based either on academic merit alone, or on academic merit and financial need. Awards are applied directly to a student's tuition and fees. Typically, funds left over after disbursements are made are returned to the student in the form of a check (or direct deposit into a bank account).

School of Engineering scholarships and fellowships for incoming graduate students are awarded on a competitive basis. Award considerations include the applicant's academic performance (GPA), personal statement, scores on achievement tests, letters of recommendation, evidence of involvement in and commitment to the engineering profession, and an individual's record of scholarly activities. There is no separate application process for these awards. Students are automatically considered when a complete application is submitted. Each department nominates qualified graduate students. Awards are generally allocated in March.

Incoming and current students may also qualify for the following KU and external scholarships and fellowships.

Engineering Graduate Ambassador Fellowship, deadline: end of March each year
Madison and Lila Self Doctoral Fellowship, deadline: students are nominated for this fellowship, departmental deadline is normally late January or early February
Graduate Studies Fellowships and Scholarships, deadline: varies, check the link provided for details
Graduate Engineering Association (GEA) Student Travel Funding

Funding from Engineering Departments

Individual programs or departments may offer funding opportunities for graduate students. Links to information about program/departmental funding are below.