M.Eng. in Project Management @ UMD

I just ran accross a distance learning program at the University of Maryland, College Park for people who have not skimped on their calculus courses:

http://www.oaee.umd.edu/grad/mepm.html

For all those people who lament the prestige differences between UMUC and the main campus, this might be your chance to finish a degree from the College Park campus. Tuition is about $560/credit + $150/course.

 

I couldn't find any dates, but I suspect that this program is new for Fall 2006. Previously, they only had a graduate certificate in Project Management.

 

This programme is rather focused for the construction industry.

 

I disagree. This is a very general program when you consider the breadth of the electives. That coupled with the fact that that none of the core courses deal with the construction industry, this degree could be the degree for anyone (provided they have the calculus background) who is interested in project management.

 

Hi, Joann. I checked the program and I agree, with the following caveats:

- Most (not every, but most) successful projects (even if they’re based on a purely theoretical premise such as strategy, research, or reorganization) have some degree of construction involvement (electrical, mechanical, structural, logistics, etc) in some form.

- An outright facility expansion is easy to relate to construction, but something as esoteric as producing a business case can lead to moving employees, upgrading infrastructure and computing capacity, and revised maintenance protocols (requiring new transportation support, equipment, and facility support).

This is only my observation (based on experience as a field project manager), but support construction can bite ya on the butt if not considered and taken into account during risk analysis and implementation. At least passing familiarity with some form of construction may not be a bad thing for a career in project management.

BTW, I submitted my completed application to PMI to sit for the PMP test. I’ll let you know if they decide to audit, approve it, laugh it off, or what have you. Good luck on the CAPM exam, and let me know if you need (or have) any suggestions for study materials.

Dave

 

I agree with “tcmak” the program appears to be geared more toward individuals with a Civil Engineering background. For managing IT or business projects, I would look to the below programs.

http://www.gwu.edu/~business/mspm/


http://www.uwplatt.edu/disted/degrees/pm/index.html

 

Which of the UMD core courses deals with the construction industry? Or, are you saying that the you can't choose a set of electives that isn't centered around this industry? While I agree with you that there are several elective courses available that deal with this industry, and the program obviously has courses sponsored by the civil engineering department, its not correct to say that this program could not be very appropriate for a project management generalist.

You also bring up UW Platteville as a good choice for IT Project Management; however, they don't even offer a course that specifically addresses IT! -- UMD does!

On the other had I do agree with you that UW Platteville has more course options for a PM generalist. However, the degree itself wouldn't compare prestige-wise with UMD College Park. It is a very flexible degree which I am also considering. AS for GWU, I would think their MSPM degree is similar in prestige to the degree from UMD (maybe even better!)

 

JoAnn,

The word construction is used 19 times on the web page. I think that speaks for itself.

I agree that GW’s program would carry more prestige. What appealed to me with the UWP program is that it is only 30 credits, and they will accept up to 15 credits in transfer. However, since I have PMP, I will not likely pursue a master’s in project management. I will probably pursue an MIS program.

Have you considered an MBA in Project Management?

Randy

p.s. I sent you an email with a program that you might want to add to your website.

http://www.brandeis.edu/rabbgrad/distancelearning/

 

How is it that this speaks for itself?

Anyone who is interested in a MS in Project Management should have a look at the UMD program, even if you are more interested in general project management. While I haven't counted the number of times construction is used in their class descriptions, I have read all of them and I know it is quite simple to put together a generalist degree. That means you could easily complete the degree without a single class that, at least going by the course description, covers the construction industry. If you become distracted by the coverage they do give to this industry in their available electives then you are liable to overlook a gem of a program.

Of course, as I mentioned in my original post, if you background doesn't include the level of math normally required for engineering programs, then this would probably be a reason you would look elsewhere.

 

I've looked at the programs at Mississippi State and the University of Colorado. I'm just not really excited about the MBA in general. MBA's tend to be so general and I like to really know a subject. Please I have no desire to be anything other than a technical manager and while an MBA isn't a bad degree for this, I would rather look at a MS in Project Management or a MS in Engineering Management.

Also, I did receive your email. Sorry I never responded. Between work and school I have been extremely busy. So much so that I haven't had anytime to really update my site. While the Brandeis program is certainly a worthy program, its not really my cup of tea because it appears to be administered by an IT/Business department rather than the Computer Science department. But like I said, that is just my peronal preference. Others my find this quality extremely important.

In addition to Brandeis, I also see that NYIT Ellis College has a Computer Science program which also is not on my list.

 

If you can make the program work for you, go for it! You can’t go wrong with the University of Maryland, College Park