Do You Need a Degree in Project Management?

The past 10 years have brought a shift in the perception of project management programs in higher education. As institutions looked to expand their offerings, they also looked to bridge the gap between professional project management and project-based learning.   

For decades the industry relied heavily on mentorship and transferable skills to build up project management workforces. The deep-seated attitude among a majority of institutions was that project management was more of an art and less of a science, hence the lack of time and money spent on formal programs. Since higher education tends to focus on theory and education rather than actual implementation, most universities felt it was necessary to allocate resources elsewhere.  

Today some universities offer undergraduate degrees in project management, but many more institutions offer master’s degrees. The idea is that students will build project-management-specific skills in their graduate studies on top of knowledge gained during their undergrad years.   

If you are pursuing the undergrad path, a degree in project management allows you to start from scratch in a slower, controlled environment. Working through an undergraduate program means you are able to gather a wide range of abilities before stepping into the field. It ultimately gives you a leg up when you are starting out. In some cases, it even can help you forgo internships and lead straight to a full-time position in the field.   

In a project management program, you can expect to learn the necessary critical thinking skills in conjunction with schedule and task organization, risk analysis, team development, quality control and more – all of which will ultimately lead to your becoming an expert in project management.   

A degree can also elevate you in your career for years to come. The Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute is widely praised within the industry. Certification requires a secondary or four-year degree in addition to a varying number of work hours. Applying for the PMP after several years in the industry will not seem as daunting, thanks to the on-the-job experience you will have already accumulated.  

A degree in project management is not the only route to take if you want to enter the industry. There are a variety of ways to get your start. Project managers often hold a variety of degrees, and in many scenarios that diversity is welcomed and sought after. (Our MRC team is composed of project managers with degrees in finance, linguistics, education and more.) But don’t rule out the benefits of a college degree. And while project management programs are not on every college campus, there is a plethora of options across the United States worth exploring.