MBA with Emphasis in Project Management
Increasingly, employers in many fields are
seeking workers who have a proficiency in project management. Skills like time
management, the ability to implement strategic change, and cost management,
among others, are in great demand (US News & World Report, 2011).
Viterbo’s MBA program offers an optional emphasis
in project management. To meet the requirements of this emphasis, students
choose electives in project management and focus their capstone project on a
topic related to project management.
Students choosing the MBA with Project Management
Emphasis begin and end the program with a cohort of professionals from a
variety of industries. During the summer and in their last semester, students choosing this emphasis area focus their study on project management.
Sample Schedule for MBA with Project Management
Emphasis
Project Management Emphasis Elective Options:
Strategic
Project Management (3 credits)
This
course is primarily based on Project Management Institute’s PMBOK (Project
Management Body of Knowledge) and also addresses the agile methodology.
Students will demonstrate the ability to initiate, plan, execute, monitor and
control, as well as close a project. Students will develop skills in managing
project integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources,
communications, risk, and procurement. Topics include the value of project
management, roles in a project, qualities of a successful project manager,
servant leadership, scrum, and the use of tools such as work breakdown
structures, stakeholder analysis, and earned value management.
Program
and Portfolio Management (3 credits)
This course examines both the project investment portfolio
and the execution of programs within the portfolio. Students will focus on
determining which projects should be funded, aligning projects with corporate
strategy, aligning resources with projects, and monitoring project portfolio
performance. Program management content will prepare students to identify and manage
cross-project dependencies, as well as oversee multiple related projects.
Students will also demonstrate the ability to effectively provide program
level communication to the project manager.
Aligning
Information Technology with Organizational Strategy (3 credits)
This course focuses on aligning information
systems with organizational goals and leveraging technology to gain or sustain
competitive advantage. Students gain executive level understanding of
infrastructure and technology pertaining to strategic uses of information.
Additional topics include outsourcing, globalization, project management,
systems integration, security, and ethics.
Sample Schedule
A sample schedule for
a student choosing the MBA with a Project Management Emphasis is shown
here. Students may begin this program in May, August or January and
graduate in two years while attending class one night per week from 6 to 10pm
or in one year while taking classes two evenings per week.
Year 1 Semester 1:
MGMT 512 Leadership Skills in Organizations
MGMT 550 Business Strategies for Sustainable Enterprise
Year 1 Semester 2:
MGMT 525 Complex Systems Change Strategies
MGMT 565 Methods of Inquiry and Analysis
Year 1 Summer:
MGMT 6xx Strategic Project Management
MGMT 6xx Program and Portfolio Management
Year 2 Semester 1:
FINA 510 Socially Responsible Financial
Management
MGMT 584 Advanced Business Communications
Year 2 Semester 2:
Capstone project - 3 options:
MGMT 683 Integrated Case Study (project management topic)
MGMT 685 Research Project (project management topic)
MGMT 681 Field Study (project management topic)
Year 2 Summer:
3 credit elective course