Key Information:
- Georgetown University has the #1 online project management certificate program.
- The programs are tailored to enhance key project management skills such as planning, organization, and leadership, which are crucial for professional growth in this field.
- Completing a certificate program can improve job prospects, as certification is often sought by employers in various industries to ensure candidates have the necessary project management skills.
Why get a project management certificate? Do you really need the best project management training, or is it enough to learn on the job? As it turns out, there are several reasons to get a certificate. For one thing, project management isn’t just a job within a job anymore. It’s becoming its own separate career, and as such, it requires specific career training. With certification, you can prove that you’ve had that training. Next, project management requires a specific set of skills, including leadership, communication, planning, and organization. Certification can help you increase those skills.
With the best project management certification programs online, you can learn how to work on projects more effectively so that you finish them on time and stay within your budget. Employees who can accomplish these goals are assets to their employers, which is why employers often look for people with certification. In fact, having certification can give you a leg-up in the job market in general, whether you plan to go into project management as a career, or you just want to increase your management skills. This can help you whether you’re getting a job or trying to increase your salary.
Methodology: Ranking the Best Online Certificate in Project Management
To rank the Best Project Management Certificates Online, Bachelor’s Degree Center editors focused on trusted, accredited institutions offering an online or hybrid certificate program, preferably that could accompany or lead into a bachelor’s degree. Programs are ranked by tuition, salary potential, and reputation, using data from Niche and IPEDS.
1. Georgetown University
Georgetown University offers a Project Management Certificate that can be completed entirely online. Georgetown University’s best online project management certificates are designed for mid and senior level program management professionals. Students enrolled in Georgetown’s best project management programs online can complete the programs in as few as two weeks or up to two years if studying part-time. Classes for this project management certificate includes project management fundamentals, leading project teams, and managing projects in the real world, among others.
Georgetown University is one of the original colonial schools having been established in 1789. The school’s campus in the US capital is home to approximately 18,850 students. Georgetown University is considered a highly selective institution of higher education.
What We Like: Georgetown University holds the distinction of being the oldest of all Catholic schools in the nation.
Program: Project Management Certificate Online
Georgetown University Project Management Certificate
2. University of Washington
The Continuing Studies and Professional Education Division at the University of Washington offers one of Washington State’s best project management certificate programs online. These best online project management certificates from the University of Washington were explicitly developed for those professionals who want formal project management training. UDUB’s certificate is approved by the Project Management Institute. Students take coursework in risk management, project management, and organizational strategy, to name a few.
The University of Washington is recognized among the oldest of all universities on the west coast of the United States, having been founded in 1861 when the state was just a territory. The school is also a sea-grant and space grant higher learning institution with a student enrollment of approximately 46,450 students.
What We Like: The University of Washington collaborates with the nearby tech giants like Microsoft and Nintendo.
Program: Project Management Certificate Online
Washington State’s Project Management Certificate Online
3. Purdue University
Purdue University offers two of the best online project management certificate programs in Indiana and beyond with its Project management Essential certificate or its PMP Exam preparation program. Purdue University’s best project management certificate programs online are offered throughout the year in rolling admissions. Purdue is a registered provider of education by the Project Management Institute. The curriculum for Purdue University’s certificate closely aligns with the PMBOK Guide, the Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide. Those enrolled in the Project Management Essential program will receive instructor-led, online classes, whereas the PMP exam prep is a self-paced program.
Purdue University was established under the Morrill Land Grant Act in 1869. More than 42,950 students attend classes offered by Purdue University’s thirteen colleges/schools.
What We Like: Purdue University has been affiliated with more than two dozen American astronauts.
Program: Project Management Certificate Online
Purdue University Project Management Certificate Online
4. UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles is an authorized and premier Training PMI Partner that provides one of the nation’s best project management certificate programs online. These best online project management certificate programs from UCLA Extension can also be completed in a more traditional format. The coursework for this program complies with PMI standards and the 49 processes framework. Students complete five core courses, plus one elective to earn this project management certificate from the University of Los Angeles.
UCLA was initially established as a branch of one of California’s normal schools in 1919. UC Berkeley is now recognized as the 2nd oldest of the state’s university member schools. Additionally, UC Berkeley is a land-grant and space-grant school with a student enrollment of approximately 45,650 students.
What We Like: UCLA’s athletes have won a gold medal in each of the Olympic games since 1932 that the United States participated in.
Program: Project Management Certificate Online
University of California, Los Angeles Project Management Certificate Online
5. University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley offers a project management certificate that helps prepares students to prepare for their CAPPM and PMP credentials. UC Berkeley’s best project management online are typically completed in one to two years, depending on the working learners’ time availability. Classes for these online certificate programs from UC Berkeley include project initiation, leadership and team building, project management, and project execution & control, among others. Certificate candidates are required to complete 15 semester credits over 210 instructional hours.
Established as a land-grant institution of higher education in 1868, the Berkeley campus of the University of California is a comprehensive university that maintains a variety of research institutes. Although the school’s campus is about 175 acres, the university owns more than 8,000 acres in total.
What We Like: The school’s student enrollment exceeds 43,250 students.
Program: Project Management Certificate Online
University of California, Berkeley Project Management Certificate Online
6. University of San Diego
The University of San Diego offers one of the best online project management certificate programs with its Project Management Certificate program. These best project management online certificate programs from the University of San Diego are designed for those professionals who wish to gain a hand’s on approach to acquiring the required project management skills and those preparing to sit for one of the many project management credentials and certifications. Each of the required classes runs seven weeks using online-fixed date modalities.
Founded as a women’s college in 1949, the University of San Diego operates now as a space-grant, private institution of higher learning with a student enrollment of approximately 8,650 graduate, undergraduate, and law school students.
What We Like: The school’s campus in Alcala Park overlooks nearby Mission Bay.
Program: Project Management Certificate Online
University of San Diego Project Management Certificate Online
7. University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin offers one of the Lone Star State’s best project management certificate programs online with its online project management certificate program. Students enrolled in these best project management will complete PMI recommended coursework that includes the essential skills & the processes required to manage a project from start to finish successfully. This course is equivalent to 35 PMI technical PDUs, with a curriculum that aligns with PMI’s PMBOK Guide – the 6th Edition. This program in project management from the University of Texas is designed for management professionals who wish to improve the efficiency of the project management work.
The University of Texas (Texas) is considered the flagship campus of the University of Texas system. The University of Texas was established in 1881 and is also a space-grant school. The student enrollment at UT Texas is approximately 50,850 students.
What We Like: The LBJ presidential library resides on the University of Texas’s 400+ acre property.
Program: Project Management Certificate Online
University of Texas at Austin Project Management Certificate Online
8. Rutgers University
The Business School at Rutgers University offers one of the Garden State’s best online project management certificate programs with its self-paced project management certificate program. Rutgers University’s programs are also the perfect study tool for managers who wish to become professional and certified project managers. This program closely follows the contents of the Project Management Institution’s PMBOK Guide – the Sixth Edition. Candidates enrolled in this certificate program will complete 55 PMI PDU’s. Classes include project quality planning, integrated initiation, and planning, and controlling costs, to name a few.
Rutgers University is one of the oldest schools in the United States, having been established as Queen’s College in 1766. Rutgers is also a land-grant, space-grant, and sea-grant institution of higher education with a student enrollment of approximately 68,850 students.
What We Like: Rutgers University is New Jersey’s flagship campus and is recognized as the College of New Jersey.
Program: Project Management Certificate Online
Rutgers University Project Management Certificate Online
9. University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis offers a project management certificate program that can be completed entirely online. Students enrolled in UC Davis’s State’s online programs are required to complete six online classes, which are self-paced. UC’s best project management programs offer a discounted tuition for those students who enroll in the school’s fast-track option. Classes for this degree include controlling quality in project management, managing risk, mastering project time and cost management, and navigating project procurement.
The Davis campus within the University of California is a public Ivy League school that was established in 1905. AS the most northern of the UC campuses, UC Davis serves approximately 39,050 students.
What We Like: Originally, the school was an agriculture college that operated a small farm as well.
Program: Project Management Certificate Online
University of California, Davis Project Management Certificate Online
10. James Madison University
James Madison University offers one of Virginia’s best online project management certificates with its Project Management Certificate. JMU’s certificate programs are available entirely online or held on the Harrisonburg campus. Coursework covers the essential project management topics of initiating, planning, developing, managing, and controlling project work. This project management online certificate is equivalent to 35 contact hours of training that can be applied to the PMP exam requirements.
James Madison University was established as a teacher’s training school for women in 1908 by the Virginia General Assembly. The school’s campus in Shenandoah Valley is home to approximately 22,550 students. The school was named to honor President James Madison.
What We Like: James Madison University is organized into nine colleges/schools.
Program: Project Management Certificate Online
James Madison University Project Management Certificate Online
Why Get a Project Management Certificate?
Why get a project management certification? And what is a project manager certification? Project management has become a more prominent career in recent years. Of course, project management itself has always existed. Any time someone leads a team for a short-term undertaking, that person is doing project management.
But what is project management certification? Project management certification comes from PMI, or the Project Management Institute. PMI offers many resources for current and future project managers, including some of the best project management certification programs online. In addition to the best project management training, PMI offers an official exam for project management certification. When a person passes this exam, they prove that they can lead projects effectively.
Your online courses should be designed to pass the exam. Project management courses should be interactive, offering professional development and access to project management tools that will make you invaluable to stakeholders. You may also get credit for your years of experience, although with a good certification students can go from beginners to certified scrummaster in a matter of weeks with no work experience at all. Learning skills like agile project management and agile methodologies, pm software development, project planning, and other key parts of the skill set puts you ahead of your competition. Project management principles are a key part of PMP training and continuing education.
So could you do a few modules on Coursera and learn just as much? Maybe, but a good online learning education provider can teach you competencies and specialization that only a real certification course can provide. You’ll excel
Is the PMP Exam Hard?
Is the PMP exam hard? And what about CAPM certification?
First, yes, the PMP certification exam is challenging. It goes well beyond the basics of project management and delves into deeper questions. Some of the questions are very specific and ask test-takers to consider what they should do in certain leadership scenarios. Test-takers will also have to call on their critical thinking skills to find the right answers.
The latest version of the test comes with 180 test questions that cover people skills, technical skills, and how to run an effective business environment.Test-takers get 230 minutes to complete the exam. The good news is that many of the PMP exam questions are multiple choices, which many people may find helpful. While the PMP exam is not impossible, it does require a lot of study. The Project Management Institute offers training materials and practice tests. It’s a very good idea to spend some time with those practice exams to make your certification training count. You may consider paying for a prep course.
You should also consider the PMP certification cost. The exam fee is $405 for PMI members and $555 for non-members.However, for a lot of people, getting certified is worth the PMP certification cost, considering the fact that PMP holders make an average of 25% more money than those who don’t have this certification.
For those who aren’t yet ready for the rigorousness or cost of the PMP exam, there’s CAPM certification, or the Certified Associate in Project Management exam. CAPM certification is meant for entry-level project managers. It’s less difficult than the PMP exam, takes less time to complete, and has lower fees. Passing the CAPM exam can count toward your prerequisites for the PMP exam, if you should decide to take it later.
What Can I Do with a Project Management Certification?
Getting PMP certification is a big commitment, which is why a lot of people ask “What jobs can I get with a project management certification?” The answer is that you can get a lot of jobs with project management certification.
Many project management certification jobs have the specific title of “project manager.” However, if you broaden your scope, you can also find project management certification job opportunities with different titles. Some project management certification jobs are overall management positions that require a lot of short-term project leadership.
Some people who ask “What jobs can I get with a project management certification?” want to know what industries they should look into. The software industry has a lot of jobs for project management certification. In fact, software engineering jobs make some of the best project management certification jobs. That’s because software engineering generally involves one short-term project after another, especially in software companies that build customized software solutions.
The construction industry also offers a lot of possibilities for those who want jobs with project management certification. Much like the software industry, construction involves a lot of projects, so it’s full of project management certification job opportunities.
Can I Get a Job with a Project Management Certificate?
What jobs can you get with a project management certificate? Can you get a job with a certificate in project management? The short answer is yes. There are plenty of project management certificate jobs available. However, when you look for certificate in project management jobs, remember that the certificate alone won’t get you the job. Just to qualify to take the exam, you’ll need a certain amount of education and experience under your belt. You can’t bypass those prerequisites and take the test just to find certificate in project management jobs.
That said, having Project Management Professional certification or PMI certification can give you a leg up in the job market. Many project management certificate jobs require the specific skills that you’d learn during your certification. In fact, some jobs outright require PMP certification from applicants. By passing the exam, you’ll open yourself up to job opportunities that you wouldn’t have had otherwise.
So, what jobs can you get with a project management certificate that you wouldn’t be able to get without one? The answer is most jobs that have the words “project manager” in the title. With these jobs, employers generally look for applicants who have passed the exam.
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