Master of Science
IT Project Management
The
Master of Science in IT Project Management is for working professionals who have either a technology undergraduate degree or two years of IT work experience and wish to advance their careers by filling the growing need for IT project managers. This program is intended for graduate students who wish to prepare for careers leading and managing IT project teams.
The lack of project and program management skills has long been known to be a major factor in IT project failures. Over the past decade, it has become apparent that placing individuals with strong training in the breadth of project management skills significantly improves the likelihood of bringing an IT project in successfully on time, and on budget. This growing awareness is leading to increased demand for skilled IT project and program managers. But demand for these skills currently outstrips the supply of qualified candidates. This is a high-level program preparing graduates for mid- to high-level project and program management positions. Core IT skills are assumed.
Students focus on leveraging those skills to build leadership practices that enable quality work. Students in this program will gain a broad range of skills including:
- In-depth knowledge of project management skills, including risk management, procurement and contract management, time and cost estimating, controlling and tracking techniques (scope statements, work breakdown structures, Gantt, PERT, etc.); and IT testing, quality assurance, and control
- Familiarity with those elements of human resource management that are key to project management success, such as team building, motivating, communicating through traditional and electronic means, negotiating and influencing, coordinating, and managing organizational change
- Basic general knowledge of business systems and processes, including knowledge of introductory accounting and the basics of cost accounting as applied in IT project management
- Ability to effectively use common project management software packages
- Familiarity with program management and the skills to mitigate risk across a portfolio of projects
Learn more about admission to this program.
Online Learning Options
This degree can be completed entirely online. CDM online degrees are delivered mostly through
COL-enabled courses, although other delivery technologies are also used. If a course is COL-enabled, any student registered in the course has access to the course playback. Students are strongly encouraged to utilize the COL resource wherever available. To complete this degree a student may take any combination of online and on campus courses. For more information on online learning at CDM visit the
Online Learning page.
Course Requirements
Prerequisite Phase
Unlike other CDM graduate programs that admit students regardless of technical background, the MS in IT Project Management is designed for students who possess a Bachelor’s degree or significant work experience in an IT related area. Examples of such areas include (but are not limited to) CIS, IS, MIS, Networking. Students whose undergraduate degree is in an unrelated area will be required to produce evidence of at least two years of responsible work experience as a computer programmer, systems analyst, business analyst, or similar position where the workload is primarily centered on Information Technology and the student had significant exposure to the system development process.
Foundation Phase
| PM 430 |
| PM 440 |
| PM 535 |
| PM 556 |
| PM 570 |
| MGT 500 |
NoteThe PM courses listed above are offered in cross-listed sections of same-number IS courses.
Advanced Phase
Students must complete
24 quarter hours (generally 6 courses) from the list below. A minimum of
twelve quarter hours (generally 3 courses) must be taken from CDM. These electives cover a broad range of technical, managerial, and information systems topics. Students should work closely with their advisor to identify and select courses most directly associated with their career plans.
- CDM Electives (all 4 credit hours)
| IS 433 |
| IS 456 |
| IS 483 |
| IS 505 |
| IS 533 |
| IS 540 |
| IS 560 |
| IS 565 |
| IS 578 |
| SE 427 |
| SE 430 * |
| SE 468 |
| SE 470 |
| SE 482 |
| SE 529 |
* SE 430 requires two courses of object-oriented coding, or consent of the instructor.
- Kellstadt Electives (all 4 credit hours)
| ACC 500 |
| ACC 555 |
| MGT 500 |
| MGT 530 |
| MGT 555 |
| MGT 562 |
| MGT 563 |
| MGT 565 |
- SNL electives (all 3 quarter hours)
- SNL Special Topics Seminars (1 quarter hour)
These seminars meet each quarter. Current and relevant topics are explored. Examples of recent Special Topics seminars include: Knowledge Management, After-Action Reviews, National Security and the "Database Problem," E-commerce: Back to Basics, Reflective Practice, The Technology Behind Everyday Interactions, and Innovative Processes.
Capstone
Students must complete one of the following courses:
Degree Requirements
Students in this degree program must meet the following requirements:
- Complete a minimum of 52 credit hours (generally 13 courses) beyond the Prerequisite Phase
- Earn a grade of B- or better in each Prerequisite Phase course
- Earn a grade of C- or better in all graduate courses beyond the Prerequisite Phase
- Maintain a graduate level GPA of 2.50 or higher while pursuing their degree
- Achieve a graduate GPA of 2.50 or higher at the completion of all other requirements
Students with a GPA of 3.9 or higher will graduate with distinction.
For DePaul's policy on repeat graduate courses and a complete list of academic policies see the DePaul Graduate Handbook in the Course Catalog.