A Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree is an advanced education program with professional application, rather than being a purely academic pursuit. Informally known as the worldwide standard qualification for top business positions, an MBA conveys specific and practical knowledge of business.
A Project Management MBA offers further specialization to focus on the challenges and techniques of project management. This includes budgeting, process development, scheduling, and efficiency optimization. Students typically gain understanding through both case studies and instruction on theory.
As with most master's degrees, an MBA in Project Management can take from one to three years to complete and can be pursued part time or full time. Most programs last from 12 to 36 months, in addition to the application process, which can last from three to 12 months.
While working on the degree, a significant portion of the student's time will be devoted to studying and class. Because classes are usually delivered asynchronously, students can study at whatever time of day is convenient for them. However, that flexibility comes at a price: It requires much more dedication to get work completed on time, and can often require more study time.
Courses offered in most Project Management MBA programs include Business Operations, Strategy, Marketing, Leadership, Finance, Project Management and other sub-specialties of Project Management such as portfolio management, project scoping, proposal writing and team-building.
These courses are often conducted via online message boards and chat programs, and lectures may be delivered via podcasts, streaming video webcasts, PowerPoint presentations, chat rooms, and any number of high-tech solutions.
Because a Project Management MBA is a professional rather than an academic degree, costs can be significantly higher than for other master's degree programs. Distance learning programs, which have lower overhead costs than traditional schools have, can still cost tens of thousands of dollars. For instance, for the 2009 year at Walden University, tuition and fees totaled approximately $27,000.
However, the increase in salary that usually results from completing an MBA can more than offset the cost. For a project manager in San Francisco in 2009, the average salary was $69,000 without an MBA and $78,000 with an MBA.
You'll learn as much or more from your classmates as you do from your professors. Many people in this degree program are already experienced project managers who simply need a degree in order to move up in their careers. They bring vast experience of practical, real-world problems and solutions that can enhance your class learning. Use the opportunity to network with colleagues who are or will be in your field, and nurture those relationships carefully. They will often be more valuable to you than the degree is.