Professional Certificate in Project Management
Spring Courses Now Available!
Learn how to manage all types of projects—regardless of scope or industry—with a Professional Certificate in Project Management from SDSU Global Campus.
SDSU Global Campus is a PMI Authorized Training Partner PMI and PMP are registered trademarks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
- Overview
- Courses
- How To Apply
- Resources
About the Program
If you’re responsible for managing projects, you know it can be a challenge. From creating calendars and coordinating with team members to making decisions, managing deadlines, and leading in the face of change, you need to keep the project lifecycle on track so that you can deliver results that executives, clients, and team members will be happy with.
Meet Your Instructors
Germaine Wales
David Matawitz
Kevin Reilly
Lutheran Carter
Learn how to manage projects with innovative and responsive management strategies by earning your Professional Certificate in Project Management from SDSU Global Campus. Whether you’re a seasoned project manager, or you’re just beginning to manage your own projects, our online project management training program will help you acquire the tools you need to become a better leader.
The Professional Certificate in Project Management at SDSU Global Campus helped prepare me to take the PMP® exam. The one-night-a-week class format fit my busy schedule, and the instructors were first rate. I would recommend this program to anyone interested in becoming a project manager, and also to existing project managers to enhance their skills.
Is This Program Right for Me?
SDSU’s Project Management training program will help you become a better project manager, no matter what type of experience you bring to the table. Your classmates include:
- Professionals planning, managing, and controlling projects within an organization
- Managers who need to fine-tune and formalize their project management skills
- Those interested in learning the latest project management tools and methodologies
- Anyone managing multiple tasks
- People who want to take the Project Management Institute (PMI)® Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam
- Anyone interested in a career in project management
All project management courses are 100% online, unless otherwise noted, and accessible from anywhere in the world. Instructors hold classes one night a week starting at 6:00 pm Pacific Time, which makes it easier to fit the program into your busy schedule. You can earn your Project Management Certificate in 12 to 18 months or take up to five years to complete the program.
SDSU is a State-approved provider for the Federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). If you’re unemployed or underemployed, you may be eligible to receive full or partial tuition assistance on this program. Equal Opportunity is the Law. Equal opportunity employer/program auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Click here to learn more.
Student Voices
SDSU Alumni Lifetime Member Discount
Are you an SDSU Alumni Lifetime Member? Click here to learn more about how you can receive 20% off registration for this program.
What Can I Learn?
SDSU’s Project Management training program will show you how to deliver exceptional results on time and within budget. You’ll cover a wide range of topics that are broadly applicable to nearly any industry, including:
- Frameworks, standards, terminology, and definitions
- Roles and responsibilities in high-performance teams
- Proactive risk management
- Creating work breakdown structures (WBS)
- Proven communication methods
- Managing stakeholder expectations
- Lean/Agile methodology
SDSU’s Project Management program is an Authorized Training Partner for the Project Management Institute (PMI®). The curriculum covers the five process groups and 10 knowledge areas outlined in the current edition of PMBOK® by PMI®, which are:
Five Process Groups
Initiating: processes performed to define a new project or a new phase of an existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project or phase.
Planning: processes required to establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve.
Executing: processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications.
Monitoring and Controlling: processes required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes.
Closing: processes performed to finalize all activities across all Process Groups to formally close the project or phase.
Knowledge Areas
- Integration Management
- Schedule Management
- Quality Management
- Communications Management
- Procurement Management
- Scope Management
- Cost Management
- Resource Management
- Risk Management
- Stakeholder Management
By participating in our program and earning your certificate, you’ll be uniquely prepared to earn your Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certification, as well as other essential project management certifications. This program will prepare you with the necessary foundation and skillset to sit for the PMP® Certification Exam, especially those that enroll directly in our PMI Authorized On-demand PMP® Exam Prep course (PM0022).
The Project Management Certificate Program at SDSU Global Campus profoundly increased my ability as a project manager. The real-life approach to project management offered by experienced project management instructors has fundamentally increased the contributions I make to my employer.
Career Outcomes
Labor Analysis
- 280,409Job postings in the last 12 months
- 8%Projected job growth in the next 10 years
- $58,198-$99,812Average Salary Range
Median Yearly Salary By Popular Industry, Nationwide
IT Project Manager – $105,000
Corporate Development Analyst/Manager – $103,000
Engineering Manager – $94,000
Program Manager – $91,000
Compliance Manager – $89,000
Construction Manager – $82,000
Business Continuity Planner/Analyst – $84,000
Business/Management Analyst – $81,000
Sustainability Specialist – $73,000
Administrative Manager – $56,000
Because nearly every industry employs project managers in some capacity, the outlook for project managers is bright. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were approximately 280,000 job openings across the country seeking project managers. Those numbers are expected to grow by more than 8% over the next decade, which is faster than the national average growth rate for all occupations.
Why Choose SDSU?
Flexibility
All courses are 100% online, accessible from anywhere in the world, and scheduled for working professionals and busy students. You can enroll in individual courses as needed or finish your certificate in just 12 to 18 months.
Highly-Experienced Instructors
Learn from a panel of project management professionals with years of experience across a variety of industries, including public administration, manufacturing, construction, defense/aerospace, and more.
Proven Curriculum
SDSU Global Campus is an Authorized Training Partner by the Project Management Institute (PMI®), which means that you can use the program to prepare for your PMP® certification and other industry certification exams.
Enroll in the Program
Enroll in the program at any time, even before registering for a course. It’s free, and offers many benefits:
- Secure your curriculum (should the requirements change in the future).
- See upcoming courses when you log into your student account.
- Track your progress.
Enrolling in a program doesn’t mean you’re registered for courses. You’ll still need to register and pay for each course you wish to take.
Program Completion Requirements
To earn the Professional Certificate in Project Management, you’ll need to successfully complete eight (8) core courses and one (1) elective.
You may take as many individual courses as you wish, but all requirements must be completed within five (5) years to earn the Professional Certificate. To register for Capstone: Project Simulation (PM0016), you must first successfully complete all other Core Courses.
Fall 2024 Term Dates
Registration Opens
June 5, 2024 (Deadline dates vary.)
2025 Spring Term Dates
Registration Opens
Oct. 9, 2024 (Deadline dates vary.)
Click the course names below to see Registration Deadline Date, read the course description, view course dates, and register for available courses.
Core Courses
Spring ’25 Registration Ends: January 9, 2025
This course is designed as an entry point into Project Management. Designed to develop an understanding of project management framework, project management standards, and the project management process groups. Some of the topics covered will include: terminology and definitions, the role of a project manager, benefits of project management, project life cycle and organization, and project management processes. A focus on project integration management will cover the development of a project charter, project scope statement, and project management plans. A group exercise focused on the development of the project charter will be held during the course.
Next Session: Spring 2025, 1/14-2/11
- Section:
- 25SP 99176 PM
- Location:
- Online
- Day(s):
- Tuesday
- Time:
- 6:00pm – 9:00pm PST
- Instructor
It’s recommended to first enroll in the program (it’s free and no obligation!) Then register for the course(s) you intend to take!
Spring ’25 Registration Ends: February 17, 2025
In quality organizations, project managers spend large portions of their time sponsoring teams for success. This “how-to” course defines the environment, roles, responsibilities, behaviors, and activities that support teams in an organization. Participants will learn when and why teams make project management sense, and the prerequisites for maximizing their results.
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Next Session: Spring 2025, 2/20-3/27
- Section:
- 25SP 99177 PM
- Location:
- Online
- Day(s):
- Thursday
- Time:
- 6:00pm – 9:00pm PST
- Instructor
It’s recommended to first enroll in the program (it’s free and no obligation!) Then register for the course(s) you intend to take!
Most projects involve buying goods or services. Project managers don’t have to be expert technical buyers, but they do need to understand the buying process, particularly how to clearly define what they want and manage what they get. Clearly drawing the line between scope performed by the team and what has been outsourced has important ramifications for the ultimate success of the project. Participants will learn the processes required to ensure their projects meet their original goal and gain an understanding of the activities that determine the quality policy, objectives, responsibility, and implementation.
This course will focus on the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully, the processes required to accomplish timely completion of the project, and the processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget. A main focus will be on creation of the work breakdown structure (WBS), activity duration estimating, and cost estimating.
- Recommended:
- PM0004 Introduction to Project Management
Project human resource management includes the processes that organize and manage the project team. This course provides an overview of project human resource management processes and provides a process flow diagram of the inputs, outputs, and other related knowledge area processes.
Project communications management is the knowledge area that employs processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and ultimate disposition of project information. This course provides information on the critical links among people and information that are necessary for successful project communications.
Project managers must understand, plan for, and manage risks. In this course, participants will learn and apply a proactive approach to threats and opportunities based on an understanding of the risk management process.
Fall ’24 Registration Ends: October 21, 2024
Spring ’25 Registration Ends: March 31, 2025
This course examines the theory and practice behind the Agile Scrum methodology. Following an overview of the basics and benefits of Scrum, we will track deeper into the Scrum standards and process including roles and responsibilities, ceremonies, and artifacts. Other topics include the impact of tangible and digital tools on the flow of conversation and collaboration within the Scrum team dynamic, as well the need to reconcile the “ideal” Scrum implementation with real-world constraints. Mapping Scrum to Waterfall and the critical need to integrate Scrum into the organizational culture will also be covered. This is an interactive course that utilizes small group collaboration activities in-class to further the examination of content.
Next Session: Spring 2025, 4/3-5/1
- Section:
- 25SP 99178 PM
- Location:
- Online
- Day(s):
- Thursday
- Time:
- 6:00pm – 9:00pm PDT
- Instructor
It’s recommended to first enroll in the program (it’s free and no obligation!) Then register for the course(s) you intend to take!
Fall ’24 Registration Ends: October 19, ’24
Participants will work on a team project to drive home the relevance of the course content. Participants will demonstrate knowledge and mastery of good project management principles and apply these skills to current projects.
Prerequisite: All seven other core classes must be successfully completed to be eligible for PM0016 Capstone. Please contact pm.ces@sdsu.edu if you have any questions.
Elective Courses
Dates: 8/12-12/22
Time Involved: 16 Hours
Format: This course is Asynchronous
Our Lean/Lean Six Sigma courses provide online, in-depth training that will help you analyze your current processes, identify which steps are wasteful, and take steps to reduce cycle time and costs, as well as build a lean culture within your organization to make those improved processes sustainable.
Lean Six Sigma is a combination of two powerful process improvement methods: Lean and Six Sigma. Together, they provide a simple yet comprehensive framework and toolkit for solving problems. Register today to advance your skills, build your résumé, and achieve competitive advantages for yourself and your organization.
Learning Objectives
After completing the Lean Certification course, you will be able to:
- Define what Lean is, where it came from, and how organizations can benefit from it
- Describe how to use the tools and techniques involved in establishing the current state of a process
- Describe how to use the tools and techniques involved in developing the future state of a process
- Describe how to use the tools and techniques involved in building a Lean culture
- Describe the tools and techniques involved in becoming a Lean leader
Students receive 3 months of access upon registration.
Learn the best-known technique for monitoring overall project performance against cost and schedule expectations. Gain a “big-picture” view of how your project is progressing and then drill down to specific problem areas.
- Prerequisites:
- PM0004 Introduction to Project Management or PM0008 Scope, Schedule and Cost.
This course is designed for participants aiming to sit for the PMI-PMP®️ Certification Exam, using PMI-authorized digital content and is best suited for those students who have already taken a majority of the other Professional Certificate in Project Management classes or have project management experience. This course meets the 35 required education hours needed for PMP®️ certification eligibility.
Spring ’25 Registration Ends: April 3, 2025
Many users get frustrated and overwhelmed when trying to use MS Project, and even experienced users often use the suite of tools incorrectly, overlooking many complex features. This course covers proper techniques necessary for building an effective project management schedule using MS Project Pro 2021 with an emphasis on the relationship to the project lifecycle.
Next Session: Spring 2025, 4/8-5/13
It’s recommended to first enroll in the program (it’s free and no obligation!) Then register for the course(s) you intend to take!
Learn to effectively plan, implement, and control projects using Microsoft Project 2019/Office 365. This course will help you master the basics to create and share a project schedule, track costs and resources, produce reports, and resolve problems to keep your projects on track.
This schedule is tentative and dates are subject to change. Courses meet one night a week, 6-9 pm, unless otherwise noted.
Finished All The Required Courses?
Click the button below to receive your certificate.
Enroll in the Program
Enroll in the program at any time, even before registering for a course. It’s free, and offers many benefits:
- Secure your curriculum (should the requirements change in the future).
- See upcoming courses when you log into your student account.
- Track your progress.
Enrolling in a program doesn’t mean you’re registered for courses. You’ll still need to register and pay for each course you wish to take.
Registration Instructions
To register for courses in the Project Management program, please complete the following steps:
- Choose your courses in the “Courses” tab
- Click on the red course links to register
- Check the dates and times to ensure that you can attend all sessions of the course
- Click “Add to Cart”
- Add more courses to your cart or click “Checkout”
- Log into your SDSU Global Campus Account, if you haven’t already done so
- Pay for your course(s)
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Our students have found that the skills they learn in the certificate program have helped them move up in their careers, either into a project management role or another position that requires some project management knowledge.
Not at this time. The credits you earn in the certificate program cannot be used towards earning a bachelor’s or masters degree in project management. However, many of our students find that the certificate program is a great way to build professional development skills and elevate a resume or LinkedIn profile.
You can check your progress by logging into your SDSU Global Campus student account. If you need assistance with your account, contact our Registration staff at 619-594-5152 or enrollment.global@sdsu.edu.
Our courses are fully-online and accessible from anywhere in the world. Instructors hold classes 1 night per week, which makes it easier to fit the program into your busy schedule. The Microsoft Project Fundamentals (PM0019) course may be offered on-campus, but we do also offer Introduction to Microsoft Project as a virtual asynchronous course through our Ed2Go partner.
Unless otherwise noted, all classes in the Project Management Certificate program are held via live (synchronous) Zoom sessions and held in the evenings for students who may work or have family commitments during the day. Please click on the course descriptions for specific dates and times.
Most courses within our project management certificate program have either required and/or recommended textbooks to complete the course. Follow the instructions here to view the textbook requirements for your particular course.
Please note that textbooks are subject to change.
Students may purchase required course books from the SDSU Bookstore’s website. Click here for a list of textbooks along with purchasing instructions. Textbooks are also available new or used through many online retailers.
SDSU students are eligible to install Microsoft software applications like Project Professional and more with their SDSUid. More information may be found on the SDSU University Library page here.
Once you’ve completed all the program requirements, fill out and submit a certificate request form. SDSU Global Campus will verify that you’ve completed all the required courses and assignments. Once you’ve been verified, you’ll receive a digital copy of your certificate.
Ready to take the next step? First, enroll in the program! Then, click on the Courses tab to browse our courses and register. If you have any questions about the program, our Welcome Center can help! Fill out the form at the bottom of this page to get in touch.
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