Project Management

Course Description

The Master of Science in Project Management is designed to fast-track your career progression within the vibrant discipline that is project management. Project management is crucial to all industries, ranging from construction and civil engineering, to aviation, healthcare and ICT, amongst others.

The M.Sc. in Project Management aims to facilitate the career paths of participants to the vibrant and interesting discipline of project management. Project Management applies a strategic approach to carrying out a diverse number of activities that span a wide range of industries, such as building construction; systems development; aviation; civil engineering; healthcare, amongst many other industries.

The underlying theme of the study programme is the prerequisite for implementing successful projects in terms of achieving the outputs (deliverables) within constraints of time, cost, quality and scope, and realizing the outcomes (purpose and objective) of the holistic project. The study programme provides the potential for participants to be taught both the theoretical constructs of project management as well as to develop the critical skills required to pursue a rewarding career in project management. The route to becoming a successful project manager begins with the attainment of a number of tools and techniques to ensure that the delivery of projects supports the intended outcomes of the project objectives, within the time, cost and quality constraints.

The overall course objectives of this programme are:

Knowledge:

• Critically understand and discuss contemporary roles and responsibilities of the project manager, together with the leadership and organisation skills essential to the discharge of this function in the workplace.
• Acquire critical and evaluative perspectives and in-depth knowledge of the theory and practice of project management and research methodologies applied in the field of project management.
• Comprehensively and critically understand and analyse the principles of project management in the context of contemporary issues and the implementation challenges.
• Acquire comprehensive knowledge and critical understanding of various tools and techniques to plan projects to be able to implement them within the defined management and organisational constraints.
• Critically and effectively understand the risk applicable to the project to enable the mitigation of the identified risk by recommending appropriate measures.
• Develop a critical awareness of tools that enable a project manager to proactively plan and implement successful projects.
• Develop critical knowledge and understanding of concepts related to information technology, sustainability and innovation in context of project management and needs of the society and organisation.

Skills:

• Select and propose appropriate decision-making and information management tools for project planning and project control.
• Critically analyse and apply appropriate methods of data analysis to project management scenarios.
• Apply appropriate theoretical concepts of project management considering legal and ethical considerations to contemporary projects.
• Employ appropriate Information Systems and other innovative tools and techniques of project management to contemporary project scenarios.
• Manage the scope, cost, timing, and quality of the project adapting project management practices and sustainability to meet the needs of stakeholders from multiple sectors of the economy.
• Prepare and communicate information on project and people management related issues clearly and unambiguously using relevant information technology and systems.

Competences:

• Critically appraise strategic techniques and solutions to project and people management scenarios and provide innovative and sustainable solutions to workplace problem.
• Evaluate application of concepts related to project contracts, procurement and quality and financial and people management to the process of project management.
• Review and evaluate methodologies used in a range of research projects and justify the selection of methodologies appropriate to the theoretical perspective or conceptual framework employed in the research.
• Select appropriate research strategies and tools to undertake an in-depth research project conducted in the field of project management.
• Critically assess and review developed project plans to ensure that the optimum economic project solution is attained.
• Critically and proactively appraise the implementation of assigned projects to ensure that the project plan converges with the actual implementation of projects milestones to mitigate time and budget discrepancies.
• Assess the implementation of assigned projects in comparison with the risk management plan to ensure that any identified risks are controlled and mitigated.

Entry Requirements

Candidates who apply for this course must possess one of the following:

• a Level 6 degree in a related field;

OR

• a Level 5 diploma or higher diploma and 5 years’ work experience in a supervisory or managerial role.

Preference is given to applicants having a level 6 degree in a discipline related to project management and a minimum of 3 years’ work experience in project supervision or/and general management within the sector.

Foreign qualifications need to be presented together with MQRIC recognition statement when applying for the programme.

Students whose first language is not English will be required to either present formal English language qualifications at IELTS 6.5or equivalent or demonstrate proficiency through written and oral communication.

Target Audience

The programme aims to improve the prospect of employment, academic and career progression in areas of project management and is targeted at:

• Industry professionals working in different project-rich domains including, but not limited, to: construction, technology, engineering, finance, banking, management, marketing, gaming, healthcare, arts, education or any other sector where project management is being applied;
• Individuals seeking academic and professional advancement in project management;
• Mid-career-break professionals looking for opportunities to return to or change their career.

Career Paths

The possible positions for which this programme aims to prepare you for include:

• Project Manager/ Leader
• Project Director
• Project Consultant

Modules

You are required to complete all 7 compulsory modules (42 ECTS), and only 3 elective modules out of the proposed 5 (18 ECTS), as well as the Dissertation (30 ECTS) to fulfil the requirements of this Master’s Degree.

How you’ll be assessed

This is a part-time programme and will typically take 30 months to complete. The programme comprises a total of 10 modules. The method of assessment is assignment-based.

The course comprises:

• 6 lectures per module;
• 3-hour lectures (evening);
• 12 hours of guided learning, presentations, comprising synchronous online discussions, tutorials and/or videos;
• Self-study hours comprising research, reading and assignment work.

The course also includes additional, specialised support to help you write your Dissertation, including classes on Qualitative/Quantitative data analysis tools, as well as Dissertation Workshops.

Assessment

Overall assessment of this programme consists of two main components: 1. Modular Assessment carries 60% of the final grade. 2. The Dissertation carries 40% of the final grade.

The formative and summative assessment tasks may include an in-class assignment and/or a home-based written assignment using diverse assessment tools which may take the form of online and in-class discussions, examinations, case studies, reports, proposals, essays, and presentations, etc., as applicable to the diverse modules.

1. Modular Assessment

The modular score achieved at the end of the study programme modules is calculated by summing up and working an average of the overall grades obtained in all of the study modules. The final grade achieved by the modular component of the programme is calculated by working out 60% of the modular score obtained for the study modules.

Overall assessment weighting for each module consists of two assessment tasks, each carrying a weighting as below:

a) One Formative assignment carries 20% of total module mark achieved. b) One Summative assignment carries 80% of total module mark achieved.

2. Dissertation Assessment

Assessment of dissertations is primarily based on:

• Depth of critical understanding of the theoretical framework;
• Application of appropriate research tools;
• Critical approach to analysis, interpretation and evaluation of research findings;
• Depth and level of argumentation build-up;
• Original contribution to the generation of new knowledge/hypothesis/models;
• Scholarly presentation meeting academic standards