Project Management Certificate Courses | Northwestern SPS - Northwestern School of Professional Studies

Program Courses

To earn a project management certificate, students must successfully complete the following courses depending on which track of study they choose:

1. Applied Project Management Certificate: complete the Core Course (PROJ_PMI 402-0 or PROJ_PMI 402-DL) only
2. Essentials of Project Management Certificate: complete the Core Course (PROJ_PMI 401-0 or PROJ_PMI 401-DL) and two Electives
3. Certificate in Agile Practices: complete the Core Course (PROJ_PMI 403-0) and two Electives

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PDP courses are offered online, remotely, and on-campus. Please refer to the Schedule Notes for course delivery information.

IMPORTANT: The registration process for all professional development courses requires you to register for your course and update your emergency contact information in CAESAR, Northwestern University's Student Enterprise System.

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Please contact pdp@northwestern.edu with any questions.

PROJ_PMI 402-0 : Applied Project Management

Description

Our Applied Project Management Course is specifically designed for seasoned project managers like you, with over five years of hands-on experience, who are eager to master advanced techniques and strategies. Taught by practicing project managers with over 25 years of experience, these industry experts will provide you with the knowledge and skills needed to confidently manage complex projects and drive organizational success. Through this course, you’ll earn ongoing professional education hours (PDUs) to maintain your certifications and stay ahead of the game in your career.

Dive deep into advanced project management topics such as financial metrics-based project selection techniques, managing sophisticated stakeholder relationships, and aligning project dependencies across your organization. You’ll gain expertise in advanced scheduling methods like PERT, critical chain, and hybrid delivery. You’ll learn proven best practices for budgeting, cash flow management, and risk management strategies. Our course goes beyond technical skills, emphasizing leadership competencies essential for handling significant project disruptions, overcoming resistance to change, and navigating complex organizational dynamics.

Moreover, you’ll explore ways to leverage your organization’s PMO, critically evaluate project management tools, and harness the power of generative AI to enhance project outcomes.

By the end of this course, you will be equipped to tackle the most challenging projects with confidence and lead your team to success.

After completing this course, students are able to demonstrate the following:

• Align their project management methods with industry-recognized principles and best practices
• Deliver project results aligned with organizational capabilities and strategic objectives
• Develop project plans addressing interdependencies with other projects
• Manage the complexity that distributed teams or external vendors can pose to a project
• Define requirements for procuring additional project resources
• Allocate and assign project work leveraging team member capabilities and capacities
• Respond to situations requiring changes to project plans and activities
• Communicate project plans, status, issues, and other complex topics with leadership
• Lead issue resolution, manage conflicts, and communicate with multiple differing audiences
• Apply project management tools and Generative AI applications to meet project needs

Total Professional Development Units (PDUs): 35 (Technical: 11; Leadership: 12; Strategic: 12) 

Recommended Course Materials:

Schwalbe, Kathy. An Introduction to Project Management, Seventh Edition: Predictive, Agile, and Hybrid Approaches. © 2021, Schwalbe Publishing. ISBN-13: 979-8695713459

Students may purchase these books from any retailer where they are available, in any format.

Optional Course Materials:

Project Management Institute, Inc. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition and The Standard for Project Management. Published August 2021. ISBN: 9781628256642

Access to optional course materials is provided to students enrolled in this course through the online course site.

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.

Additional Information:

This course is offered every academic quarter.

Prerequisites

This course is intended for individuals with at least five years of experience managing projects.