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Director's Welcome

Director Welcome to the University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering’s Center for Excellence in Project Management. We are delighted that you are considering our curriculum of study in project management. The program is an excellent choice as our credentials are second to none. We are the sixth program world-wide, and the first program in an engineering school to be accredited by the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Global Accreditation Center. We are also designated by PMI as a “Global Registered Educational Provider”.

The Project Management Program at the University of Maryland, College Park, is unique from other graduate programs in project management because:

It is designed by and for engineers and other technical professionals. It resides in the distinguished A. James Clark School of Engineering while most other project management programs are in business schools or continuing education programs.
It was designed in response to significant input from customers (students, engineering and construction firms, systems engineering corporations, Federal and State government agencies) as well as after evaluation of other college graduate level programs, the Project Management Institute’s “Project Management Body of Knowledge” (PMBOK ®), literature reviews, input from practicing professional project managers, and the University of Maryland’s Clark School faculty.
It has a continuous improvement mechanism built into routine operating procedures as we are constantly learning from our experience and looking for opportunities for improvement.
Our student population is from across the nation and around the world – their diverse educations, backgrounds and experiences contribute in a meaningful way to the classroom discussions and team projects.
Our faculty brings extensive real-world experience to the classes and is devoted to teaching excellence, working with students, and the pursuit of knowledge through research.
We have an active ongoing international Research and Partnering Program in project management.

The Project Management Program offers many educational opportunities in Project Management:

Minor in Project Management for undergraduates
Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees
Master of Engineering in Project Management degree offered through the Professional Master of Engineering Program
Graduate Certificate in Engineering focusing on project management subjects
Professional Development training customized to meet the customer’s specific project & portfolio management needs

The curriculum is designed to offer students maximum flexibility in selecting elective courses to meet their specific goals. Most of the classes are offered in the afternoon and evening for the convenience of those who work fulltime.
At this time all of our academic classes are offered on the College Park Campus, and many of the graduate classes are offered in the Distance Educational Technology & Services studios, which distribute these classes to other sites throughout the state of Maryland. We have been offering an ever-increasing online selection of courses since spring 2006 and at this point have 12 courses available on-line.

Many of our courses are unique having been explicitly designed by our program faculty. Our Managing Project Teams: Enhancing Individual and Team Productivity course is completely unique and the first graduate course in managing teams designed on the foundation of Positive Psychology. It has received accolades from our students and been extremely successful when offered in the corporate education environment.

Research is a variety of Project Management and related areas is actively pursued within the following units:

Application of the research in Positive Psychology to create high performance project teams and workplaces.
e-Construction Group: construction information, communication and automation technologies for improvement of construction engineering, management and allied processes,
Engineering and project risk analysis and management
Energy, environmental, and infrastructure management using operations research methods as well as analysis of related public policy issues; see http://www.eng.umd.edu/~sgabriel/Projects/index.html for a summary of research projects,
Contemporary water resources management and policy development; systems approaches to water project development (including watershed planning); flood risk management.
Sustainable Infrastructure Group: project finance, procurement, construction, and maintenance for improving infrastructure suitability,
Use of portfolio management to align project and program management with organizational strategies; assessing competency of project and program managers; developing and sustaining effective and high performing teams; effective conflict management and resolution practices
Disaster recovery + rebuilding.

We are now offering a Professional Development Program that is focused on helping customers meet their goals in project management. These programs are designed working with the customer and focus on meeting their exact project management educational needs. Programs may be designed to award certificates and Continuing Education Units or Professional Development Units. The program is provided both at the College Park campus and also on-site at your facilities.

The Professional Development Program is focused on supporting the growth and development of project, program, and portfolio management as an effective business tool for public and private organizations. In order to accomplish this, the PDP offers professional development curriculum that builds the necessary skills to manage projects and programs effectively. This curriculum addresses the needs of project and program managers as well as providing unique courses for senior managers and executives. These courses cover topics that include requirements analysis, planning, execution, portfolio management, leadership, team building, and strategy alignment.

Additionally, the PDP provides consultative support to all organizations in the form of competency assessment of project management professionals, assessment of professional development efforts, development of professional development career tracks, and ongoing support in the form of coaching and mentoring.

We encourage you to investigate the many Project Management learning opportunities available to you here at the University of Maryland and look forward to your joining our program.

John H. Cable, R.A., PMP.
Director, Center for Excellence in Project Management
A. James Clark School of Engineering
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Chairman, PMI's Global Accreditation Center
1168 Glenn L. Martin Hall
College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

"Excellence in Project Management Education, Research & Outreach! "
Accredited by PMI's Global Accreditation Center