Improve Your Career with a Certificate in Professional Project Management from the University of Houston

This program serves both UH graduate level students and external non-degree seeking candidates seeking PMP certification.

The history of managing technology projects has been marred by high project failure rates. In recent years, it has been proven that modern management approaches to this process greatly improve the probability of project success. To that end, our goal is to graduate a professional that will excel in the contemporary project-oriented marketplace.

Beyond learning the basics of project management, participants will explore new trends in the marketplace such as global outsourcing - a trend which is causing significant changes the project management process, virtual team management, and new collaboration techniques necessary for the modern project manager.

Come learn about how the use of tried and tested tool sets and management approaches can help you survive and even prosper in the new economy.

Elements of the Programs

• A focus on practical tools as well as a solid grounding in theory prepares the participants for immediate and long term success in project management.
• MS Project will be used throughout to model projects and serve as the underlying tool for planning, tracking and reporting.
• An in-depth case study in a real-world project management environment runs parallel with the class material throughout the second semester. Material collected through this process will be monitored by the instructor, shared with the peer group, and suggestions will be given as to how the issues being dealt with can be best handled.
• Faculty expertise in global sourcing exposes students to the major process and management change techniques that global sourcing requires. Global Sourcing is the process of sending work to various corners of the world, such as India, the Pacific Rim, China, and Russia. The positive lure is low labor cost and perceived high technical quality; however lowered flexibility and longer communication channels represent possible negative factors.
• Expert speakers. Outside speakers are invited into the program to describe activities from their areas of expertise.

Program Overview

The design goal of this program is to provide a high level exposure to the theory and practice of project management. The program is offered through the College of Technology as a two course sequence. This comprehensive program prepares participants to handle the full scope of project management and to pass the highly respected Project Management Institute's Project Management Professional (PMP) certification course. There are two candidate options:

1. This program can be taken as a six-hour concentration for UH MBAs, College of Technology graduate students, or for general UH graduate student in other disciplines. Approval for this should be confirmed through the individual's graduate advisor.
2. The program is also available for individuals who have a baccalaureate degree and wish to take this program without going through a full graduate program curriculum. The goal for this group would be to earn the PMP and hone practical skills in project management for personal development.

The two semester long professional courses are briefly described below:

• Framework of Project Management (TEPM 6301) This semester course is designed to be a level-setting exposure to the theory of project management. It provides an introduction to basic material that will be part of the PMP exam.
• Advanced Project Management (TEPM 6397) This course focuses specifically on PMP Exam material and is designed to lead the candidates to successfully pass that exam. It is recommended that the PMP exam be taken immediately after completion of this course. Success rate of past students is near 100%.

Pricing

Program fee is $1400 per course for Certificate candidates. UH graduate students can enroll for either course through the normal UH registration system with prior approval of the program coordinator.

Further Information can be obtained from Dr. Gary Richardson at gary.richardson@mail.uh.edu or 713.743.4018.