This specialization is designed for IT professionals who want to acquire the skills and competencies for IT project management. The project management specialization provides the students with the managerial and technical skills that are applicable to information systems software development lifecycle (SDLC) including requirements, analysis/design, implementation, and testing. The student applies the fundamental concepts and techniques of project management like schedule and budget estimation, resource allocation, progress monitoring, risk mitigation and contingency planning to IT projects in the software industry. The student acquires hands-on experience with traditional project management methodologies and modern project management methodologies like Agile project management. Standards for quality assurance and quality control, like ISO 9000 family of standards, will be discussed and explained to assess the maturity of the development organizations and the development processes for the IT projects. Business Communication and IT budgeting moves projects and innovation forward, focusing on application to real-world initiatives.

Curriculum

Core Courses (4 units)

Specialization Courses (7 units)

About the Final Project

Students may pursue their capstone experience independently or as part of a team. As their final course, students take either the individual research project in an independent study format or the classroom final project class in which students integrate the knowledge they have gained in the core curriculum in a project presented by the instructor. In both cases, students are guided by faculty in exploring the body of knowledge on information systems while contributing research of practical value to the field. The capstone independent project and capstone class project count as one unit of credit.