Project management is essentially the planning, organising and monitoring of resources to achieve desired business goals.

Programme management is similar to project management: it involves managing multiple related projects at once in a coordinated fashion to reap benefits which cannot be obtained from managing them individually.

Programme or project managers plan strategies to kickstart projects, determine project requirements and lead others involved in the project and monitor the progress of their work. This means having fingers in many pies - you’ll need to monitor and stay on top of logistics, budgets, timeframes, and get involved in the HR-side of project management as well as things like team culture management. It is for this reason that WMG's MSc in Programme and Project Management provides a comprehensive education across all aspects of project management.

Martin Ou, from China, studied on our Programme and Project Management course, having previously worked in sales and marketing before joining a wealth management company in China. Once in the role, Martin quickly realised he needed experience in project and programme management to progress in the company. Martin took a year out of work to pursue the Master's course and he says he found the modules taught within the programme extremely useful.

He says: “In the Management of Change module we worked in small groups, with each group ‘running a business’ and each member taking a role within it. The lecturer acted as our customer and constantly introduced new and unexpected challenges. The whole thing was intense and difficult at times, with changes happening quickly. This really pushed us and forced us out of our comfort zones. It taught me how the different business elements need to interact, which I found incredibly helpful. It's a skill I use in my work today.”

Careers with a degree in programme and project management

Project managers need a variety of skills in their job. They are effective problem-solvers with numerical and communication skills.

Demand for project managers is high across industries. Job growth is anticipated to be faster than any other occupation, with 22 million new job openings around the world by 2027, according to the Project Management Institute.

WMG's MSc in Programme and Project Management is a one-year full-time course designed for graduates who want to move into project management.

The course covers every aspect of programme and project management, including financial analysis and control systems, and programme and project strategy, and is taught by experts in their fields. You’ll also have the chance to learn from external speakers who work in organisations at the forefront of project management through lectures, seminars, online learning and group projects. Assessment is conducted through written assignments and in-module exercises.

Alumni from this course have gone on to work as project planners, project engineers, system analysts, project managers, at IBM, the World Food Program, Vogue, ExxonMobil, Dell and the civil service.