Project Management

Types of Degrees Project Management Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many project management graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,583
Basic Certificate	881
Bachelor’s Degree	836
Graduate Certificate	830
Undergraduate Certificate	58
Associate Degree	41
Doctor’s Degree	8

What Project Management Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, project management majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Project Management Majors

Project Management majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Project Management Majors

project management majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Project Management Majors

Project Management majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Project Management Major?

People with a project management degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Loss Prevention Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Security Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Supply Chain Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Wind Energy Operations Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Wind Energy Project Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Project Management?

This major attracts more men than women. About 59% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of project management majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	20
Black or African American	67
Hispanic or Latino	114
White	476
International Students	13
Other Races/Ethnicities	146

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Project Management. About 1.6% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Project Management Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $103,330 to $115,590 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to project management. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Project Management

Some degrees associated with project management may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to project management have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.2%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.7%
Some College Courses	1.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	52.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.1%
Master’s Degree	19.5%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.7%
Doctoral Degree	11.0%

Online Project Management Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 183 schools offered some type of project management program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	13	6
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	7	2
Bachelor’s Degree	79	46
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	69	43
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Project Management Worth It?

The median salary for a project management grad is $103,330 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 159% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,268,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Project Management

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to project management.

Major	Number of Grads
General Business Administration and Management	353,401
Organizational Leadership	15,171
Interior Design Management	14,326
Supply Chain Management	10,986
Operations Management	7,153
Office Administration	4,076
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management	2,905
Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions and Contracts Management	1,058
Retail Management	1,008
Transportation/Mobility Management	754
Science/Technology Management	430
Risk Management	396
E-Commerce	293
Research and Development Management	238
Customer Service Management	158

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.