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Professional Academy Diploma in Project Management

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Perfect for new and aspiring project managers, this full-time or part-time project management course provides the essential skills needed to successfully initiate, run, and close projects of all types. You’ll be inspired as you learn to successfully run Agile projects, manage resources, control costs and reduce risks.

This certification provides expert insights, tutor support and a host of case studies and expert tips. In just 12 weeks you will be fully equipped and ready to take the next step in your exciting PM career.

Course Details

Course Code:
PA01
Category:
Management Courses
Study Options:
Full-Time Bootcamp; Part-time; On Demand
Location:
Online; UCD Campus
Assessment:
1 hour exam & 3,000 word written assignment

Early Bird Discount

Save 10% on all courses. Download your FREE brochure to unlock your discount code.

Choose Your Start Date

Browse our live classes, delivered online or on campus

Secure your place by paying in full or availing of our payment plan. For Part-time, on demand and on campus courses, pay in three equal interest-free instalments. For full-time Bootcamps enrol with a 50% deposit and the rest at the course start date. T&C's apply.

Why UCD Professional Academy?

  • Valuable, trusted certification
  • Industry expert lecturers
  • Flexible learning options

Study Options

All formats cover the same course content. You now have more choice in how you learn with us:

Live Online

Choose between weekly evening classes, usually over 12 weeks, or a 5-day intensive bootcamp

Live online learning with industry-expert lecturers

Interact with lecturers and classmates

Convenience of studying from home

On Campus

Choose weekly evening classes on UCD Belfield Campus, D4.

In-person learning with industry-expert lecturers

Meet peers in a friendly environment

Access to state-of-the-art facilities

On Demand

Fit your learning into your own schedule, and learn at your own pace

100% self-paced learning

Average completion time: 6 weeks. (up to 18 weeks)

Optional live tutorial sessions

Built Around You

€72,000 / Annual

Project Manager Salary in Ireland

The average project manager salary in Ireland is €72,000. Entry level positions start at €65,000 per year while more experienced workers make up to €84,000 per year.

Salary data source: indeed.com, 5th March 2024

Average
€72,000

Salary data source: indeed.com, 5th March 2024

Project Management Course Modules

Delivered through lectures, group discussions, and individual and group exercises, this comprehensive course covers every aspect of project management – initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and finally closing the project. With new projects often representing significant expense and high risk, project owners seek the assurance that practitioners have the knowledge, experience, and skills to bring high performing projects to successful completion.

Or browse our wide range of expert-led online courses and grow your career potential today.

1. Introduction & Project Fundamentals

What to expect from the course and how it will be graded. Define a project, programme, and portfolio. Understand project lifecycles.

  • Introductions
  • Walkthrough of the course
  • Project and exam requirements
  • Definitions: project, programme, and portfolio
  • Project lifecycles

2. Project Environment & the Role of the Project Manager

Understand the different environments in which projects operate and the impact they have on project success. Define the role of the project manager and understand their sphere of influence.

  • Operations vs. projects
  • Project lifecycles and processes
  • Project phases and phase gates
  • Organisation structures and roles
  • Sphere of influence and competencies
  • Leadership vs. management

3. Project Integration

Introduction to project processes and how we identify and co-ordinate these processes and project management activities into process groups. Learn to identify interdependencies between project management knowledge areas.

  • Developing a project charter
  • Initial development of project plans
  • Directing and managing project work
  • Monitoring and controlling project work
  • Performing integrated change control
  • Closing a project or phase

4. Scope Management

Define project and product scope and their differences. Identify how scope interacts with areas such as cost and schedule. Understand how to collect requirements to create a work breakdown structure.

  • Product scope vs. project scope
  • Scope interactions
  • Scope planning
  • Collecting requirements
  • The work breakdown structure
  • Validating and controlling scope

5. Schedule Management

Define project schedules and differentiate them from project plans. Identify and sequence activities and estimate their duration. Discover scheduling tools and learn how to control and remediate a schedule.

  • Schedule planning
  • Defining and sequencing activities
  • Estimating activity durations
  • Developing a schedule using tools
  • Controlling a schedule

6. Cost Management

Differentiate between cost and schedule management. Learn to estimate and forecast costs and measure and correct variance. Understand contingency and management reserves, earned and planned value, and preventing cost variance.

  • Cost vs. schedule management
  • Planning cost management
  • Estimating and forecasting costs
  • Contingency vs. management reserves
  • Earned and planned value management
  • Measuring and interpreting cost variance

7. Resource Management

Define and plan project resource management. Discover activity estimation techniques. Understand the project manager’s responsibility for acquiring, developing, managing, and controlling resources.

  • Planning resource management
  • Estimating activities
  • Acquiring resources
  • Developing, managing, and controlling resources

8. Communication Management

Develop a project communication plan. Identify and manage communication channels. Understand how to manage and control project communications.

  • Communication plan management
  • Communication channels
  • Managing and controlling communications

9. Risk Management

Understand the relationship between risk, opportunity, and threats. Identify risk factors and attitudes. Plan for risk through qualitative and quantitative risk analysis. Document risk responses and monitor and control risks.

  • Risk, opportunity, and threats
  • Risk factors and attitudes
  • Risk planning and identification
  • Qualitative vs quantitative risk analysis
  • Risk responses
  • Monitoring and controlling risk

10. Stakeholder Management

Understand how to identify all project stakeholders. Plan stakeholder engagement using a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix. Create a stakeholder register.

  • Identifying stakeholders
  • Planning stakeholder engagement
  • Stakeholder register
  • Stakeholder engagement assessment matrix

11. Introduction to Agile Project Management Practices

The history of agile project management, including the Agile Manifesto. Contrast definable work with high uncertainty work. Understand iterative, predictive, incremental, and agile lifecycles. Face delivery challenges in an agile environment.

  • The Agile Manifesto
  • Definable and high uncertainty work
  • Iterative, predictive, incremental, and agile lifecycles
  • Creating an agile environment
  • Delivering in an agile environment

12. Agile Practices Part 2 & Revision

Measuring progress in an agile environment. Organisation considerations when working in an agile environment. Revision for final exam.

  • Delivering in an agile environment (cont.)
  • Revision for final exam

What does a Project Manager do?

A project manager is responsible for planning, organising, and overseeing the execution of a specific project. They work to ensure that the project is completed on time, within budget, and to the required standards. This includes tasks such as managing scope, schedule management, cost management, coordinating resources, and managing risks.

Project managers may work in a variety of industries, including construction, IT, and marketing, and may be responsible for projects of varying sizes and complexity. They work to ensure that the project is delivered successfully and meets the requirements and expectations of stakeholders.

What our Alumni Say

My experience with the Professional Academy Diploma in Project Management was extremely good - since completing the course I now have interviews coming out of my ears! I picked up a lot of useful skills throughout the course and everything was very well-taught by the lecturers.

Project Management

I really enjoyed studying for a Professional Academy Diploma in Project Management. The lecturer was very engaging and had a lot of hands-on, personal experience to bring the material to life. The UCD Professional Academy staff were also very helpful.

Overall I had a great experience studying for a Professional Academy Diploma in Project Management. I feel much more confident in my new role having done this course and I know that what I've learned will help me as I continue in this role and also well into the future as I hopefully continue to grow my project management career.

Obtaining a Professional Academy Diploma in Project Management with UCD Professional Academy was a very positive experience. The course provides the knowledge and tools needed to help run projects efficiently and effectively, following proven methodology. I could not fault the course from beginning to end.

I had a great experience during the UCD Professional Academy Diploma in Project Management. We received a lot of information but everything was communicated in a great way and was easy to follow. Being able to complete this course from home and online was a great advantage.

Pia Brandenburg

Technical Account Manager, Zeus Industrial Products

Studying for a Professional Academy Diploma in Project Management was an excellent experience. I really enjoyed the hands-on experience, which other courses lack. The strongest aspects of the course were the slides used, which were really informative. I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in developing Project Management skills.

If you want a career in Project Management but don’t know where to start, then you should check out this course! You will thoroughly learn everything you need to become a Project Manager, as the course materials are both comprehensive & well-organised. At the end of your course, you will prove your new knowledge by delivering very detailed projects

Project Management
Exclusive

Access to thousands of journals, articles and papers. Free of charge.

Students taking part in this course will now have access to the EBSCO Online Library, free of charge, for the full duration of the course. Here you can browse thousands of relevant journals, articles and other reliable academic and commercial texts like the Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg Businessweek and Forbes Magazine, to supplement your learning and assignments.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is this course right for me?

Our industry-focused project management course is ideal for career-minded professionals from a wide range of backgrounds who wish to apply project management skills and methodology to their role.

You are likely to already have some project management experience. You may be:

  • A business executive

  • A manager

  • A team leader

  • A business owner

  • Going for a promotion to a managerial role

If you'd like to learn more about being a project manager, read our article: What is Project Management?

How will this course help with my career?

This Project Management course will give you the project management skills necessary to advance in your career. With this certification on your CV, you demonstrate that you can be trusted to ensure the success of high-power projects at an international level.

What is the learning experience like?

Many of our courses are now available in a variety of formats. All formats cover the same course content. You now have more choice in how you learn with us:

Live Online

Our online experience is designed to be just as interactive, supportive, and inspiring as the UCD Professional Academy campus experience.

Online courses can be accessed from any computer or laptop with an internet connection.

Live lectures are delivered using Zoom. During these lectures, your teachers will use technology interactively to ensure an engaging learning experience. When appropriate, students will be encouraged to activate their microphones so that they can ask questions and communicate with other students.

On Campus

UCD Professional Academy is delighted to welcome learners back on the UCD Belfield Campus. On Campus courses are delivered in-person with our industry experts in the O'Brien Science building.

On Demand

On Demand courses enable you to complete your course on your own schedule. Course modules are delivered in the form of one “lesson”. The lesson is broken up into short videos followed by activities designed to put the new information and concepts into practice through exercises, quizzes, forum participation and other activities.

What is the student experience like?

Student care is a high priority at UCD Professional Academy, which is why our Student Services team is on hand to support you throughout your time with us. They will respond to any queries you have, help you with any technical issues, and facilitate your learning experience at every point. All students are given access to our Student Portal, where you can see your timetable, access all your study materials, and manage your account.

How is this course assessed?

This course is assessed through a written project and a 1-hour online multiple choice exam at the end of the course.

Learners will be expected to complete the exam within 72 hours after their final class.

For the written project, learners will have two weeks following the end of the course to complete and submit the final assignment. The written project is generally around 3,000 words (that’s about 5 pages of a standard Word document).

What are the benefits of a Professional Academy Diploma?

UCD Professional Academy Diplomas and Certificates are designed to give your career an advantage. Developed in conjunction with industry thought leaders our courses teach practical, applied skills to support you to achieve your career and business goals. Professional Academy Diplomas are suitable for career minded learners wishing to advance their professional skills and prospects rather than their academic credentials.

The Professional Academy is an independent wholly owned part of UCD designed to address the need for skills development in the workforce. Courses tend to be short, designed and delivered by industry practitioners, and are not part of nor do they lead to a traditional University award such as a degree or a masters. They are widely accepted by employers and many students are sponsored to study by their organisation.

For full details of UCD Professional Academy’s Certifications & Governance please visit https://www.ucd.ie/professionalacademy/governance/

How do I get my Professional Academy Diploma?

Your UCD Professional Academy Diploma will be issued electronically on a secure platform, with a link that you can share with employers and others wishing to verify your credentials. You can also add this certificate to your LinkedIn profile.

What payment options are available?

You can secure your spot on most of our Live Online, On-Campus, or On-Demand courses with a low 30% deposit. The remaining balance can be paid in two equal instalments (30 and 60 days later).

For full-time Bootcamp courses, you can secure your spot with a 50% deposit, with the remaining balance due prior to the start of your course.

Please note that standard terms and conditions apply, which you can review here: https://www.ucd.ie/professionalacademy/terms-and-conditions/

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