Project Management FAQs

Prerequisites, Requirements and Accreditation

  • Is there a recommended order to take the courses in?
  • The Foundations of Successful Project Management course is the recommended pre-requisite for all of the other courses in the program. It is also recommended that students take Managing Project Risk and Integration as their final course if possible. The other courses in the program do not need to be taken in a specific order.
  • I don't have a background in project management. Am I qualified to enter this program?

  • Anyone in any business field qualifies to enter the program, which focuses on these elements:

    - Project management fundamentals, such as initiating projects and estimating project scope

    - Creating project plans and work breakdown structures

    - Human resource management, emotional intelligence and stakeholder management

    - Project quality management, including customer satisfaction, prevention over inspection and continuous improvement

    - Project risk management, including identifying, analyzing and controlling project risks

    - Project time and cost management, such as defining a critical path and critical chain, as well as estimating resources

    - Procuring necessary products and services from outside suppliers, including managing buyer-seller relationships and negotiating agreements

    Current project coordinators or business analysts wishing to expand their project management knowledge will also benefit, as will anyone who oversees “special assignments.”

  • Do I need a college degree to complete this certificate?
  • Usually project managers have bachelor’s degrees in a specific field and get further training in project management, although a bachelor’s degree is not always necessary.
  • I have limited project management experience. How technical are the courses?
  • The courses have some level of complexity and technical requirements; however, the content teaches you theory and provides skills that will enhance your success in this field. Contact us at (530) 757-8777 for more specific information about our courses.
  • Is the certificate program accredited?
  • The program is accredited through the University of California, Davis, and approved through the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education has also been reviewed and approved as a provider of project management training by the Project Management Institute (PMI)®. PMI provides Project Management Professional (PMP)® and Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® certification. As a PMI Authorized Training Partner (ATP), we have agreed to abide by PMI-established quality assurance criteria.
  • What are the requirements to earn the certificate?
  • You must earn a grade of C or higher in all six courses to earn a Project Management Certificate. You have five years from the date of enrollment to complete the certificate.
  • Do courses provide academic credit and/or continuing education units?
  • All the courses in the Project Management Certificate Program offer academic credit. UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education has also been approved by PMI to issue contact hours and Professional Development Units (PDUs) for our courses.

Career Outlook

  • What are the prospects of finding employment with this certification?
  • The career outlook for project managers is positive and growing. Experienced managers can look for upward mobility, while entrants into the field can look for entry-level supervisory roles as they accumulate the work experience required to complete certifications.
  • For what kinds of roles does the Project Management Certificate prepare me?
  • The certification program prepares you to do the job of a project manager based on the current PMI standards. It does not prepare you to take the PMP exam.
  • What is the salary range I can expect to earn once I am successfully employed?

  • Project management jobs are available worldwide, and project managers tend to earn the most in Australia and Switzerland. In the US, salaries vary based on location. The median salary is $83,615 in Miami, while in San Francisco, project managers can make $99,748. The highest salaries in the US are around $130,000. Note that PMP-certified project managers make an average of $14,000 (or 16%) more than non-PMP certified project managers.

    Please visit PMI.org for more details on job salaries. Salary survey data is available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • What industries can I work in as a project manager?
  • Project managers can work in a variety of fields.  Fields such as IT/technical, Healthcare, Finance, Federal and State government, advertising, marketing, and construction frequently hire project managers.
  • What is the anticipated growth in the project management field?
  • According to PMI’s 2018 Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap report, 22 million new project-oriented jobs will be created between 2017 and 2027.

PMP Certification

  • Do I have to complete the certificate program to take the Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam?

  • No.

    Our certificate program teaches you to confidently do the job of project management by providing the knowledge, skills and tools as prescribed by PMI and current best-practice business theory.

    Our certificate fills in any knowledge gaps you may have in order to make you a successful project manager. Note that you also must meet minimum work and education requirements to sit for these exams. We recommend that you research and understand these other factors before taking the exam preparation course.

  • Do your courses count toward the 23-hour and/or 35-hour project management training requirements for the CAPM or PMP exam?
  • Our courses offer academic credit, and each academic unit is equivalent to 10 hours of class time. For a typical course with 2 units, students can expect to earn 20 PDU hours. Students completing the entire certificate will earn a total of 170 hours of PDUs. This more than covers the 35 hour educational requirements for PMI.

General Questions

  • May I enroll in individual courses without completing the certificate?
  • Yes, you may enroll in individual Project Management courses without completing the certificate. Some professionals look for particular topics that will improve their skills in specific areas, such as estimating project scope, creating project plans and work breakdown structures, managing resources, quality control, customer satisfaction, risk, time and cost management, and procurement.
  • How many students are typically in each course?
  • Class size varies from course to course. In an online environment, we allow up to 30 students in a class, although this number may be lower depending on how many students enroll in a given course.
  • How does the “Fast Track model” work?
  • UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education's Fast Track Certificate format is a convenient way to accelerate the training process. Students can complete a certificate program in nine months and save on the overall certificate cost with our pre-pay pricing option.
  • I’ve taken previous Project Management courses from UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education. Do they count toward my certificate in the new program?
  • UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education provides evolving educational opportunities to help working professionals advance in their careers, and we offer students up to five years to complete a certificate program. Courses taken within the last five years can be transferred to the newer certificate. Please speak with our advisors at (530) 757-8777 to discuss your personal path to certificate completion.
  • Can I receive an extension on the discounted price if I cannot complete the program in the scheduled time frame?
  • No, the 15% discount is only offered to students who complete the Fast Track program in the time allotted. You must pay the regular price of $6,600 in addition to a $125 candidacy fee if you exceed the scheduled time period.
  • Who are the program instructors and what is their project management experience?
  • UC Davis only hires project management instructors who have years of experience in their respective industries and are PMP-certified. Our instructors must also meet the stringent academic standards established by the University of California and the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. All our instructors must also be approved by the Dean of UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education.

Time and Cost

  • How long will it take me to complete the Certificate Program?
  • Students in the Fast Track Certificate Program will finish in 9-12 months. Students who complete one course at a time each quarter will finish in between 12-16 months. Students can take up to five years to complete the program.
  • What is the cost of the program?

  • Students who take courses a la carte will pay $1,100 per course, for a total cost of $6,600 plus books and the certificate candidacy fee of $125.

    Fast Track Certificate Program students will pay a total cost of $5,610 plus the cost of books. There is no candidacy fee for Fast Track students.

  • Are there program discounts for which I might be eligible?
  • UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education has numerous discounts available to those who take courses a la carte, including group discounts and discounts for PMI members and Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) members. The Fast Track program is already highly discounted, and, as such, allows fewer additional discounts than most UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education courses.

Online Learning

  • Are all of the courses available online? Do I need to log into my courses at a particular time?
  • You can access the material 24 hours a day. Assignments are due on a weekly basis.
  • How does online learning work?

  • Online courses have real instructors, students, course materials, assignments, tests and grades. They also have the same academic rigor and quality that you expect from our traditional, face-to-face courses. And our online learning courses require the same commitment and effort that you would bring to a classroom experience.

    The most obvious difference with an online learning format is that you don't have to travel to a classroom. In most cases, the entire course is taken online. You'll enjoy more flexibility with online learning courses because you work at a time and place convenient to you. However, without the demands of a specific time and place for a course meeting, you will have to use more self-discipline to ensure your timely progress through the course. If you do not set aside time each week for the course, you may quickly find yourself behind and overwhelmed. Our most successful students schedule themselves as they would for a classroom course, only on their own schedule.

  • What support is available if I have technical problems with a course?
  • You can access technical support through the Online Learning Campus.

*Project Management Institute, PMI, Project Management Professional, PMP, Certified Associate in Project Management, CAPM, and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.