Project Management (Masters) | University of Bedfordshire

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About the course

Effective project management is the key to the success of organisations across all sectors. This flexible course provides you with a multidisciplinary professional skill set including planning and resource management while building your transferable skills in areas like communication teamwork and leadership.

The course provides a platform for you to develop the advanced theoretical and practical skills you need to perform successfully at a senior management level. You study the management of challenging projects – including projects for global companies over international boundaries - on a course developed with professional bodies and leading specialists ensuring your learning reflects current and best practice.

Thanks to our practice-based approach you develop your skills via all-important real-life experience of managing real projects. This approach enables you to use and critically assess your learnt knowledge of project management methodologies theories issues tools and techniques.

APM logo This course is accredited by the Association for Project Management (APM) with areas of knowledge specified by the Project Management Institute.

Intermediate qualifications available:

Postgraduate diploma – 120 credits at Master’s level

Why choose this course?

Start when it most suits you with six entry points through the year; every taught unit is delivered in a six-week block
Access valuable PRINCE2 Project Management Foundation and Practitioner training
Analyse client requirements in the Project Management Practice unit and manage a real project
Work in teams to deliver solutions to project management problems and projects enhancing your collaborative interpersonal and leadership skills
Explore international approaches to project management practice such as the widely used Project Management Body of Knowledge developed in the USA by the Project Management Institute
Learn how project management can incorporate sustainable business solutions
Participate in APM events and guest lectures
In your final project choose to undertake either a business dissertation or business live project

Find out more about financial support available

What will you study?

Project Management Practice

Project Management is essentially a practical discipline. Whilst the subject incorporates an eclectic mix of theoretical concepts and models from other disciplines, its fundamental nature is one of using models and techniques to achieve concrete outcomes. As such, practice is an essential part of acquiring the skills of project management.

This unit is informed by research-based knowledge and scholarship, emanating from a range of project management practices. It also provides you with that all-important real-life experience. The unit will enable you to learn from your experience of managing a real project by critically assessing a range of project management methodologies/bodies of knowledge, theories, tools and techniques. Project management involves a deliberate and reflective assumption of role, and you will be encouraged to reflect on you own performance as project manager or team member.

The unit aims to:

develop your systematic understanding of project management and its diverse application in a number of contexts;
enable you to evaluate commercially available tools and methodologies for their own applications, understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each;
enable you to approach new projects equipped with all the necessary skills to bring projects to successful conclusions;
provide you with an understanding of the dilemmas and issues inherent in managing client projects; and other contemporary project management issues

Risk And Procurement Management

This unit explores the theory and principles of Risk and Procurement Management as well as quality issues in Engineering and Project Management contexts. The emphasis will be on managing the issues (risks, procurement and quality) and problems encountered within any project or operation and the difficulties of delivering projects and programmes within the agreed objectives.
The aim of this unit is to enable you:

To understand and analyse the Risk and Quality Management using necessary tools and techniques to ensure a successful engineering or project management
To understand and evaluate distinguished features of negotiation within contract and procurement management within variety of organisational settings

Performance Achievement Planning

This short course is a professional development course that is designed to support all PG students in the University of Bedfordshire Business School to enhance their employability and develop a professional profile through their journey in the Masters. The specific aims are to:

Enhance students’ professional, personal development and communication skills.
To support students to evidence how their experience at masters level has contributed to the development of their professional profile as required after graduation.
To support students to develop the necessary academic skill required for successful completion of postgraduate research

Leading People In Creative Teams

This unit aims to provide you with a rigorous framework of knowledge and understanding concerning people management and leadership. The unit will have a strong focus on the links between people management practices and organisational/project outcomes. Major contemporary issues in people management will be highlighted to encourage you to engage with key developments in theory and practice.
Creativity and innovative skills are recognised widely as being useful in management and leadership and the unit aims to develop these skills to support enhancing leadership and management practice.
This unit aims to enable you to develop vital skills to become an effective leader of people; to manage others fairly and effectively and to increase levels of engagement, commitment, motivation and performance.

Business Dissertation

Aims:

To bring theory and practice together to formulate a topic of your interest whether it is a research-oriented topic or a more clinical topic that is relevant to the context of business and conduct research on your choice of topic relevant to your field of study
To stimulate you to reflect on issues critically and to identify aspects that need further research
To provide you with the opportunity to explore a topic and appreciate the importance of literature review in the learning process
To critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of other people’s research to formulate your own study
To enhance skills in time-management, research management, project organisation and decision-making
To apply and reflect on the practicalities of research including access to sources and ethical considerations

Relevance

An important aim of a Master’s degree is to master and apply your knowledge and skills independently so that you can successfully carry out research. This dissertation provides you with the opportunity for sustained independent study that builds on your research proposal and represents the culmination of your Master’s level studies.

Project And Operations Management

Project Management has become increasingly important and is an essential skill in many business related careers today. Operations Management has always been one of the key functions in an organisation since it is concerned with the production and delivery of the organisation’s products and services.

The competitive environment for operations demands new ways of thinking about the way we approach the management of our own organisation and those we network with. Global sourcing and relocation are now commonplace for manufacturing and service organisations.

The unit first seeks to provide a fundamental understanding of operations management. This foundation is then developed into the new ways in which organisations should be managed in the global context.

The unit also explores the theory and principles of project management for a wide range of project types. It will consider the appropriate application of project management tools and techniques.

This unit is informed by research-based knowledge and scholarship, emanating from a range of operations and project management practices.

The aim of this unit is to enable you to:

Evaluate the principles and techniques associated with Project and Operations Management both in manufacturing and service industries in the private and public sectors;
Critically assess the relationship between operations and other functions within an organisation, and the need for integration between marketing, operations and human resources which is essential for modern business to meet customer needs;
Evaluate the implications of taking a global perspective of project/ operations management.
Consider the significance of project management and the role of a project manager in modern businesses.
Select and use appropriate project management tools and techniques to plan a project.

How will you be assessed?

The Course's Assessment Strategy includes:

Individual Written Report or Essays: The ability to perform literature informed research to review and evaluate the relevant sources and to use an appropriate methodology in order to analyze and evaluate the relevant concepts is being assessed. At the same time student academic integrity is developed.

Case Study Examination: Students will apply their knowledge in the context of specific cases.

Oral Presentation: A number of transferable skills will be developed

Reflective Report: Own work and that of peers will be evaluated

Dissertation / Professional Practice / Business Live Project: Regardless of which masters capstone experience you opt for you will have to produce an individual independent piece of work. The three options are equivalent in weighting however offer three distinct approaches to explore a research problem. The distinction between the three approaches is underpinned by the design of research methodology. You will be asked to identify the research question or problem under investigation review the relevant literature and develop a sound methodology in order to explore the problem proceed with the analysis discuss your findings and make recommendations. It is the capstone of this course and builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in all Units. It will be one of the most challenging but yet enjoyable and rewarding experiences you will encounter ever! Please refer to the unit information form (UIF) of each of the three options for details. You are expected to make use of the journals professional bodies and the media in order to keep up-to-date with information examples debates discussions and events in project management. Your enquiry skills will be developed through lectures and workshops. You will be introduced to various research methods such as survey interview focus group action research and various quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques. Through the final capstone unit in project management you will be able to apply some of these methods and techniques to carry out independent research.

The notions of accountability and academic integrity will be an integral part of your course. You will be informed about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it during the delivery of each Unit. Where an individual project is required you will be asked to show the different stages of your work or to present it in its entity upon completion. Where collaborative tasks are assigned an individual reflective report or individual viva may be required to indicate your contribution to the team.

All coursework assignments will require a thorough evaluation of the sources used and referencing will be done according to the Harvard Referencing System As mentioned in an earlier section a range of assessment methods will be used throughout the course and students will be required to undertake a variety of assessments including individual reports essays case studies oral presentations reflective report and a final course project - Business Dissertation Professional Practice or Business Live Project. The assessments are designed to test students knowledge and understanding of the subject matter but also to demonstrate the range of skills identified in the section above. Students will also experience some formative assessment activities designed to support the development of their knowledge and skills. The purpose of such assessment is to enable them to monitor and improve their performance. For example they will have the opportunity to discuss a report structure before completing the report to present concepts/findings through presentations and receive feedback before producing a final report or presentation. In preparation for exams they will have opportunity to attempt revision questions with guidance on how to address these with appropriate solutions.

Careers

By completing this MSc course you will have the skills needed to find career opportunities in the following industries/areas: media; sport and leisure; government; financial services; construction; hospitality; engineering; electronics; IT; telecoms; the health services.

If you wish to continue your studies you will also be well prepared for further research study at MPhil or PhD level.

Entry Requirements

2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area

Entry Requirements

2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area

Entry Requirements

2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area

Entry Requirements

2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area2.2 honours degree or equivalent in a related subject area

Fees for this course

UK 2024/25

The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £10,000 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees and living costs. Visit www.gov.uk/postgraduate-loan

Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk