The Association of Project Management has just given its formal backing to the University of Roehampton’s MSc in Project Management, after confirming the qualification is now officially accredited.
The association is the largest professional body in its field in the UK, and the accreditation provides a sought after official sign of quality and relevance to the industry for the MSc course. Roehampton is now one of just 28 universities in the country, and only three in London, to have the course accredited.
Professor Sharon Mavin, Director of Roehampton Business School said: “I’m thrilled with the accreditation, we are in the middle of a 10 year period when the industry will see 15.7 million new project management roles created globally, the recognition of our MSc shows our commitment to providing a course that allows students to be well prepared for careers in the sector.”
The accreditation will provide students with a qualification recognised by a growing sector for its quality and relevance to the workplace. As a result of the accreditation, students will have opportunities to attend APM events including conferences and talks, access their materials, and study for other qualifications.
During the one year course, students could expect to learn about consultancy practice, contemporary issues in the sector, risk management, business research and change management. The skills needed to become a professional practitioner within the sector.
To secure the accreditation the University went through a rigorous process which involved demonstrating how the MSc is aligned to the Association of Project Management Body of Knowledge, as well as demonstrating that the quality assurance and other processes within the University are robust.
Academic accreditation by the APM is designed to help students and professionals choose the best academic education in support of their professional project management career. Accreditation provides an independent quality mark for the course, helping students make decisions about which university to study at.
Peter Hill, a Lecturer at Roehampton Business School, who has overseen the accreditation process with APM said project management skills were relevant in many sectors, and that Roehampton students would find the knowledge learnt on the MSc course useful whatever field they chose to work in after graduation. He said: “Many processes in all industries are increasingly being done as projects. At Roehampton for example we take a number of dance students on our undergraduate project management module because productions are now run as projects.”
He said students on the accredited MSc in Project Management course could expect to be taught by professors with a strong research background as well as lecturers who have lots of industry experience.
The University now intends to start the process of securing accreditation for its undergraduate project management module during the coming year.