Growing out of collaboration with local businesses and government agencies the Project Management Certificate was developed to serve the diverse needs in the Frederick and regional communities. Project management skills are crucial in driving organization performance and maintaining competitive advantage. Specifically, the project management curriculum is designed to meet the needs of:
1. Professionals managing projects in the life sciences and bioinformatics sector; and,
2. Those engaging in project management of information technology projects.
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Students must complete four three-credit courses for a total of twelve credits for the certificate with a minimum grade point average of 3.00. Two courses (six credits) will cover general project management competencies and the remainder of courses will come from completion of either two courses (six credits) from a sequence of courses in a Life Sciences or Information Technology. Upon completion of the certificate program at Hood College, students will achieve the educational prerequisite requirement for the Project Management Professional PMP® certification exam.
The following course is a prerequisite to the program. Students who do not have this course must take it in addition to other required courses. The program director will make the determination at the time of application review whether the course is required.
MGMT 551 - Management Theory
The framework proposed for the certificate includes a “core” set of courses covering general theories in leadership, organizational behavior & structure, and project management techniques. These are provided from two courses in the current MBA offerings at Hood:
MGMT 560 is offered each Fall and Spring semester and is typically the first course graduate business students take upon completing the foundation requirements. MGMT 569 is offered each Spring.
Following completion of this core, students will take a two-course sequence meant to offer specialized skills within either the Life Sciences or Information Technology.
For the Life Sciences sequence, students will complete the following course sequence:
These courses are offered as part of our Bioinformatics and Biomedical Science graduate programs and are available on a reoccurring schedule.
The following course is a prerequisite to ITMG 533, which is required for the Information Technology (IT) sequence:
ITMG 516 Data Analytics/Data Mining
Students who do not have this prerequisite course must take it prior to and in addition to the IT sequence coursework. The program director will make the determination at the time of application review whether prerequisite course is required.
To complete the Information Technology sequence, students will complete the following courses:
These courses are offered as part of our MBA, MIS, and IT programs and offered on a routine basis. In both the Life Sciences and Information Technology sequences, students will be permitted to substitute appropriate special topic courses (ITMG 599 or BIFX 599) or directed independent study (ITMG 575 or BIFX 575) with direct topical focus towards project management and with permission of adviser.
In both the Life Sciences and Information Technology sequences, students may be permitted to substitute appropriate special topics courses (ITMG 599 or BIFX 599) or directed independent study (ITMG 575 or BIFX 575) with direct topical focus towards project management and with permission of the adviser.
* Please note that graduate certificate programs are now eligible for loans.
Hood College participates in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements.
Students applying for the Project Management Certificate program must have the following prerequisite requirements:
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Applicants should submit an official transcript from the institution where their highest degree was conferred.
Management Theory (MGMT 551 Hood equivalent) is a prerequisite to the program.
Students interested in Information Technology sequence should also provide transcripts showing a prerequisite level course in Intro to Data Analysis/Data Mining (ITMG 516 Hood equivalent).
In addition, students must also complete a statement of purpose (250 words) that describes their background experience and future goals.
Transfer credit policy for admitted students
Students may transfer a maximum of 6 graduate credits from an external, accredited institution, or another Hood graduate program prior to the first semester of study in the current program. Please review the full graduate transfer credit policy in the College catalog.
Program Director
Assistant Director of Graduate Admission
Hood alumna, Jennifer Whitmore, earned her certificate in project management in January 2021, and is currently enrolled in Hood's master's in business administration program (MBA). Jennifer is currently an implementation analyst at Heuristic Solutions, a computer software company based in Arlington, VA.
"Adding the PM certificate was a great option for me because it is aligned with what I have studied. It will give me the opportunity to get to the next step which is the PMP certificate."
Ahmed Alghamdi is an international graduate student from Saudi Arabia. Ahmed worked in the Graduate School as a Graduate Assistant, and is graduating with a Master's degree in Management Information Systems in spring 2020.