Leadership and Team Dynamics

This course introduces students to the core principles of effective leadership and collaborative team performance in organizational settings. Through a practical, evidence-based approach, the course examines how leaders influence outcomes, foster engagement, and navigate challenges in dynamic, multidisciplinary environments. Students will explore leadership qualifications, strategic decision-making, ethical considerations, and performance development frameworks. Emphasis is placed on understanding the dynamics of team formation, multicultural collaboration, communication, conflict management, and high-performance team practices.

As a central component of the Project Management curriculum, this course supports the program’s larger goal of preparing graduates to lead effectively in diverse and evolving organizational contexts. By grounding students in evidence-based leadership concepts and team effectiveness frameworks, the course advances the discipline’s primary principles of organizational performance, collaboration, and responsible decision-making. The course aligns closely with other program requirements by complementing technical project management competencies with the interpersonal and strategic skills necessary for successful project execution. In doing so, it bridges technical expertise with leadership acumen, equipping students with a holistic foundation for professional growth.

This is a required core course for all Project Management students and is delivered in person on campus in a full-semester format. Space permitting, the course may also be open to cross-registrants from other Columbia University graduate programs where leadership, management, and teamwork skills are relevant, such as programs in management, public administration, and engineering. There are no formal prerequisites, though prior exposure to management or organizational behavior may be helpful in engaging with course materials. Students will participate in selected readings, interactive discussions, and team-based exercises, as well as hear from guest lecturers with extensive leadership experience. By the end of the course, students will have strengthened their ability to lead ethically, communicate clearly, manage team dynamics, and contribute meaningfully to organizational goals.

• 3 points

Project Management Fundamentals: Analyti

PMGT FUNDAMENTALS: ANALYT

This core course introduces students to the quantitative, and analytical foundations of project management, with emphasis on the application of mathematical, and systems-based methods to the planning, execution, and control of complex projects. The course is designed for projects in quantitatively intensive environments such as engineering, technology, construction, consulting, and related sectors where structured planning, measurement, and optimization are essential.

Students develop practical skills in project selection and initiation, scope definition, network-based scheduling, resource allocation, cost and budget modeling, and performance measurement using established analytical techniques. Core topics include work breakdown structures, logic networks, critical path and PERT analysis, resource loading and leveling, financial and life-cycle cost analysis, earned value management, and probabilistic risk assessment, including Monte Carlo–based uncertainty analysis.

Through computational exercises, analytical simulations, and applied projects, students learn to model constraints, evaluate trade-offs, and interpret performance data to support decision-making throughout the project life cycle. By emphasizing structured methodologies and analytical rigor, the course prepares students to manage technically complex, data-rich projects across a range of industries.

• Instructor: Evangelia Ieronymaki
  Info
• 3 points

Project Planning, Scheduling and Control

PRJCT PLANNING, SCHED, CN

This course provides graduate students with an in-depth exploration of project controls and schedule-based decision support with the project schedule treated as a management and control model rather than as a technical output. The course emphasizes deterministic and analytical modeling methods, including Critical Path Method (CPM), network-based optimization, schedule performance metrics, earned value analytics, and quantitative forecasting techniques, positioning the project schedule as a formal analytical model rather than a descriptive artifact. Primavera is used as an implementation and analysis tool to support schedule development, updating, performance measurement, and forecasting across diverse industries. The course equips students with the analytical, technical, and control-oriented skills, methodologies, and frameworks needed to manage projects effectively, ensuring completion on time, within budget, and according to specifications. Through a combination of standards-based analysis, software application, case studies, and practical assignments, students will develop the ability to build, baseline, update, interpret, and communicate schedules to monitor performance through KPIs, evaluate progress, and make informed decisions across the project lifecycle. Throughout the course, students are required to interpret what the schedule communicates to management, including the meaning of variances, implications of forecasts, and recommended corrective actions, rather than solely producing technical files or reports.

Designed for students pursuing advanced studies in project management, engineering management, construction management, and related professional tracks, this course is particularly valuable for those seeking careers that require deep expertise in planning, scheduling, and project controls. Emphasis is placed on developing mastery of schedule development, critical path analysis, resource and cost loading, progress measurement, forecasting, and schedule risk and change analysis as a component of an integrated project controls function, using industry-standard tools and methods. Building on foundational project management concepts, the course provides specialized training in schedule-centric project controls and equips students with the analytical, technical, and communication skills needed to design, manage, analyze, and govern complex project schedules as decision-support instruments across diverse industries.

This course prepares students for professional roles such as project cont

• Instructor: Muriel Rachid Campomizzi
  Info
• 3 points

Technology Integration in Project Manage

TECH INTEGRATION IN PMGT

Technology Integration in Project Management
explores the real-world adoption of digital transformation within complex project environments, moving beyond theoretical frameworks to provide a fully immersive and experiential learning environment. The course is uniquely structured as
Scrum sprints
, where students operate within standard agile events, roles, and artifacts to analyze and compare industry-leading Project Management Information Systems (PMIS). We will also explore waterfall and/or hybrid approaches throughout the course. Students will gain hands-on proficiency in platforms such as
Jira, Asana, Smartsheet, and Trello
, while simultaneously integrating data analytics tools like
Power BI
to monitor performance and enhance decision-making accuracy in Project, Program and Portfolio Management.

As an elective within the Master of Science in Project Management program, this course is designed for practitioners who wish to lead digitally driven organizations with efficiency and innovation. It serves a critical programmatic goal by bridging the gap between foundational project management methodologies and the high-tech execution required in the modern workforce. Another distinctive feature of this course is the mandatory and continuous evaluation of
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies
; students are required to leverage generative AI and automation tools to streamline project delivery, simulating the real-world evolution of value delivery.

The course is a three-credit, full-semester elective delivered in an
in-person modality
. While tailored for Project Management students, it is open to cross-registrants from other Columbia University graduate programs, provided space is available. There are no formal prerequisites; however, students are expected to have a basic understanding of project lifecycles and a willingness to engage in an open and collaborative environment where rapid and iterative technical learning occurs. All technology platforms required for the sprint cycles will be accessible through university licenses or open-access academic versions.

• 3 points

Finance and Accounting for Project Manag

FIN & ACCOUNTING PROJ MAN

This course is designed for Project Management professionals looking to understand how the management of a project affects the overall accounting and financing functions of an organization.  This course will also provide an understanding of interpreting financial information that is generated by an organization and being able to compare, contrast and benchmark against similar types of companies.

This course will allow participants in the program to understand the importance of the finance and accounting functions of an organization by teaching them how to read financial statements and related footnotes, obtain an understanding of basic accounting functions and terminology and introduce the participant on how to create and analyze budgets for individual project metrics and as well as overall company metrics.  The course is also designed to integrate the participants with the program disciplines of project management including project design, project delivery and legal aspects.  The course will also promote ideology of working in teams as the final assignment will be group presentations of a multi-faceted development project anchored by a minor league baseball facility, surrounding commercial and hospitality space and multi-unit residential subdivision.  Teams will develop project budgets for each phase of the project. The teams will address how each aspect of the project will benefit the owner of the sports entertainment facility, address sustainability management and how technology and AI from the design and planning phase through the utilization and maintenance phase effects the financing of the project.  Each group will customize their presentations from a case study provided by the instructor.

This is a required core class of the degree program and can be offered to other degree programs and certificates related to the development or investment in ground up and or rehabilitation projects.  There is no prerequisite knowledge required to take this course.  The course is a full semester in person/on campus class but will have an online and historical recording of all classes for those unable to attend any given class session or lecture.

• 3 points

Project Management Capstone Project

PMGT CAPSTONE PROJECT

The Capstone Project is the culminating integrative experience of the MS in Project Management program. Students are expected to enter the course prepared to apply quantitative reasoning, structured planning methods, and financial analysis to complex project environments.

Working in teams, students engage in a complex real or realistic project scenario and design an integrated project strategy or applied analytical study that addresses a significant real world challenge in project management. Capstone projects are organized around the concentrations offered within the program, including Construction, Technology, Sports, and Sustainability. Students enrolled in a specific concentration will work on a project aligned with their track. Students in the General track may elect to participate in one of the concentration based projects or may be assigned to a cross sector project depending on availability and enrollment distribution.

Projects may be sourced from industry partners when available. When industry collaboration exists, it may include document access, advisory input, or structured feedback. When no external sponsor is involved, faculty curated materials and case documentation will be provided.

The course emphasizes rigorous problem definition, stakeholder analysis, structured evaluation, and evidence based decision making. Students are expected to integrate quantitative and qualitative reasoning, financial and operational considerations, risk awareness, governance design, and performance evaluation into a coherent and defensible strategy. Through faculty mentorship and peer collaboration, students progressively develop their work into a final written deliverable and executive level presentation that demonstrate professional readiness, analytical maturity, and leadership capacity in complex project environments.

• 3 points

nternship Experience 2 - PMGT

This asynchronous, 1.5-credit elective combines a supervised professional internship with guided analysis of workplace culture, ethics, and feedback practices. Students evaluate organizational values, inclusivity, and ethical decision-making while developing the skills needed to navigate professional environments and identify the workplace cultures in which they will thrive.

• 1.5 points

Internship in Industry - PMGT

This asynchronous, 3-credit elective provides an immersive, supervised professional internship experience paired with structured reflection and applied academic work. Students integrate theory with practice while assessing organizational culture, ethical decision-making, feedback practices, and professional competencies. Through guided analysis and reflective assignments, students deepen self-awareness, strengthen career readiness, and clarify how their internship experience shapes future professional goals.

• 1.5 points