Online Project Management Degrees: Careers, Curriculum, and How to Choose

Key takeaway: An online project management degree is usually awarded as a BS or BA in project management, or as a business degree with a project management concentration, and it prepares graduates to plan, schedule, budget, and lead work across industries. Project management specialists earn a median annual wage of $102,320 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Compare accredited programs below.

Project management is the discipline of delivering defined work on a schedule and within a budget, coordinating the people, vendors, and risks involved along the way. Because nearly every industry runs projects, the degree is unusually portable: construction firms, hospitals, software companies, banks, and government agencies all hire for it. Accredited online programs generally deliver the same curriculum and degree titles as campus programs; browse the best accredited online colleges to compare schools that offer them.

Schools Offering Project Management Programs

These accredited schools offer online project management programs. Request information to compare programs, costs, and formats.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

#1

Samuel Merritt University

Oakland, CA BOC Score 99.5
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
  • Accredited
Graduation rate 96%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $143,238
TuitionContact school for pricing
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Key stats
  • Programs offered: 3

Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Brooklyn, NY BOC Score 99.1
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $109,601
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 6

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#3

Roseman University of Health Sciences

Henderson, NV BOC Score 99.0
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 94%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $120,163
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 1

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Browse the pages below to see curriculum, admissions, format, and cost details for online project management study.


Quick Answers

What do online project management programs cover?

Online project management programs cover project planning and scheduling, risk management, agile and scrum methods, procurement and contracts, budgeting and cost control, and leadership and team management. Most programs end with a capstone project that applies the full sequence to a realistic scenario.

What degree do project managers usually earn?

Most earn a bachelor’s degree, awarded either as a BS or BA in project management or as a business degree with a project management concentration. Some students instead major in a field tied to the work they want to manage, such as engineering or information technology, and add project management coursework.

How much do project management roles pay?

Project management specialists earn a median annual wage of $102,320, and construction managers earn $114,990 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Pay varies widely by industry, employer, geography, and experience.

Do project managers need a certification?

No certification is required to hold the title. Two optional credentials from the Project Management Institute are common: the CAPM, aimed at people early in their careers, and the PMP, which requires documented project experience in addition to passing an exam. A degree does not confer either credential.

What accreditation should project management students look for?

Verify accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor – such as HLC, SACSCOC, ACCSC, or ABHES – through the U.S. Department of Education database. Business schools may also hold AACSB or ACBSP programmatic accreditation, and some project management programs hold accreditation from the PMI Global Accreditation Center.


Careers for project management graduates

  • Project Management SpecialistSOC 13-1082
    $102,320 Median annual pay
    Median hourly $49.19
    Mean annual $110,740
    Employment (US) 1,066,670
    Pay range (25-75%) $78,440 - $133,100
  • Construction ManagerSOC 11-9021
    $114,990 Median annual pay
    Median hourly $55.28
    Mean annual $124,360
    Employment (US) 380,360
    Pay range (25-75%) $88,550 - $151,640
  • Computer and Information Systems ManagerSOC 11-3021
    $175,140 Median annual pay
    Median hourly $84.20
    Mean annual $192,160
    Employment (US) 670,570
    Pay range (25-75%) $138,060 - $220,730

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Project management specialists coordinate schedules, budgets, scope, and stakeholders on defined bodies of work, and the role appears across essentially every sector. Construction management is a distinct path with its own body of knowledge around building codes, subcontractors, and site safety, and it commonly draws graduates who pair project coursework with construction or engineering study.

Computer and information systems manager is best understood as a later-career destination rather than an entry point. Employers typically expect years of technical and supervisory experience before that title, so treat it as a direction the degree can support over time rather than a first job. Career outcomes vary by specialization, employer, geography, and individual experience; for broader labor-market context, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook.


What you’ll study

Project management curricula combine process discipline with people skills. Core coursework commonly spans project planning and scheduling, risk management, agile and scrum methods, procurement and contracts, budgeting and cost control, and leadership and team management. Most programs sit inside a business school, so expect a business foundation core in accounting, management, and business communication alongside the major.

The sequence typically closes with a capstone project in which you scope, schedule, budget, and document a project end to end. If you want a broader management foundation instead of a project-specific one, compare business administration; if you expect to manage technical work, technology and engineering coursework pairs naturally with project study.


How to choose an online project management program

  1. Accreditation – confirm recognized institutional accreditation, then check for AACSB or ACBSP business-school accreditation and, where relevant, PMI Global Accreditation Center accreditation of the program itself.
  2. Curriculum fit – compare how much weight a program gives to agile methods versus traditional predictive planning, and whether it covers the industry you want to work in.
  3. Certification alignment – ask whether coursework maps to the CAPM or PMP exam content and whether the program helps document the project experience the PMP requires.
  4. Format and pace – compare accelerated options against standard-pace formats, and understand how the online format works before enrolling.
  5. Cost – compare the per-credit rate against the total credits the degree requires, not the advertised annual figure, and review ways to reduce total cost.

Project management or a related field? Choose project management for a focus on delivery, scheduling, and cross-functional coordination; explore business administration for a broader general-management foundation, or an MBA if you already hold a bachelor’s and want graduate-level management training.


Next Steps

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