Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies Joins the Ranks of Select Institutions Offering Project Management Degree Programs Accredited by the PMI Global Accreditation Center for Project Management Education Programs
For release on:
8 October 2009
For Media Inquiries
Glenn R. Boyet
Project Management Institute
+1 610 356 4600, x1112
Glenn.Boyet@pmi.org
Kaycee Holmes
Edelman for PMI
214 443 7597
Kaycee.Holmes@Edelman.com
Boston, Mass. and Newtown Square, Pa., 8 Oct. 2009
— The following degree programs at The College of
Professional Studies at Northeastern University were
accredited by Project Management Institute Global
Accreditation Center for Project Management Education
Programs (GAC) on September 17, 2009.
- Master of Science in
Project Management
- Master of Science in
Leadership with a specialization in Project
Management
The Master of Science in Project Management prepares
students to manage and oversee large projects in a variety
of industries, from initial project definition through
performance evaluation. The Master of Science in
Leadership, which includes a project management
specialization, allows new and emerging leaders to build
leadership competencies.
Degree programs that achieve GAC accreditation must
demonstrate and meet the GAC’s rigorous standards of
accreditation, which include an assessment of each
program’s objectives and outcomes, faculty and
student evaluations, onsite and online resources, annual
self-evaluation, and proof of continuous improvements in
the area of project management education.
Sixty-three project management degree programs at 25
institutions in nine countries are accredited by GAC.
Programs at eight other universities are in the
process of accreditation. GAC accreditation ensures the
quality of academic degree programs and their graduates in
order to meet the standards of the rapidly growing field of
project management.
“We are thrilled to have the endorsement from PMI
through the GAC Accreditation and to be recognized as one
of the leading providers of project management
education,” said Todd Leach, Ph.D., Senior Associate
Dean, College of Professional Studies, Northeastern
University. “Our project management programs uphold
the College’s commitment to the highest quality
academic innovation and
instruction.”
“Obtaining PMI GAC accreditation is a
rigorous process and the College of Professional
Studies’ participation makes a public statement about
the deep commitment of the College and its faculty to
ongoing evaluation and continuous quality
improvement,” said Edwin Andrews, Ph.D., director of
academic and educational programs and services at PMI.
“GAC accreditation confirms that the scale and
quality of an institution’s project management degree
program conforms to a comprehensive international
standard.”
Individuals who complete one of the College of
Professional Studies’ GAC accredited programs earn
1,500 hours of project management experience toward the
requirements that are needed to sit for PMI’s
Project Management Professional (PMP)®
credential examination. Currently, an applicant with a
bachelor degree (or higher) must document 4,500 hours spent
leading and directing project tasks. If the applicant
documents that he or she graduated from a GAC accredited
program, then only 3,000 hours of work experience need to
be presented to fulfill this requirement. Additionally,
individuals who complete a GAC accredited program earn
1,500 hours of project management experience toward the
requirements that are needed to sit for the PMI
Program Management Professional (PgMP)®
credential examination.
About The College of Professional Studies
The College of Professional Studies at Northeastern
University is a world-class leader and innovator in
professional learning. The academic curriculum
corresponds to the global economy’s leading
industries and provides students with an education that is
innovative, flexible, and at the nexus of practice and
academic theory.
About Project Management Institute
The world’s leading project management
organization, PMI shares knowledge with nearly 500,000
members and credential holders in 185+ countries. Since its
founding 40 years ago, PMI has impacted more than one
million practitioners, businesses, governments, students
and training organizations. Today, PMI’s products and
services range from world-class standards for project,
program and portfolio management to five professional
credentials, including the gold standard Project Management
Professional (PMP)®. PMI’s exclusive
Global Corporate Council and European Corporate Networking
Group engage large multinationals and government
organizations in endorsing the value of project management.
The only project management association with an established
academic research program, PMI has invested more than US$14
million in support of dozens of research projects since
1997. Learn more at PMI.org.
About the PMI Global Accreditation Center for Project
Management Education Programs (GAC) Established by the
PMI Board of Directors in 2001, the Global Accreditation
Center for Project Management (GAC) is a specialized
accrediting body that assures the quality of project
management degree programs at the graduate and
undergraduate levels.
