Project Management Course

Foundations of Project Management

Build a foundation for successful project leadership.

PUBLIC

Start Anytime
$1,000
Register

Location:

Online

Schedule:

Self-paced

CURRENT U-M FACULTY & STAFF*

Start Anytime
$500
Register

Location:

Online

Schedule:

Self-paced

*You must provide a valid email address ending in ‘@umich.edu’ to be eligible for this discounted rate.

Course Summary

Learning Objectives

Course Overview

Credentials

Instructional Team

Additional Information

What is Project Management?

Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and executing work to achieve specific goals within a defined timeline and budget. It involves coordinating resources, managing risks, and ensuring that project deliverables meet requirements and expectations.

Course Summary

Discounts

The following GoBlue pricing discounts are available and cannot be combined. Please contact us at [email protected] for a promotional code that will allow you to apply the eligible discount to your registration.

With 15 or more enrollments, you may want to consider a custom program for your organization. Please contact us to learn more about our partnership opportunities.

Once you have paid, a discount cannot be added retroactively.

THESE DISCOUNTS ARE NOT APPLICABLE FOR PARTNER PROGRAMS.

Name Details Level
Group Discount Level 1 Enroll 3-4 participants in one course offering. 5%
Group Discount Level 2 Enroll 5 or more participants in one course offering. 10%
U.S. Government Current employees with .gov email (not applicable to government contractors). 10%
U.S. Military Active duty personnel, reservists, retired or disabled veterans. 10%
Students Currently enrolled student from any university; please send photo of date-stamped student ID. 10%
Michigan Engineering Professional Education Alumni Past participants of any Michigan Engineering Professional Education certificate course. 10%
U-M Alumni U-M alumni from any school or department – please send uniqname to [email protected] for confirmation. 20%
U-M Students and Staff Current U-M students, faculty, and staff – please send uniqname to [email protected] for confirmation. 20%
Go Blue Discounts
Completion Time Contact Hours PDUs CEUs
Foundations of Project Management 90 days from start date 20 20 2

Contact Hours includes online lectures, quizzes, and assignments.

Project management isn’t just for project management professionals. People in almost any role in any industry will encounter projects at various points in their careers. With a methodical way to organize people, resources, and work, you can achieve your goals and meet project requirements. Foundations of Project Management can help individuals achieve their organization’s strategic initiatives by successfully leading projects. 

This course provides essential tools and strategies for anyone who is interested in project management, actively participates in projects, or leads projects. The online, self-paced course prepares you to implement new strategies and skills, preparing you for project success.

Learning Objectives

This course is aligned with the PMI PMBOK and provides an awareness level of essential project management topics. Course content allows you to:

  • Understand what a project is and how to develop a project
  • Gain the ability to create a project charter and determine project scope
  • Develop project teams and roles
  • Schedule project work and milestones
  • Monitor progress with supporting graphics such as Gantt Charts
  • Understand risk management and issues tracking
  • Close and document projects

Course Overview

The course is fully online. After you register, you have 90 days to complete the course. 

  • Understand the definition of a project and the role of a project manager
  • Learn different project development approaches to apply project life cycles (predictive v adaptive, waterfall, iterative, incremental)
  • Create the project charter and scope statement
  • Identify project stakeholders and sponsors and determine project requirements
  • Select and motivate team members, determine project roles, establish ground rules
  • Estimate time for activities with basic sequencing
  • Use various tools to schedule the project activities including task list, Gantt chart, and milestone chart
  • Understand risk management and mitigation
  • Establish effective communication with project team and stakeholders
  • Manage project teams
  • Measure project performance
  • Review status reports at milestones
  • Adapt to change by following a change management approach
  • Conduct closeout activities
  • Document project outcomes and lessons learned

Who Should Attend

Individuals who may participate in projects or lead simple projects (typically within a single department) will benefit from this course. This includes:

  • Engineers (all specializations)
  • Managers (all industries)
  • Executive assistants
Having access to class materials online and the flexibility of completing modules and assignments at my pace was extremely convenient.
- Past Participant

Credentials

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Digital Certificate

Certificate will be awarded upon successful completion of this course.

Instructional Team

Nicole Friedberg

  • Master Black Belt and Project Manager 
  • Lecturer, Michigan Engineering
  • Instructor, Six Sigma Programs
Pat Hammett, PhD

Pat Hammett, PhD

  • Lead Faculty, Six Sigma Programs
  • Academic Program Director, ME-OPE
  • Teaching Lecturer, College of Engineering

Additional Information

How Project Management Is Used in Industry?

Organizations across engineering, construction, IT, and manufacturing use project management to plan, coordinate, and deliver complex initiatives. Teams apply structured methods to manage timelines, allocate resources, control costs, and reduce risk in projects such as product launches, infrastructure development, and system implementations.

Skills

Scope definition; schedule planning; risk identification; stakeholder communication; project organization.

Audience

Professionals new to project management or looking for a solid core framework.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What does Foundations of Project Management cover? Foundations of Project Management introduces the core practices used to plan, organize, and manage projects. Participants learn how scope, schedule, budget, communication, and risk fit together in effective project execution.

Who should take Foundations of Project Management? Professionals new to project management or looking for a solid core framework.

How is Foundations of Project Management used in practice? These skills are used to organize work, align teams, and keep projects on track from start to finish.

Questions Professionals Also Ask

What are the basics of project management? How do you define scope? How do projects stay on schedule?

Related Courses

Applied Project Management, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Enterprise Excellence

View Knowledge Base

Working toward a PMP certification?

Consider our Applied Project Management course. This certification includes the content from Foundations of Project Management as well as more advanced information. Aligned with the PMI PMBOK, Applied Project Management fulfills the minimum required 35 hours of project management education toward eligibility for the PMP certification. 

Have you already taken Foundations of Project Management?
You can register for the “Foundations Extended” version of the Applied Project Management course and save $1000.

Get Started

For more information or answers to any questions please email [email protected] or fill out the form.