Business - Project management

This program builds skills employers value across industries, including critical thinking, communication and problem-solving. Coursework also strengthens your ability to analyze information, manage projects and make systems-driven decisions.

You’ll explore four topic areas to become career-ready:

• Global and natural science perspectives
  • Learn to think scientifically, interpret data and explore global challenges in science and technology.
• Humanities, identities and society
  • Study culture, identity and human behavior through history, philosophy and the arts.
• National and civil service and professional studies
  • Explore government, civic leadership and ethical practices in public and professional settings.
• Organizations, technology and ethics
  • Understand how organizations function, use digital tools and apply ethics in practical settings.

Build on your previously earned credits with this transfer-friendly program

ASU values your previously earned credits and has designed this program to minimize credit loss. With a broad range of courses, you can tailor how you complete your remaining degree requirements.

You’re an ideal candidate if earning a bachelor’s degree supports your goals, whether you want to shift careers, advance in your current role, prepare for graduate school or achieve personal milestones. Completing a widely recognized general studies degree can help you stand out as a well-rounded candidate with marketable skills.

How three of our most flexible programs compare

Our most flexible degrees — general studies, interdisciplinary studies and liberal studies — share a commonality of choice and transferability. Housed in a college with advisors who specialize in supporting students with diverse interests, these programs enable you to explore multiple areas of study. Each offers a different level of customization and structure. Discover the best option for your goals:

• General studies
  • Finish your degree efficiently by applying the credits you’ve already earned. By choosing the most flexible path, you’ll build career-relevant skills and graduate with the academic credentials needed for advancement.
• Interdisciplinary studies
  • Design a degree that combines two areas of study and builds transferable expertise from nearly 200 concentrations. This is a strong option for gaining focused knowledge aligned with your career goals or graduate study.
• Liberal studies
  • Pursue a humanities-based education and tailor your course plan to your interests. This degree combines structure and choice, offering a broad foundation to explore diverse academic paths.

This program provides the technical knowledge, leadership skills and industry connections to manage building projects from start to finish and begin a successful career. Key areas you’ll explore include project planning and scheduling, cost estimating, sustainable practices, construction methods, materials science and safety management.

You'll graduate as a strong candidate for construction project or field engineer positions. With experience or advanced education, you can move into management or superintendent roles. You can also pursue careers as a project manager, estimator, sustainability specialist or entrepreneur across commercial, residential and infrastructure sectors.

Planning to pursue graduate studies? Pair this bachelor’s degree with an Accelerated Master’s and finish in as little as one additional year. This path can reduce your time and costs while deepening your expertise. Eligible programs include:

• Master of Public Administration
• Master of Science in construction management and technology

The skills you’ll develop

The curriculum emphasizes industry-specific skills in construction, technology, management and business. Developing these capabilities prepares you to lead building projects and make strategic decisions. Areas of competency include:

• Technical construction
  • Apply skills in blueprint reading, construction planning, safety compliance, cost estimating and project scheduling.
• Business
  • Drive growth through budgeting, cost analysis, ethical decision-making, marketing and business development.
• Management
  • Manage contracts, allocate resources, assess risks, lead teams and communicate with stakeholders.
• Technology
  • Explore industry-standard software for virtual design, estimating, equipment management and business operations, including 3D modeling tools for building information modeling.

Gain valuable experience with hands-on training opportunities

This program balances theory and practice to ensure you’re equipped to turn blueprints into buildings. Courses include collaborative assignments that strengthen interpersonal skills essential to succeeding in the people-driven construction industry. Faculty members lead courses with years of firsthand experience and strong industry connections.

Additionally, you’ll gain practical experience each summer through two 320-hour internships. Whether you intern with your current employer or a new organization, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the industry and the opportunities you can pursue.

Project management is an interdisciplinary field that involves planning, overseeing projects, meeting deadlines and delivering successful outcomes. This project management degree prepares you with the skills needed to develop, implement and manage projects in a variety of settings from engineering and health care to government and manufacturing.

You’ll build a set of technical and interpersonal skills, such as:

• Delegation and decision making.
• Facilitating meetings.
• Managing project scope.
• Planning and forecasting.
• Team building and collaboration.
• Tracking and monitoring tasks.
• Writing and reporting.

What you’ll learn in this online project management degree

The curriculum in the project management degree is designed based on globally accepted professional standards developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI). In this program, you’ll complete simulations and other career-connected learning, ensuring you’re prepared for your next step.

Whereas the bachelor’s in organizational leadership with a concentration in project management emphasizes the leadership framework, this program focuses on the technical aspects and theories of project management. In your courses, you’ll learn how to use an analytical lens to approach:

• Cost estimation.
• Project execution.
• Project planning.
• Risk management.
• Quality control.

Will I become a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with this degree?

No, earning this project management degree does not result in a PMP certification. However, upon completion of the project-management-specific coursework, you'll have the 23 education hours required to sit for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) credential and the 35 hours of education required to sit for the PMP certification exam.

Additionally, with 36 months of practical experience hours logged in your applied project, you’ll be one step closer to meeting the requirements to sit for the PMP certification exam. Holding both a bachelor’s in project management and PMP certification is the gold standard for companies and organizations filling project-related positions.

Project management involves guiding projects through a comprehensive process from start to finish, including initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and closing tasks. In this BAS in project management, you’ll gain the technical abilities needed to manage each of these aspects, as well as interpersonal skills such as:

• Cross-functional communication.
• Leadership.
• Conflict resolution.
• Project scope management.
• Resource management.

Upon completion of this program, you can pursue project-related roles across a variety of industries ranging from health care and business to engineering and construction. While this degree doesn’t result in Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, it does follow a curriculum based on the standards developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI).

How is a Bachelor of Applied Science degree different from a BA or BS degree?

Bachelor of Applied Science degrees are designed specifically for students who’ve earned an Associate of Applied Science.

• Students who’ve earned an AAS from a regionally accredited institution may transfer 60 credit hours toward their BAS.
• Students who’ve earned an AAS from a regionally accredited Arizona community college may be eligible to transfer up to 75 credits toward their BAS.

Please connect with an academic advisor to ensure your courses meet degree requirements.

If you don’t have an AAS and aren’t planning to earn one, you may be interested in ASU Online’s Bachelor of Science in project management.

This project management concentration will expand your knowledge of organizational theory while honing your ability to manage and lead complex projects from start to finish. You’ll learn how to collaborate with others as you manage risk, cost, schedules, resources and project procurement.

Upon graduation, you’ll be a well-rounded leader prepared to manage diverse teams, innovate, solve problems and communicate with various stakeholders. You’ll also be able to assess organizational effectiveness and implement emerging technologies to achieve organizational goals.

How does this program compare to a project management degree?

While both this program and ASU’s online Bachelor of Science in project management degree prepare you for careers in project management, they have distinctions. This organizational leadership degree with a project management concentration emphasizes a broader leadership and organizational context, focusing on communication, ethics and human relations. The coursework highlights leadership, organizational behavior and strategic thinking, along with holistic project management practices.

Comparatively, the BS in project management focuses on technical, applied project management methodologies. The curriculum is more quantitative and delves deeply into the operational aspects of project management. Your best fit depends on whether you’re most interested in gaining a broader leadership and organizational perspective or specialized training in project management.

Who’s a good candidate for this program?

This program complements various academic and professional backgrounds. This can include working for large or small organizations across sectors. Those best suited are analytical and value results supported by data, communication and documentation. Ideal candidates also think outside of the box and enjoy solving complex problems. If you’re passionate about serving clients and facilitating collaboration with others, you’ll be a great fit.

If you want to shorten your path to a graduate degree, you can complete this bachelor’s degree as part of an Accelerated Master’s program. When accepted, you can earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in as little as one extra year after completing your undergraduate degree. This opportunity saves you time and money while giving you advanced knowledge in your field. Applicable master’s degrees include:

• Master of Liberal Studies.
• Master of Project Management.
• Master of Science in organizational leadership.