The UAA Board of Regents approved the Master of Science in Project Management (MSPM) degree on June 10, 2003. Additionally, on November 3, 2003 UAA ESPM was accredited by Northwest Commission on Colleges & Universities. It was one of thirteen project management degree programs in the United States and the only one on the west coast.
The program began classes in spring 2004 with 20 students and one year later, over 60 students had enrolled in PM classes for the spring 2005 semester. The MSPM program is organized around nine knowledge areas defined in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), a globally recognized standard for managing projects in today's marketplace. The PMBOK® Guide is approved as an American National Standard (ANS) by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Students completing the program will be fully trained to plan and execute projects to meet user requirements.
Project Management has become essential in virtually all areas of business and industry, including Engineering, Construction, Oil & Gas, Mining, Communications, Healthcare, Information Technology, Utilities, Education, Military, Government, Transportation, Retail and other sectors.
In 1961 the engineering management program was initiated in Anchorage with the first four M.S. degrees being awarded in 1964. This program is one of the oldest at UAA, and also one of the most successful in that many of its graduates lead engineering and science organizations throughout the State. There are currently about 50 active students working for their master’s degrees either in Engineering Management or Science Management.
