Learning environment
A wide range of learning and teaching methods are used on the programme, designed to accommodate different forms of personal learning. These include formal lectures and presentations, case studies, seminars and workshops involving input from project management practitioners as well as academic staff.
The style throughout is open and interactive, drawing on the experience of those presenting the material and of students within the class. You will be encouraged to engage with the material presented, debating and critiquing ideas and defending and justifying your views – just as you will need to do as a project manager. You will also have plenty of practice in making formal presentations.
“I loved the small size of the classes – it meant we all got to know each other really well.”
Julie Lorman
MSc Project Management, 2005
You will undertake a variety of projects, enabling you to get to work with and learn from different students within the class – learning to reconcile different cultural perspectives and preferred working methods. As befits a complex project management environment, you will often have to work within tight time-frames to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
Assessment
The programme assessment involves a mix of group-based projects and individual assignments, plus some formal examinations. The largest single element is the summer project, which accounts for 40% of the overall MSc assessment. To find out more about the assessment used, see the individual module descriptions accessed from Programme Content.
Learning sets
Early in the year, you form into learning sets: groups of 5 or 6 students who work together throughout the year, to offer one another support and help. These sets meet once or twice a month and provide a framework for sharing problems, concerns and, of course, successes of any kind. The sets are self-managing but each has a tutor to draw on as a resource and to provide support if needed.
The sets are quite independent of any other groups or project teams that you may work in for particular modules.
Private study
Outside of the timetabled sessions, you will be expected to manage your own learning, reading widely, using the Internet and making extensive use of the University library resources, both print-based and online. Data points in all campus rooms allow you to access the library catalogue and many other online databases from on-campus accommodation. You have 24-hour access to the School's computer labs and there is a wireless network in the School.
