Alabama·Business and Financial Operations Occupations·SOC 13-1082

Best Project Management Specialist programs in Alabama, ranked by enrollment

Analyze and coordinate the schedule, timeline, procurement, staffing, and budget of a product or service on a per project basis. Lead and guide the work of technical staff.

45 schools in Alabama run programs that feed this job, graduating 7,229 people a year. The job pays a median of $100,820 in Alabama across about 3,190 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledGrant AssistantProject ManagerProject SchedulerProject ControllerProject CoordinatorProject AdministratorProject Delivery ManagerProject Management Manager
Graduates / yr
7,229
in Alabama
Median pay · Alabama
$100,820
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
3,190
people employed
Schools
45
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
41%
across those schools
Median net price
$20,803
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Alabama that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

5 programs in Alabama that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Alabama (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Alabama page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 52.0201In Alabama
6,489
89.8%
41$43,506$25,000
2
CIP 52.0101In Alabama
653
9.0%
12$44,700$24,000
3
CIP 52.0216In Alabama
52
0.7%
2$43,506$25,000
4
CIP 52.0211In Alabama
31
0.4%
3$43,506$25,000
5
CIP 11.1005In Alabama
4
0.1%
1$48,185$25,250

Top 25 schools in Alabama

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 21 of the 45 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Columbia Southern University
Orange Beach, AL Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
2,033Business Administration and Management, General$58,46833%$15,554
2The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL Public · 2 feeder programs
678Business Administration and Management, General$48,66873%77%
3Auburn University
Auburn, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
665Business Administration and Management, General$56,94882%46%
4Troy University
Troy, AL Public · 2 feeder programs
559Business Administration and Management, General$45,26050%96%
5University of North Alabama
Florence, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
419Business Administration and Management, General$35,05755%87%
6University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
416Business Administration and Management, General$45,76164%88%
7John C Calhoun State Community College
Tanner, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
373Business Administration and Management, General41%
8Faulkner University
Montgomery, AL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
276Business Administration and Management, General$36,99037%$25,80173%
9Strayer University - Alabama
Birmingham, AL Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
173Business/Commerce, General$55,4310%$22,923
10University of Alabama in Huntsville
Huntsville, AL Public · 2 feeder programs
157Business Administration and Management, General$39,47664%69%
11Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
136Business Administration and Management, General$39,72955%78%
12University of West Alabama
Livingston, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
128Business Administration and Management, General$36,92035%43%
13Athens State University
Athens, AL Public · 2 feeder programs
108Business Administration and Management, General$49,436
14University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL Public · 2 feeder programs
101Business Administration and Management, General$44,34853%71%
15Samford University
Birmingham, AL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
90Business Administration and Management, General77%$28,16082%
16Alabama A & M University
Normal, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
87Business Administration and Management, General$40,18324%58%
17Alabama State University
Montgomery, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
73Business Administration and Management, General$28,44730%98%
18Tuskegee University
Tuskegee, AL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
72Business Administration and Management, General$46,12355%$33,31349%
19Spring Hill College
Mobile, AL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
62Business Administration and Management, General52%$14,11977%
20Talladega College
Talladega, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
61Business Administration and Management, General$27,56831%$15,80785%
21University of Mobile
Mobile, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
59Business Administration and Management, General$35,81957%$19,81778%
22University of Montevallo
Montevallo, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
57Business Administration and Management, General54%54%
23Miles College
Fairfield, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
48Business Administration and Management, General16%$16,735
24Coastal Alabama Community College
Bay Minette, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
41Business Administration and Management, General31%
25Amridge University
Montgomery, AL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
35Business Administration and Management, General100%

All 45 schools in Alabama

Every school in Alabama with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Alabama that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Columbia Southern UniversityOrange BeachPrivate for-profit2,0332
The University of AlabamaTuscaloosaPublic6782
Auburn UniversityAuburnPublic6651
Troy UniversityTroyPublic5592
University of North AlabamaFlorencePublic4191
University of Alabama at BirminghamBirminghamPublic4161
John C Calhoun State Community CollegeTannerPublic3731
Faulkner UniversityMontgomeryPrivate not-for-profit2762
Strayer University - AlabamaBirminghamPrivate for-profit1732
University of Alabama in HuntsvilleHuntsvillePublic1572
Jacksonville State UniversityJacksonvillePublic1361
University of West AlabamaLivingstonPublic1281
Athens State UniversityAthensPublic1082
University of South AlabamaMobilePublic1012
Samford UniversityBirminghamPrivate not-for-profit902

What project management specialists earn in Alabama

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Alabama
$100,820
Mean annual
$109,660
Jobs in state
3,190
What the range looks like
10th pct$63,550Median$100,82090th pct$164,910
Versus the national median
-1.5%

U.S. median $102,320. Alabama pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.22×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Alabama

Huntsville, AL
$112,130median
850 jobs
Dothan, AL
$135,260median
60 jobs
Decatur, AL
$106,140median
100 jobs
Birmingham, AL
$100,820median
910 jobs
Mobile, AL
$101,300median
390 jobs
Tuscaloosa, AL
$93,380median
70 jobs
Montgomery, AL
$91,080median
130 jobs
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
$93,950median
80 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+5.6%
Faster than average
Openings per year
78,200
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
58,700
1,046,300 → 1,105,000
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Project Management Specialists page.

How to become a Project Management Specialist

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Alabama

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 6 majors mapped to Project Management Specialists6 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.1005Information Technology Project Management
  • 52.0101Business/Commerce, General
  • 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
  • 52.0211Project Management
  • 52.0216Science/Technology Management
  • 52.2002Construction Project Management

Common questions

Answers for people weighing project management specialists programs in Alabama.

What degree do you need to become a Project Management Specialist?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 6,489 degrees in Alabama in 2024-25, 89.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Project Management Specialist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Business/Commerce, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management. Together they graduate about 7,229 people a year in Alabama.

How much do project management specialists earn in Alabama?+

The median is $100,820 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 1.5% below the U.S. median of $102,320. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for project management specialists growing?+

BLS projects a +5.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 78,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Alabama?+

45 institutions in Alabama reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+

BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'None' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

All Clema data sources and release dates →

Explore every U.S. college in one conversation

Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card