Best Project Management Specialist programs in Minnesota, 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.
59 schools in Minnesota run programs that feed this job, graduating 6,544 people a year. The job pays a median of $97,860 in Minnesota across about 18,850 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Minnesota that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Minnesota that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Minnesota (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 Minnesota page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0201In Minnesota → | 5,430 | 83.0% | 49 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 52.0101In Minnesota → | 618 | 9.4% | 26 | $44,700 | $24,000 |
| 3 | CIP 52.0211In Minnesota → | 458 | 7.0% | 11 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 11.1005In Minnesota → | 26 | 0.4% | 2 | $48,185 | $25,250 |
| 5 | CIP 52.0216In Minnesota → | 12 | 0.2% | 1 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
Top 25 schools in Minnesota
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 37 of the 59 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capella University Minneapolis, MN Private for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 1,549 | Business Administration and Management, General | $68,701 | 20% | $19,369 | — |
| 2 | Walden University Minneapolis, MN Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 888 | Business Administration and Management, General | $57,220 | — | — | — |
| 3 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN Public · 1 feeder programs | 365 | Business Administration and Management, General | $65,996 | 85% | — | 80% |
| 4 | Rasmussen University - Minnesota St. Cloud, MN Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 340 | Business Administration and Management, General | $43,736 | 53% | $19,944 | — |
| 5 | Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN Public · 2 feeder programs | 319 | Business Administration and Management, General | $47,473 | 40% | — | 95% |
| 6 | University of St Thomas Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 226 | Business Administration and Management, General | $56,401 | 76% | $28,888 | 85% |
| 7 | Minnesota State University - Mankato Mankato, MN Public · 1 feeder programs | 220 | Business Administration and Management, General | $49,640 | 54% | — | 88% |
| 8 | Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN Public · 2 feeder programs | 198 | Business Administration and Management, General | $56,314 | 44% | — | 99% |
| 9 | Bemidji State University Bemidji, MN Public · 2 feeder programs | 158 | Business Administration and Management, General | $47,396 | 48% | — | 56% |
| 10 | Bethel University Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 141 | Business Administration and Management, General | $55,704 | 71% | $25,225 | 88% |
| 11 | Normandale Community College Bloomington, MN Public · 2 feeder programs | 133 | Business/Commerce, General | — | 27% | — | — |
| 12 | Concordia University - Saint Paul Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 122 | Business Administration and Management, General | $59,044 | 46% | $17,328 | 79% |
| 13 | Saint Johns University Collegeville, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 100 | Business Administration and Management, General | $51,959 | 75% | $19,900 | 91% |
| 14 | Southwest Minnesota State University Marshall, MN Public · 1 feeder programs | 94 | Business Administration and Management, General | $49,245 | 45% | — | 62% |
| 15 | Winona State University Winona, MN Public · 1 feeder programs | 94 | Business Administration and Management, General | $47,097 | 57% | — | 75% |
| 16 | Anoka - Ramsey Community College Coon Rapids, MN Public · 2 feeder programs | 88 | Business/Commerce, General | $39,962 | 30% | — | — |
| 17 | Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minneapolis, MN Public · 2 feeder programs | 87 | Business Administration and Management, General | $28,878 | 20% | — | — |
| 18 | Minnesota State University Moorhead Moorhead, MN Public · 2 feeder programs | 87 | Business Administration and Management, General | $53,228 | 57% | — | 59% |
| 19 | University of Minnesota - Duluth Duluth, MN Public · 2 feeder programs | 85 | Business Administration and Management, General | $51,571 | 65% | — | 89% |
| 20 | Concordia College at Moorhead Moorhead, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 81 | Business Administration and Management, General | $48,474 | 61% | $23,425 | 63% |
| 21 | Hamline University Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 64 | Business Administration and Management, General | $51,761 | 60% | $20,981 | 88% |
| 22 | North Hennepin Community College Brooklyn Park, MN Public · 3 feeder programs | 64 | Business/Commerce, General | — | 22% | — | — |
| 23 | Saint Paul College Saint Paul, MN Public · 3 feeder programs | 64 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 40% | — | — |
| 24 | St Catherine University Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 61 | Business Administration and Management, General | $54,419 | 61% | $21,042 | 92% |
| 25 | Century College White Bear Lake, MN Public · 2 feeder programs | 57 | Business/Commerce, General | $40,489 | 31% | — | — |
All 59 schools in Minnesota
Every school in Minnesota 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capella University | Minneapolis | Private for-profit | 1,549 | 3 |
| Walden University | Minneapolis | Private for-profit | 888 | 1 |
| University of Minnesota - Twin Cities | Minneapolis | Public | 365 | 1 |
| Rasmussen University - Minnesota | St. Cloud | Private for-profit | 340 | 1 |
| Saint Cloud State University | Saint Cloud | Public | 319 | 2 |
| University of St Thomas | Saint Paul | Private not-for-profit | 226 | 1 |
| Minnesota State University - Mankato | Mankato | Public | 220 | 1 |
| Metropolitan State University | Saint Paul | Public | 198 | 2 |
| Bemidji State University | Bemidji | Public | 158 | 2 |
| Bethel University | Saint Paul | Private not-for-profit | 141 | 1 |
| Normandale Community College | Bloomington | Public | 133 | 2 |
| Concordia University - Saint Paul | Saint Paul | Private not-for-profit | 122 | 1 |
| Saint Johns University | Collegeville | Private not-for-profit | 100 | 1 |
| Southwest Minnesota State University | Marshall | Public | 94 | 1 |
| Winona State University | Winona | Public | 94 | 1 |
What project management specialists earn in Minnesota
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $102,320. Minnesota pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Minnesota
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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 Minnesota
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 Minnesota.
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 5,430 degrees in Minnesota in 2024-25, 83.0% 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 6,544 people a year in Minnesota.
How much do project management specialists earn in Minnesota?+
The median is $97,860 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.4% 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 Minnesota?+
59 institutions in Minnesota 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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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