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

Best Project Management Specialist programs in Mississippi, 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.

28 schools in Mississippi run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,344 people a year. The job pays a median of $78,870 in Mississippi across about 4,320 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledGrant AssistantProject ManagerProject SchedulerProject ControllerProject CoordinatorProject AdministratorProject Delivery ManagerProject Management Manager
Graduates / yr
3,344
in Mississippi
Median pay · Mississippi
$78,870
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
4,320
people employed
Schools
28
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
46%
across those schools
Median net price
$18,117
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Mississippi that lead to this job

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

2 programs in Mississippi that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Mississippi (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 Mississippi page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
12,405
71.9%
26$43,506$25,000
2939
28.1%
10$44,700$24,000

Top 25 schools in Mississippi

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 16 of the 28 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
547Business Administration and Management, General$37,97567%78%
2University of Mississippi
University, MS Public · 2 feeder programs
490Business/Commerce, General$39,46472%97%
3University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, MS Public · 2 feeder programs
373Business Administration and Management, General$38,75749%99%
4Belhaven University
Jackson, MS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
280Business Administration and Management, General$51,54649%$22,47650%
5Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Perkinston, MS Public · 2 feeder programs
190Business/Commerce, General48%
6Northwest Mississippi Community College
Senatobia, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
188Business Administration and Management, General$29,99745%
7Delta State University
Cleveland, MS Public · 2 feeder programs
146Business Administration and Management, General48%100%
8Holmes Community College
Goodman, MS Public · 2 feeder programs
128Business/Commerce, General$27,01239%
9Itawamba Community College
Fulton, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
126Business/Commerce, General$24,81350%
10Jackson State University
Jackson, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
113Business Administration and Management, General$28,91151%93%
11Strayer University - Mississippi
Jackson, MS Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
109Business/Commerce, General$55,4310%
12Mississippi University for Women
Columbus, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
96Business Administration and Management, General$35,31047%90%
13Copiah - Lincoln Community College
Wesson, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
83Business Administration and Management, General50%
14East Mississippi Community College
Scooba, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
56Business/Commerce, General48%
15Mississippi Christian University
Clinton, MS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
56Business Administration and Management, General$43,29959%$21,09629%
16Alcorn State University
Alcorn State, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
47Business Administration and Management, General$29,48257%45%
17Millsaps College
Jackson, MS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
43Business Administration and Management, General$39,76557%$25,24943%
18William Carey University
Hattiesburg, MS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
36Business Administration and Management, General$40,59860%$17,20560%
19Mississippi Valley State University
Itta Bena, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
34Business Administration and Management, General27%92%
20Hinds Community College
Raymond, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
32Business Administration and Management, General43%
21Northeast Mississippi Community College
Booneville, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
32Business Administration and Management, General34%
22Blue Mountain Christian University
Blue Mountain, MS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
27Business Administration and Management, General$42,39455%$18,11789%
23Pearl River Community College
Poplarville, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
26Business Administration and Management, General$19,31237%
24Coahoma Community College
Clarksdale, MS Public · 2 feeder programs
25Business/Commerce, General41%
25Southeastern Baptist College
Laurel, MS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
24Business Administration and Management, General80%$6,808100%

All 28 schools in Mississippi

Every school in Mississippi 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 Mississippi that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Mississippi State UniversityMississippi StatePublic5471
University of MississippiUniversityPublic4902
University of Southern MississippiHattiesburgPublic3732
Belhaven UniversityJacksonPrivate not-for-profit2801
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community CollegePerkinstonPublic1902
Northwest Mississippi Community CollegeSenatobiaPublic1881
Delta State UniversityClevelandPublic1462
Holmes Community CollegeGoodmanPublic1282
Itawamba Community CollegeFultonPublic1261
Jackson State UniversityJacksonPublic1131
Strayer University - MississippiJacksonPrivate for-profit1092
Mississippi University for WomenColumbusPublic961
Copiah - Lincoln Community CollegeWessonPublic831
East Mississippi Community CollegeScoobaPublic561
Mississippi Christian UniversityClintonPrivate not-for-profit561

What project management specialists earn in Mississippi

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

Median annual in Mississippi
$78,870
Mean annual
$89,910
Jobs in state
4,320
What the range looks like
10th pct$50,840Median$78,87090th pct$140,140
Versus the national median
-22.9%

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

Job concentration
0.54×

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

Metro areas in Mississippi

Gulfport-Biloxi, MS
$84,200median
520 jobs
Hattiesburg, MS
$81,710median
190 jobs
Jackson, MS
$78,150median
1,290 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 Mississippi

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 Mississippi.

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 2,405 degrees in Mississippi in 2024-25, 71.9% 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 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Business/Commerce. Together they graduate about 3,344 people a year in Mississippi.

How much do project management specialists earn in Mississippi?+

The median is $78,870 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 22.9% 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 Mississippi?+

28 institutions in Mississippi reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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

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