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

Best Project Management Specialist programs in Ohio, 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.

101 schools in Ohio run programs that feed this job, graduating 8,735 people a year. The job pays a median of $95,770 in Ohio across about 34,260 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledGrant AssistantProject ManagerProject SchedulerProject ControllerProject CoordinatorProject AdministratorProject Delivery ManagerProject Management Manager
Graduates / yr
8,735
in Ohio
Median pay · Ohio
$95,770
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
34,260
people employed
Schools
101
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
44%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,122
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Ohio that lead to this job

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

6 programs in Ohio that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Ohio (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 Ohio 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 Ohio
7,502
85.9%
84$43,506$25,000
2
CIP 52.0101In Ohio
1,078
12.3%
39$44,700$24,000
3
CIP 52.0211In Ohio
144
1.6%
7$43,506$25,000
4
CIP 11.1005In Ohio
5
0.1%
1$48,185$25,250
5
CIP 52.2002In Ohio
5
0.1%
1$72,249$24,326
6
CIP 52.0216In Ohio
1
0.0%
1$43,506$25,000

Top 25 schools in Ohio

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 75 of the 101 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Sinclair Community College
Dayton, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
822Business Administration and Management, General$13,18141%
2Franklin University
Columbus, OH Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
751Business Administration and Management, General$56,58811%$22,280
3Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH Public · 3 feeder programs
559Business Administration and Management, General$43,11950%84%
4Ohio University - Main Campus
Athens, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
416Business Administration and Management, General$57,00665%85%
5Kent State University at Kent
Kent, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
404Business Administration and Management, General$43,50964%86%
6University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
Cincinnati, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
350Business Administration and Management, General$60,36075%85%
7Cleveland State University
Cleveland, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
269Business Administration and Management, General$46,70851%91%
8Lorain County Community College
Elyria, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
269Business Administration and Management, General$38,12031%
9Wright State University - Main Campus
Dayton, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
250Business Administration and Management, General$42,68042%96%
10Central State University
Wilberforce, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
245Business/Commerce, General$29,47223%99%
11Marion Technical College
Marion, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
215Business Administration and Management, General$46,33431%
12Ohio State University - Main Campus
Columbus, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
195Business Administration and Management, General$61,42388%61%
13Ashland University
Ashland, OH Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
162Business Administration and Management, General$58,58061%$21,78576%
14Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
139Business Administration and Management, General87%$27,97637%
15Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
134Business Administration and Management, General$48,77069%$31,11986%
16Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
Cincinnati, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
129Business Administration and Management, General$45,38916%
17University of Cincinnati - Blue Ash College
Blue Ash, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
129Business Administration and Management, General$44,94416%
18University of Toledo
Toledo, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
125Business Administration and Management, General$51,27257%92%
19Columbus State Community College
Columbus, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
123Business Administration and Management, General28%
20The University of Findlay
Findlay, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
123Business Administration and Management, General$45,08958%$23,12883%
21Stark State College
North Canton, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
122Business Administration and Management, General$37,44223%
22Owens Community College
Perrysburg, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
108Business Administration and Management, General$35,17535%
23Bowling Green State University - Main Campus
Bowling Green, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
105Business Administration and Management, General$60,80764%81%
24Heidelberg University
Tiffin, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
103Business Administration and Management, General$42,64052%$20,74286%
25University of Dayton
Dayton, OH Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
100Business Administration and Management, General$63,89780%$28,56065%

All 101 schools in Ohio

Every school in Ohio 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 Ohio that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Sinclair Community CollegeDaytonPublic8221
Franklin UniversityColumbusPrivate not-for-profit7512
Youngstown State UniversityYoungstownPublic5593
Ohio University - Main CampusAthensPublic4162
Kent State University at KentKentPublic4042
University of Cincinnati - Main CampusCincinnatiPublic3502
Cleveland State UniversityClevelandPublic2692
Lorain County Community CollegeElyriaPublic2691
Wright State University - Main CampusDaytonPublic2502
Central State UniversityWilberforcePublic2451
Marion Technical CollegeMarionPublic2151
Ohio State University - Main CampusColumbusPublic1952
Ashland UniversityAshlandPrivate not-for-profit1622
Case Western Reserve UniversityClevelandPrivate not-for-profit1391
Xavier UniversityCincinnatiPrivate not-for-profit1341

What project management specialists earn in Ohio

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

Median annual in Ohio
$95,770
Mean annual
$102,210
Jobs in state
34,260
What the range looks like
10th pct$59,280Median$95,77090th pct$160,570
Versus the national median
-6.4%

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

Job concentration
0.90×

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

Metro areas in Ohio

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH
$98,130median
2,270 jobs
Columbus, OH
$98,660median
7,680 jobs
Akron, OH
$93,190median
2,180 jobs
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
$95,380median
7,080 jobs
Cleveland, OH
$95,000median
6,340 jobs
Sandusky, OH
$94,440median
140 jobs
Toledo, OH
$81,940median
1,340 jobs
Canton-Massillon, OH
$82,530median
640 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 Ohio

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 Ohio.

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 7,502 degrees in Ohio in 2024-25, 85.9% 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 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Business/Commerce, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, Construction Management. Together they graduate about 8,735 people a year in Ohio.

How much do project management specialists earn in Ohio?+

The median is $95,770 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.4% 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 Ohio?+

101 institutions in Ohio reported graduates from at least one of the 6 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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