Putting an Emphasis on Electives

The MPM program gives students the option to customize their experience based on their background and interests.

Students who enroll in Northwestern Engineering's Master of Project Management (MPM) program come from all types of backgrounds and arrive with a host of different professional goals, from topics to study to career objectives to pursue.

This is why MPM puts such an emphasis on elective opportunities, according to program director Raymond Krizek.

"I’m a student-oriented guy," Krizek said. "If students come here and pay X amount of dollars to prepare for their career, I'd like to give them the opportunity to fill in their background and interests as best they see fit."

To tailor their experience to their specific interest or specialization, students are able to choose electives from select courses taught in other McCormick departments and other Northwestern schools. These options include:

The caveat is that elective courses must be relevant to the student's specialization or professional interest. "For example," Krizek said, "a student would not be allowed to take a course in political science or Spanish, even though these are worthy courses, because elective courses have to be coherent with the program."

Krizek acknowledged that, although some electives are more popular than others, many students  want to take a Kellogg course because, as he put it, "Kellogg is Kellogg, and they want the enriching experience. On many occasions, the topic of the course is peripheral to the thrust of their chosen specialization, but they endeavor to make the most out of their time in the program."

McCormick News Article