All project managers that want to get better at what they are doing or people who just want to get their way around this profession should take project management courses. Training has to be done constantly in order to actually have an effect. Without continuous training, a project manager won’t be able to complete his tasks in the most efficient, fastest manner.

Keep in mind that project managers that follow additional courses are usually paid better because multiple certifications recommend them for a higher salary. Experience will get you a long way, but only if it is accompanied by the needed theory.

Table of contents

  • Project management courses that are free
  • Project management courses that are paid

Project management courses that you can access for free

This list contains several platforms and institutions that offer project management courses for free. Even though accessing these platforms is done at no cost, certain features that are incorporated within them might require a fee. In other cases, when completing the course, you need to pay a fee to have your certificate released.

ALISON: Diploma in Project Management

To get an online project management certification for free, one must opt for Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platforms. ALISON is one of these platforms and the ALISON project management course takes no longer than 15 hours. This course is more suitable for people who already have experience in this field but would like to perfect their skills in project management. To obtain the diploma, students should obtain at least 80% on all exams.

Master of Project Academy: Free Sample

What is great about Master of Project Academy is that students can review the teachers and courses. If you are interested in following a PMP training here, you will be able to read numerous reviews. The platform also offers free courses in Six Sigma and PRINCE2. The exam is easy to pass, as stated by students who already finished the course.  

Introduction to Project Management by the University of California

The University of California developed a free course that they made available on their Open Courseware program. The course is a hands-on one and it focuses on learning students the exact things they need to develop their skills in terms of project management. It is one of the few online project management courses that covers all necessary information about this topic.

Oxford Home Study College – Project Management (Short Course)

Oxford Home Study College launched a short project management course. Considering Oxford’s Home Study great reputation in terms of distance learning, the course is definitely going to meet all expectations of whoever is interested in it. The project management course is 80-hour long and it is an introductory one. The students will receive a certificate without having to pay anything.

Cybrary – Project Management Professional (PMP)

Cybrary offers PMP classes online, which cover information related to initiating, planning and managing processes. In addition, the course also covers risk analyzation, monitoring and developing elaborate budgets and schedules, everything in a 5.5-hour course. The platform also gives the students access to in-depth course materials that they can study, as well as a full library of tutorial videos. The course ends with a certification. Before the final exam, students can also take free practice exams.

edX – Introduction to Project Management

The University of Adelaide offered project management courses that can be accessed for free. It is a more basic course, as it presents information which should help students understand what a project is and what factors could affect managing it. The approach selected for the project management course is a step-by-step one and it lasts for 6 weeks, separated into smaller courses of 3 hours per week. edX includes both tutorial videos and transcripts of these videos for those who want to study while commuting.

Coursera – Project Management Specialization Courses

Coursera is a popular platform that hosts multiple online project management certificate programs. Some of them include how to initiate and plan a project, while others are more introductory, only presenting the recommended principles and practices in this field. The Coursera project management classes are offered through a collaboration with the University of California. In order to receive a certificate and have the course work graded, the student will have to pay an extra charge.

Introduction to Project Management by Canvas

One of the top project management courses that you can try for free is provided by Canvas. The course is a short one and the student will manage a fictional project and then a real project of his choice. The course focuses, particularly on project overview statements and work breakdown structures. All the information is text-based, and the course encourages practice over theory.

Project management courses that are paid

Master of Project Academy – PMP® Project Management Professional Certification Training

The project management classes contain around 300 lectures, 750 practice questions and many more, including cheat sheets, a final exam and so on. There is one requirement that all students must respect in order to take the final PMP exam: the PDU (35 Contact Hour) requirement. The project management course can be adjusted to the needs of the student and it ends with a certificate. The payment options are diverse, which makes the course accessible. One can pay for monthly access, yearly access or permanent access to the courses.

Simplilearn – PMP Certification Training Course

This is one of the best online project management certificate programs, as it is based on instruction-led training. It is also based on the PDU requirement and it involves case studies, games, e-learning content, quizzes, simulation exams and more. The content is truly surprising, and it involves anything needed to tackle project management in a professional manner. Participants also obtain certifications after. The prices are quite high, starting at $500 and reaching $1000, based on the features that the students require.

Penn State World Campus – Graduate Certificate in Project Management

Penn State World Campus provides students with an innovative way of learning, which is problem-based. Because it is an interdisciplinary program, one must select from the courses they want. For project management courses, they need to contact the Project Management Institute at Penn State. They are registered and certified to offer such courses.

Everything studied at Penn State is based on the current needs of the market, to let people know what they can expect when starting to work in the field. The courses can be molded according to the student’s needs. The topics covered are flexible and they include planning projects, workforce issues, strategic issues and so on. The prices differ according to how many credits you consume. One credit is $975 and 12+ credits per semester cost $11700.

Walden University – MS in Project Management

The format of the project management courses at the Walden University expands over 8 weeks. The course is held entirely online and has multiple accreditations. The Walden University itself is accredited as a Registered Education Provider in project management training.

The courses cover information related to managing projects and creating effective budgets, as well as applying sustainability practices and creating a strong portfolio. The courses also focus on the social impact of project management. In order to follow this course, one must own a bachelor’s degree.

Colorado State University: Online Project Management Certificate

The Colorado State University adopted the latest trends in terms of eLearning and they are now offering a project management course that extends on a period of 16 weeks. This course is the equivalent of the entire project management certification class taught in the physical location of the university.

The certificate you obtain is a PMP one. The price is not that high either, considering that this project management course is a replacement for going to real classes. The course costs $3395 for tuition. The Colorado State University prepares project managers in all sorts of fields, including telecommunications and architecture.

Velociteach Project Management Courses

Velociteach is one of the few project management courses platforms that specializes only in this type of training, no other disciplines. Velociteach covers all the skills needed by a project manager. There are around 40 courses to choose from and they are very affordable since you can pay for one course only. The courses start at $19 (introductory PDY courses) and can reach even $500 (leadership bundles that last 6 months).

Master of Project Academy: AllCourses Bundle

Master of Project Academy offers 27 online project management courses that include training in major domains such as PMP, Agile, ITIL, CAPM, Cisco and Microsoft Project. People who are interested in these courses should read a large number of reviews that are attributed to it.

Students who followed these courses state that the PMP exam becomes very easy to pass. The cost is $99 each month and all students can decide their study pace. If they are not pleased with the results, they can get their money back within 30 days.

LYNDA.com PMP Certification Prep

Lynda.com is another resourceful platform that is very popular for the courses it offers. Lynda.com is the host of no less than 10000 courses led by experts, more than 1,500 on project management. The project management courses are supposed to help students pass their PMP exams and they rely on video content, hands-on activities, and individual exercises. Like many other courses in project management, it respects the PDU requirement. Lynda.com has multiple offers, one of which is one full month for testing. If students enjoy the demo period, they can access the resources for $30 paid monthly or $25 for each month paid annually. The entire library of courses can be accessed by paying the fee.

GoSkills – Project Management for Business Professional

GoSkills offers free trials so that students can see how the platform works before paying for it. What is amazing about it is that you can actually finish the course in just seven days (the period of the trial) which means you no longer have to pay for it. Yet, it would be worth to pay full access at GoSkills, as they have many other courses that may help you with the PMP certification.

Agile in the Program Management Office

This project management class has just one week, and it costs $260 if you are using the platform for the first time and $180 if you are a member of the platform. The course is interactive, and it is dedicated to experienced project managers only. For people who want to improve their performances to become a PMO Director, this is the best starting point.

Cornell University – Project Management Certificate Program

This project management course is based on hands-on tools and different teaching strategies. It is meant to personalize the experience to each student and it costs $770 per month. Because it is a course held by Cornell University, the price is definitely justified.

Conclusion

Because of the large number of options that you have when it comes to choosing the project management course that suits your needs the best, you have to be patient and analyze each option in particular. Depending on your skill level, your goals, your budget and your available time, one course may be more suitable than others.