Smurfit Project Management Masters, Worth Doing?

byrne28

Well, looking up masters courses and seen this one in the Smurfit business school, i have an engineering degree so its one of the few masters i can do there, anyone know if its any good for job and money prospects afterwards

Bluefoam

bump...

This is a course that interests me. Although since looking into the various programs I am also beginning to eye up a course in general management...

delta_bravo

Bluefoam wrote: »

bump...

This is a course that interests me. Although since looking into the various programs I am also beginning to eye up a course in general management...

Ah no need for a masters. Once youve got business smarts like this: Skip to 0:30

hidinginthebush

my girlfriend just finished this last september. most her class have had to move to london to get jobs, like everything these days don't expect a handy job to be handed to you after. it will do you good in the long run, but you probably won't see the benefits for a few years cos there's no jobs anywhere!

qt9ukbg60ivjrn

It's a mixed bag.

Some of the lecturers are unprofessional, others are inexperienced.

Some of the lecturers think that responding to a students email is going out of their way, is not part of their job and will therefore not do it.

There are some really good parts though but it could be a lot stronger if the academic leader of the course was stronger and the feed back from students was actually taken on board.

There is a varied lecturing style, some of them good in class and bad outside of it, and some both.

Smurfit gives out Bs (2.1) as a standard mark. Alot of the work is group work (60 or 70%) so if you have weak people in your group it might be very difficult to get a 1st.

If you're looking for a 2.1 it won't be that hard because Smurfit are a joke in regards to giving results out but you might get frustrated throughout the year with the lecturers.

Saying that there are a couple of really really good lecturers.

gingerlilywhite

A MSc in Project Management will most definetly compliment your engineering degree - certainly there are many engineers on this programme. However if you have a considerable amount of work experience and you want to broaden your career prospects, you should consider doing an MBA. Expensive yes, but do it when the time is right, rather than spending on a programme that might not give you long term benefits.

Overall job situation is not good - but upskilling is never a negative thing - you gain alot more than the qualification i.e. the experience you have, the people you meet, the emphasis on social skills etc.

I totally disagree about the standard 2:1 mark...i did a masters programme myself and feel I got what i deserved in grades. I know this is simply not the case.

copacetic

The MSc in Project Management isn't worth the time and effort, much better doing a diploma and/or taking the PMI exams. Employers like a qualification but experience counts for more and an Msc in project management isn't going to mean much ahead of that.

If going for a Masters as noted above an MBA is much more worthy of your time. An engineering degree doesn't preclude you from pretty much any masters. A lot of people doing MBAs are engineers.

qt9ukbg60ivjrn

gingerlilywhite wrote: »

I totally disagree about the standard 2:1 mark...i did a masters programme myself and feel I got what i deserved in grades. I know this is simply not the case.

but was there anyone else in the class who got marks that you feel didn't deserve it? this is the point i am making, i am not saying that everyone who went through smurfit didn't deserve their mark,

my problem is that while some people work there asses off a get a 2.1 and deserve it, there are other people who get a 2.1 and haven't worked their asses off, and they haven't got it because they are extremely intelligent, they have got it for two reasons...

1. specific to the Project Management course... a large amount of assessment is group work and people will go along for the ride, and yes i know this should be brought to the attention of the academic head, but i've already given my opinion about this programs head

but part of this problem is not created by the academic head but by Smurfits policy of not being strict enough on checking whether a students english is adequate enough to participate in the course

2. everyone I have talked to agrees smurfit throws 2.1 s at people like something that throws something often (i couldn't think of an analogy:pac:),

and the reason for this could be because Smurfit want to be seen to produce high achieveing graduates so they are reflected favourably in the rankings, also so it will attract more students, it also can attract more investment

...whatever combination of reasons, it is my opinion, and the opinion of many graduates, current students, staff and recent newspaper reports (not smurfit specific) that 2.1 are handed out

One of the long-term investments everyone is calling for is in education. The level of Maths is dropping in the L.C., as is Science. You could easily tell this by the plain fact that when studying for maths the earlier past papers were the hardest.

Now you can't tell me that, the entire L.C. system has slumped, as has the undergraduate system, but Smurfit alone has managed to maintain its standards


p.s. is that you Hugh?

gingerlilywhite

Hi,

I do agree with you on group work..there definetly are free loaders and since alot of the assignments are group based this does mean that people are getting grades they do not deserve. As a graduate of Project Management maybe yes this is the case for this programme. But I don't think that you can say Smurfit in general just dish out 2:1's.

I take your point too about recent press and discussions on grading. Yes the facts are there..but this is across the board.

I think in general no matter where you study there will be issues of some sort. There is no perfect programme or University.

Thanks for your feedback...

Ps this isn't Hugh

qt9ukbg60ivjrn

gingerlilywhite wrote: »

Thanks for your feedback...

Ps this isn't Hugh

Arnie

stephen369

hey byrne269, just wondering are you still going to do this course? I'm going doing it as well in september...

forfcksake

I'm currently completing my degree in Civil Engineering in NUIG and as career prospects are so poor and I have a general interest in business and management I am considering a postgrad in this area. From this link http://www.smurfitschool.ie/tools/programmefinder/ one of the courses which stood out for me was the MSc in Project Management. I was just wondering is the job prospects good coming out of this programme and what type of work would you be looking for/doing with this type of qualification? And if anyone has any experience of doing a postgrad in the business area after completing their degree in civil eng. Your thoughts would be appreciated, cheers!

stephen369

forfcksake... I'm just finishin up second semester in this course...if you want i can talk you through the course to date and how i have gotten on...i was in a fairly similar position to you this time last year...

forfcksake

stephen369 wrote: »

forfcksake... I'm just finishin up second semester in this course...if you want i can talk you through the course to date and how i have gotten on...i was in a fairly similar position to you this time last year...

yeah i'd appreciate that cheers, what undergrad course did you do? You can PM me if you want

owareya

Hi all,
I'm interested in the MSc in Project Management too, I'm also finishing my civil engineering degree next year and was just wondering if anyone has any opinions on the course and converting from civil eng into this field, or is there much of a jump? And if you do this course with a civil engineering degree does that leave you only able to work in the construction/engineering sector or can you project manage in other sectors too? thanks

stephen369

owarya, the project management would compliment your degree alrite...it might pigeon whole you a tiny bit alrite...job prospects for you here might not be great but abroad i'd imagine you wouldnt find it too hard to get a job...send me a PM if you want and i can talk to you about the course...

willowthewisp

Has anyone here ever done the Project Management Post Grad Dip in Trinity?
I completed it last year, and would like to carry on and complete a Masters. Does anyone know if its possible to join another College/Course to complete the Masters without starting from scratch, and has anyone ever done this?


Thanks

Ziggy*Dust

stephen369 Just wondering I could get some more info off you on the course too? I'm considering starting it next year but would like to know what the reality is in terms of job prospects etc. What sort of work/company might you end up in? And what about the professional exams - PRINCE2 etc, would they be a must for anyone going down the Project Management route - and if so is it necessary to do the Masters in it, or can you simply self-study and sit the exams?

Heinze18

Hi,

I have just applied to do the part-time project management masters at the Smurfit Business School. I am looking to speak to someone who has previouly ateended the part-time or full time course to ensure that it is worth doing.

Thanks.

quad_red

@ heinze : did you get accepted/accept a place?

Heinze18

Hi Quad_red,

Yes I have accepted my offer.... can you tell me anything about the course/place or did you apply also this year?

Thanks for the reply btw

quad_red

Hi Heinze,

I was considering it. I'm not from a science or engineering background.

I'm actually currently working in a Government research/event management/PR role but was looking to change things up.

Would be interested to know if you'd been sent any preparatory material and how you're feeling about it so far.

Cheers,
Quad

canonfodder

Heinze18 wrote: »

Hi,

I have just applied to do the part-time project management masters at the Smurfit Business School. I am looking to speak to someone who has previouly ateended the part-time or full time course to ensure that it is worth doing.

Thanks.

I've just finished the part time masters. I found it to be very good, some really good modules and 2 lecturers in particular were very good. I'd definitely recommend it.

quad_red

canonfodder wrote: »

I've just finished the part time masters. I found it to be very good, some really good modules and 2 lecturers in particular were very good. I'd definitely recommend it.

Hi Canonfodder,

Do you mind me asking a few questions?

Are you a new graduate? Did you go straight from an undergrad into this or do you have experience?
What field are you in? (either through work experience or qualification)
How practical did you find it?
How have prospective employers/agencies responded to the qualification?

Thanks v much,
Quad

Heinze18

Hi Quad_Red,

I am approx a year out have college having obtained a degree in supply chain management...currently working for a company in dublin for the past year however i feel that I now need a masters degree and because i feel now is the right time to do one. Smurfit is very expensive however from talking to many people in business they all agree it looks great on your CV when applying for jobs - I have no real reason on why I settled with project management other than that it seemed appealing to me & it seems to cover a broad area of subjects.

To answer your original questions, firstly, no I haven't received any prep material. Secondly, I am looking forward to the challenge & getting stuck into the course. It's going to be tough combining it with work, however one significant benefit is that the first semester is only 12 weeks long as there are no sitting exams - the second semester isn't much different from what I know. The one thing that I am slightly nervous about is that I hope the investment is worth it in two years time - but look doing a masters in one of the best colleges in Ireland will only do more good than harm!! I have to say I attended the opening day at smurfit and was very impressed!

Hope this helps & any other questions give me a shout!

One other question I have for Cannonball is - have you got many job offers since obtaining the masters?

dhesi

Hi All,

i am engineering graduate with 4+ years of experience in IT sector and my looking forward next year for MSC in Project management .

Can any one of the experienced person guide me, whether it is worth doing ?

I am an international student and i want whether this is a worth investment , considering i be leaving my job and further taking loans for course fee.
I am interested in this 1 year course is as it'll open my path for project management in IT sector ...

Please suggest and advice .

Thanks

liz223

Hi all,

I am looking at doing the MSC in Project Management. I am currently working as a Software Engineer but am planning on moving into Project Management.

Can anyone who has done/is currently doing the course give me some advice as to how they are finding it and how practical they find it?

I'm hearing both positive and negative feedback on it and am unsure as to what to do. I would be studying part time as am currently working so if anyone has done it this way I would also love some feedback as to how you found doing it this way was.

Thanks for any feedback