Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management (PM)
Develop postgraduate competence in planning and governing projects.
About the course
Develop postgraduate competence in planning and governing projects. You will evaluate delivery approaches, coordinate resources and produce evidence-based controls for cost, risk, quality and stakeholder expectations.
What you'll learn
Develop a justified project scope and delivery plan.
Analyse schedule, resource and cost relationships.
Select controls for project risk and quality.
Compare predictive and adaptive approaches for a case.
Evaluate project benefits and communicate decision-ready reports.
Requirements
Prepare with a relevant degree or approved equivalent and the ability to read research critically. BMIT must confirm admission, recognition of prior learning and any professional prerequisites.
Course content
The complete subject sequence below moves from foundations to specialist application. Stages show learning progression. Practical work and the final project draw together the subjects studied.
2 learning stages 11 subjects
1Stage 1: Foundations5 subjects
Subjects in this programme
The complete subject sequence below moves from foundations to specialist application. Stages show learning progression. Practical work and the final project draw together the subjects studied.
11 subjects are listed below with a short description of each. The Subject descriptions tab contains the learning outcomes, topics, practical tasks and assessments.
Stage 1: Foundations
- Project Management Foundations. Organise a defined piece of work with a clear objective, scope and responsibilities. You will distinguish projects from continuing operations and prepare basic plans for time, resources and communication. The module develops practical records for monitoring progress and recording agreed changes.
- Project Scheduling and Resource Planning. Translate project work into a realistic schedule and resource plan. You will examine activity dependencies, estimate effort and assess the consequences of resource constraints. Activities require visible assumptions and comparisons between an initial baseline and changes affecting delivery dates or available capacity.
- Project Finance and Cost Control. Plan project expenditure and monitor the relationship between cost and progress. You will estimate resources, develop a budget and analyse changes against a baseline. Cases distinguish cash flow, committed expenditure and performance measures, with clear explanations of the assumptions supporting forecasts.
- Project Risk, Quality and Procurement. Coordinate uncertainty, quality requirements and purchased resources within a project. You will develop risk responses, plan quality checks and define supplier responsibilities. Cases connect these decisions with project scope and schedule so controls support delivery rather than becoming detached administrative records.
- Project Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement. Coordinate project work through clear responsibilities, constructive communication and stakeholder participation. You will analyse interests, manage team relationships and prepare responses to conflict. Activities connect leadership choices with project constraints, stakeholder expectations and the need to document decisions and unresolved concerns.
Stage 2: Core subjects
- Agile and Adaptive Project Delivery. Organise iterative work where requirements develop through feedback. You will compare predictive and adaptive approaches, prioritise a backlog and review completed increments. Cases require a reasoned choice of approach and show how governance, quality and stakeholder accountability still apply during adaptation.
- Programme and Portfolio Management. Coordinate related projects and choose investments against organisational priorities. You will examine dependencies, benefits and resource competition, then design governance and review arrangements. Cases emphasise the difference between completing project outputs and achieving the wider change or service improvement expected from a programme.
- Procurement Contracts and Negotiation. Prepare and administer purchasing agreements with clear requirements and responsibilities. You will plan negotiation, examine performance provisions and manage variations or disputes. Cases distinguish a commercially useful agreement from unsupported legal assumptions and use the jurisdiction specified in the assessment materials.
- Quality Management and Improvement. Examine how quality is designed, monitored and improved in goods and services. You will define requirements, analyse variation and investigate causes of failure. The module connects improvement tools with customer evidence, process ownership and the practical need to verify whether a change works.
- Research Methods and Evidence Analysis. Plan an enquiry suited to a specific social or organisational question. You will compare qualitative and quantitative approaches, prepare ethical data collection and assess evidence quality. The module connects research questions to sampling, analysis and clear reporting of uncertainty and limitations.
- Applied Project Management Portfolio. Integrate planning, delivery and evaluation in a complete project management case. You will maintain consistent scope, schedule, cost and risk records, then explain changes and lessons. The portfolio demonstrates how management decisions respond to evidence throughout a project's life cycle.
Assessment and practical learning
- Planning, scheduling and cost exercises.
- Project-risk and delivery-method case assessments.
- An integrated project dossier and oral defence.
Practical application
Produce a proposed project dossier from a realistic organisational brief. Include a business case, scope, schedule, budget, risk register, communication arrangements and a benefits-review plan.
Subject descriptions
Select a subject to read its learning outcomes, main topics, practical task and assessment.
Stage 1: Foundations
Project Management Foundations
Organise a defined piece of work with a clear objective, scope and responsibilities. You will distinguish projects from continuing operations and prepare basic plans for time, resources and communication. The module develops practical records for monitoring progress and recording agreed changes.
Learning outcomes
- Define a project scope
- Build a work breakdown structure
- Report project progress
Main topics
- Project purpose
- Life cycle
- Scope
- Work breakdown
- Responsibilities
- Progress reporting
Practical task
Prepare a project charter, work breakdown and progress report for a small initiative.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Project Scheduling and Resource Planning
Translate project work into a realistic schedule and resource plan. You will examine activity dependencies, estimate effort and assess the consequences of resource constraints. Activities require visible assumptions and comparisons between an initial baseline and changes affecting delivery dates or available capacity.
Learning outcomes
- Construct a project schedule
- Calculate a critical path
- Resolve a resource conflict
Main topics
- Activity definition
- Dependencies
- Estimation
- Critical path
- Resource loading
- Schedule control
Practical task
Develop a linked project schedule with a resource-adjustment scenario.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Project Finance and Cost Control
Plan project expenditure and monitor the relationship between cost and progress. You will estimate resources, develop a budget and analyse changes against a baseline. Cases distinguish cash flow, committed expenditure and performance measures, with clear explanations of the assumptions supporting forecasts.
Learning outcomes
- Prepare a project budget
- Analyse cost performance
- Forecast completion expenditure
Main topics
- Cost estimation
- Budgeting
- Cash flow
- Cost baselines
- Performance measures
- Forecasts
Practical task
Produce a project budget and a cost-control report from supplied progress data.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Project Risk, Quality and Procurement
Coordinate uncertainty, quality requirements and purchased resources within a project. You will develop risk responses, plan quality checks and define supplier responsibilities. Cases connect these decisions with project scope and schedule so controls support delivery rather than becoming detached administrative records.
Learning outcomes
- Prepare a project risk response
- Define an acceptance criterion
- Plan a project purchase
Main topics
- Risk identification
- Risk responses
- Quality planning
- Acceptance criteria
- Project procurement
- Supplier control
Practical task
Compile a risk, quality and procurement plan for a fictional project.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Project Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement
Coordinate project work through clear responsibilities, constructive communication and stakeholder participation. You will analyse interests, manage team relationships and prepare responses to conflict. Activities connect leadership choices with project constraints, stakeholder expectations and the need to document decisions and unresolved concerns.
Learning outcomes
- Analyse stakeholder interests
- Plan project communication
- Resolve a simulated team conflict
Main topics
- Team roles
- Stakeholder analysis
- Communication planning
- Conflict
- Negotiation
- Engagement review
Practical task
Prepare a stakeholder and team working plan and facilitate a simulated project meeting.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Stage 2: Core subjects
Agile and Adaptive Project Delivery
Organise iterative work where requirements develop through feedback. You will compare predictive and adaptive approaches, prioritise a backlog and review completed increments. Cases require a reasoned choice of approach and show how governance, quality and stakeholder accountability still apply during adaptation.
Learning outcomes
- Compare delivery approaches
- Prioritise an iteration backlog
- Evaluate an increment and improvement action
Main topics
- Delivery approaches
- Backlogs
- Iteration planning
- Team coordination
- Reviews
- Retrospectives
Practical task
Run a simulated delivery iteration and submit its backlog, review and retrospective.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Programme and Portfolio Management
Coordinate related projects and choose investments against organisational priorities. You will examine dependencies, benefits and resource competition, then design governance and review arrangements. Cases emphasise the difference between completing project outputs and achieving the wider change or service improvement expected from a programme.
Learning outcomes
- Compare project investment priorities
- Map programme dependencies
- Design a benefits review
Main topics
- Portfolio selection
- Programme governance
- Dependencies
- Benefits
- Resource balancing
- Programme assurance
Practical task
Prepare a programme business case with portfolio choices and benefits measures.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Procurement Contracts and Negotiation
Prepare and administer purchasing agreements with clear requirements and responsibilities. You will plan negotiation, examine performance provisions and manage variations or disputes. Cases distinguish a commercially useful agreement from unsupported legal assumptions and use the jurisdiction specified in the assessment materials.
Learning outcomes
- Prepare a negotiation plan
- Evaluate a contract provision
- Document a contract variation
Main topics
- Contract specifications
- Negotiation planning
- Terms and responsibilities
- Performance clauses
- Variations
- Dispute processes
Practical task
Produce a negotiation brief and contract administration file for a fictional purchase.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Quality Management and Improvement
Examine how quality is designed, monitored and improved in goods and services. You will define requirements, analyse variation and investigate causes of failure. The module connects improvement tools with customer evidence, process ownership and the practical need to verify whether a change works.
Learning outcomes
- Specify a quality requirement
- Analyse process variation
- Evaluate an improvement result
Main topics
- Quality requirements
- Process variation
- Quality costs
- Root-cause analysis
- Improvement cycles
- Quality systems
Practical task
Complete a quality improvement investigation with baseline and follow-up measures.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Research Methods and Evidence Analysis
Plan an enquiry suited to a specific social or organisational question. You will compare qualitative and quantitative approaches, prepare ethical data collection and assess evidence quality. The module connects research questions to sampling, analysis and clear reporting of uncertainty and limitations.
Learning outcomes
- Formulate a research question
- Select a defensible research design
- Prepare an ethical data collection plan
Main topics
- Research questions
- Literature review
- Design choices
- Sampling
- Ethics
- Data analysis
Practical task
Submit a research proposal, instruments and a worked analysis of a pilot dataset.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Applied Project Management Portfolio
Integrate planning, delivery and evaluation in a complete project management case. You will maintain consistent scope, schedule, cost and risk records, then explain changes and lessons. The portfolio demonstrates how management decisions respond to evidence throughout a project's life cycle.
Learning outcomes
- Integrate a project baseline
- Control a documented change
- Evaluate project results
Main topics
- Business case
- Integrated baseline
- Delivery controls
- Change management
- Handover
- Lessons and benefits
Practical task
Submit a complete project file and present a handover and lessons briefing.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Instructors
