Course content
This apprenticeship enables current or aspiring project managers to develop their knowledge, skills and behaviours so that they can drive performance and productivity improvements in their organisation and implement change management.
Our ambition is for our apprentices to graduate academically ready to grow into senior roles. Apprentices will gain the knowledge and experience to enable them to:
- understand the totality of actions a company needs to take to achieve long-term goals;
- manage a project from planning to implementation over the entire project lifecycle;
- and to use quality assurance and controls to improve project management processes.
The apprenticeship involves a minimum of 6 hours of study per week. Apprentices can expect to be stretched and challenged but supported throughout as they develop the academic skills required to deliver change through project management roles.
The modules below provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
Your first year includes an introduction the fundamentals of project management, business environments and organisational strategy, and the governance and financial controls necessary to projects.
150 credits of compulsory modules.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| Introduction to Project Management | 30 | |
| The Business Environment and Organisational Strategy | 30 | |
| Governance and Financial Controls of Projects | 30 | |
| Professional Practice | 30 | |
| Project Justification and Change Control | 30 | |
BEM1035DA: Introduction to Project Management
This module is designed to provide you with a broad understanding of the fundamental principles of project management and will enable you to undertake the key stages of a project life cycle and how the different elements interact with each other. You will be introduced to the knowledge and skills required to manage projects successfully, whilst learning how to overcome business problems and challenges. Specifically, you will gain an appreciation of the role that projects occupy within your organisation and how they develop, deliver and impact organisational strategy.
This module will provide you with an opportunity to explore the fundamentals of project management, allowing you to explore the principles and themes of building a successful project from planning to implementation. It will give an overview of the entire project lifecycle, including aims and objectives, budgeting and timescale, team development, resources, and scope. From this you will gain a clear insight into project management as well as the fundamental interpersonal skills and behaviours required to overcome barriers to change and achieve project success.
BEM1036DA: The Business Environment and Organisational Strategy
The business environment enables you to understand how projects contribute to businesses operating in local, regional, national and global economies. As well as enabling you to build the knowledge of the main UK business sectors and the parameters within which they operate.
The organisational strategy enables you to understand the totality of actions a company needs to take to achieve long-term goals and how the processes used by organisations are applied to develop strategic plans, as well as how programmes and projects enable organisations to achieve their short, medium and long-term strategies and how these can vary depending on the size of the organisation.
BEM1037DA: Governance and Financial Controls of Projects
This module will enable you to evaluate and establish appropriate project governance through the incorporation of policies, regulations, processes, roles and structures in different project types and organisational structures, accepting that different sizes of organisation require different levels of control.
It will also enable you to manage project budgets and costs within appropriate financial frameworks and how to report project performance, tailoring reporting requirements to comply with governance norms in the business. In addition, it will cover constructing robust project business cases that demonstrate the benefits and value expected from project deliverables.
BEM1038DA: Professional Practice
This module will enable you to develop the skills and behaviours that underpin being a successful Project Management apprentice. Through online and in person learning you will develop key professional practice skills and behaviours including; leadership; collaboration and teamwork; personal and professional responsibility; integrity, ethics and professionalism; inclusivity and innovation and resourcefulness. This module will also enable you to develop your reflective and critical thinking skills so you can identify, evaluate and modify your own behaviours using self-analysis and constructive feedback to demonstrate and adapt your behaviours in your own organisation.
It will also support the academic skills needed to succeed at graduate level.
The aim of this module is to influence and improve professional practice in your workplace through the development of specific behaviours. You will be given a theoretical underpinning along with appropriate tools of analysis to enable you to critically examine your existing project management skills and behaviours and build upon them. You will learn to reflect upon incidents within your job role as a project manager as well as developing valuable skills in self-management, leadership, communication and teamwork.
BEM2050DA: Project Justification and Change Control
This module will enable you to have a deeper understanding of justifying a Project and to construct robust project proposals that give a clear overview of project benefits and how they relate to broader business objectives. You will learn to evaluate organisational aims to develop and execute strategic projects that add value, identify realistic benefits, propose tangible deliverables, and ensure the ongoing viability and relevance of the project.
This module will also enable you to have an understanding of Project change control and associated change management models, including practically planning and implementing change. You will learn about the appropriate tools and processes for monitoring and controlling a project in terms of scope, timeline, quality, and cost.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
In second and third year, the focus shifts to project management skills such as project justification and change control, stakeholder engagement and communication management, and organisational change management.
Year 2
90 credits of compulsory modules.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| Stakeholder Engagement and Communication Management | 30 | |
| Organisational Change Management | 30 | |
| Quality and Risk Management | 30 | |
| International Project Management (IPMA) | 30 | |
BEM2051DA: Stakeholder Engagement and Communication Management
This module will enable you to understand how to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders to build and maintain their support for successful project outcomes. You will also explore how to manage the dynamics of stakeholder relationships and needs during the project and develop appropriate and proactive project communication plans to ensure that all the multi-skilled, cross-disciplinary stakeholders are aligned.
This module will enable you to develop the skills and knowledge required for successful stakeholder engagement and strong communications management through the lifecycle of the project, in both academic and employment contexts. This will be achieved be exploring the role and importance of successful approaches and models in ensuring stakeholders remained engaged to enable effective delivery of the project outcomes. You will also engage in practical, employability-orientated skill sessions focused on: stakeholder mapping, influencing techniques, communications planning, negotiation, and risk management. Once completed, you will be able to recognise your own skills and the roles you can perform in bringing a successfully group of stakeholders on a project journey through the entire lifecycle.
BEM2052DA: Organisational Change Management
This module will enable you to understand the intricacies of working with the project sponsor and within a programme to prepare organisations, teams and individuals for organisational change including analysis of the current state, preparation of an envisaged future state and plans for progressing from one to the other.
This will also enable you to understand the organisational influences and demands on the management of a project, to best achieve benefits and goals. This will include impacts of change from the delivery of project outcomes and possible organisational resistance and approaches to overcome these as well as the benefits of a change or transformation strategy.
BEM2053DA: Quality and Risk Management
Quality management will enable you to explore the principles of quality management and translate these into actions supporting project management success. You will gain knowledge of traditional and agile quality management frameworks, measuring performance indicators, and integrating high quality project deliverables. You will learn how quality assurance and controls improve project management processes.
Risk evaluation and management will enable you to explore theoretical and practical skills for identifying, analysing, planning, and managing project-related risks in terms of scope, schedule, quality, and cost performance. Through this, you will gain insight into effective risk management strategies, and the tools to manage risk and change constructively to your team and stakeholders.
BEM3074DA: International Project Management (IPMA)
This module will enable you to utilise your knowledge and understanding on the key aspects of project management learnt throughout the Project Manager Integrated Degree Apprenticeship giving you an opportunity to achieve the Level D Certificate with the International Project Management Association. The Level D Certificate will be updated over time to ensure relevance in line with principles and practices across industries. This will enable you to demonstrate your understanding of the fundamentals of project management, demonstrate your understanding of the principles and themes of building a successful project from planning to implementation. It will cover the entire project lifecycle, including aims and objectives, budgeting and timescale, team development, resources, and scope. From this you demonstrate clear insight into project management through to completion, including the fundamental business skills and behaviours associated with project success. Material for this module will be updated to align with the IPMA Level D Certificate.
Year 3
120 credits of compulsory modules.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory 1 | ||
| Commercial Procurement and Contract Management | 30 | |
| Work-Based Project | 20 | |
| Professional Review | 20 | |
| Applied Project Management | 20 | |
BEM3073DA: Commercial Procurement and Contract Management
This module will enable you to recognise how organisations can gain competitive advantages and efficiencies in procurement by acquiring superior information flow, streamlining repetitive tasks, and reducing costs. This module will support you in exploring a range of strategies for managing cost, quality, service, and time across supply chain networks that leverage assets to deliver financial targets. You will learn to make ethical and sustainable decisions when it comes to budgeting, cash flow forecasting, risk mitigation, cost efficiencies, and other supply chain processes.
BEM3076DA: Work-Based Project
The work-based project will assess knowledge, skills and behaviours are details in the Project Manager Degree Apprenticeship Assessment Plan for this Apprenticeship Standard. This module forms the first part of the End Point Assessment for this Integrated Degree Apprenticeship. The Report will be covering the project in the workplace, to be submitted at the end of the 20-week period.
This module will enable you demonstrate your understanding of the knowledge, skills, and behaviours of a project manager and how these have been applied in a project environment within your organisation. The Work Based Project report will be an account of a project with which the apprentice has been involved and must include a critical appraisal of the project together with a critical review of their achievement in the relevant KSB areas of the standard (see Annexe A, Table A2 in the Apprenticeship standard).
The work-based project must relate to your work environment and must be agreed by your employer and academic supervisor. This capstone module promotes the consolidation of learning across the programme and will result in a work-based project written up in report format. The report must include a critical review of your achievement of the relevant knowledge, skills and behaviours, this there will also be a substantive evidence base which will demonstrate the application of these knowledge, skills and behaviours.
BEM3077DA: Professional Review
The professional review will synoptically assess knowledge, skills and behaviours as detailed in the Project Manager Assessment Standard . This module forms the second part of the Apprenticeship End Point Assessment and requires the Portfolio to be complete. This module will give you the opportunity to showcase the knowledge, skills and behaviours that you have gained through your apprenticeship programme and will give you the opportunity to deliver a formal presentation based on your achievement followed by an interview. Throughout the presentation and interview you will be able to demonstrate how you have developed your project management understanding and capability through a variety of experiences
BEM3078DA: Applied Project Management
Throughout your programme you will be building up your knowledge skills and behaviour in the context of project management, whilst collating an evidence portfolio. This portfolio will contain work product that will showcase your application of knowledge in your workplace and mastery of the skills and behaviours. Within this module you will be given the tools to gather evidence which will enable you to demonstrate your competency against the knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) outlined in the Project Manager Integrated Degree Apprenticeship Standard.
The aim of this module will be for you to be able to demonstrate the full range of the knowledge skills and behaviours criteria of the Project Management Degree Apprenticeship. You will have built confidence and understanding of all these areas through the course of the programme; you will have looked at these different competence elements from an academic and a work-based perspective. This portfolio will demonstrate how you have executed the skills and behaviour in practice; evidenced by work-based products, witness testimonials and regular feedback demonstrating your learning through the whole programme. The aim of this module is to ensure you can write and discuss with confidence the experiences you have had on your learning journey within a professional discussion aimed to fully assess your capability in all areas represented by your Portfolio.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
As part of your End Point Assessment you will spend 20 weeks working on a work based project, and your final assessment for your apprenticeship and degree will be your professional review. The professional review is assessed through a formal presentation followed by an interview.
Please note that the Professional Review for End Point Assessment as referenced in Stage 3 above will continue over the end of academic year into Stage 4.
Employer information
We’re aiming to develop Project Managers who are competent, well-rounded, and ready to take on greater responsibility across a range of project management roles following completion of the apprenticeship. Our teaching provides apprentices with strong foundations in project management principles, business operations, leadership, and organisational change - giving them a thorough and challenging learning experience while providing you with a highly capable employee.
We provide the theoretical knowledge that underpins the practical work apprentices will carry out within your organisation. Apprentices will develop the skills to manage projects across the full lifecycle, improve business performance, lead teams effectively, and implement sustainable change within complex organisational environments.
Our curriculum has been designed to reflect current industry needs and employer expectations, ensuring it remains relevant and directly applicable to workplace settings. We also have a dedicated partnerships team who will work closely with you throughout the programme, providing support and guidance for both employer and apprentice.
Top 10 in the UK for Business and Management
9th in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025 and 8th in The Complete University Guide 2027
Triple accredited Business School
AMBA, AACSB, EQUIS
All Business School departments are top 10 for graduate prospects
How to apply
Project Management BSc (Hons) does not follow the standard UCAS application process. You can apply to this programme in addition to making applications to any institution through UCAS. To gain a place on the degree apprenticeship:
- Apply directly for a vacancy with a relevant employer – please check their websites for vacancies. The GOV.UK website will also list a number of DA vacancies throughout the year. Current DA vacancies our partner employers are advertising through us can be found on our current vacancies page. Applicants are welcome to apply for more than one vacancy.
- Already have a position or job offer from a company that is willing to support your application.
Once you meet one of above options, please get in touch with us and we will proceed with your application.
Funding
Full programme cost: £22,000
The employer fully covers the cost of this apprenticeship; students do not pay for any of the eligible training costs. The students will be an employee of the organisation, gaining a University of Exeter award alongside working and earning a salary.
Degree Apprenticeship
Employers who pay the Apprenticeship Levy will pay for the apprenticeship fees directly through that contribution.
UK-based employers who do not pay the Levy will be able to claim 95% of the cost of the apprenticeship from the Government. Up to 100% Government contribution may be available if the employer has fewer than 50 employees and recruits an apprentice aged 16-24.
See further information about the Apprenticeship Levy funding.
Employers must pay their apprentices a salary at least consistent with national legislation.
Funding eligibility criteria
To be eligible for funding the apprentice must meet the criteria listed in the Department for Education guidance.
The apprentice must have a valid and eligible residency status to gain entry onto the apprenticeship.
Entry requirements
| Qualifications | Typical Offer | Required Subject |
|---|---|---|
| A level | CCC | |
| Equivalences | View other grade equivalences |
The Project Management programme has two entry routes:
- Application through A-Levels CCC or equivalent Level 3 qualification, OR
- Application through experience: Applicants will be required before acceptance to the programme to demonstrate two years of previous project management experience.
Applicants will be in a role that supports the gathering of evidence required for the Project Management apprenticeship ‘standard’. Individual employers may set additional selection criteria in discussion with the University.
Applicants who have achieved the Level 4 Associate Project Manager Apprenticeship and the APM PMQ (or equivalent qualification), could be eligible for accreditation of prior certificated learning (APCL) and complete the programme in 2 years. If individual employers have any prospective employees that hold these qualifications, please get in touch with the University for further information.
Additional entry requirements
As an apprenticeship funding requirement, all apprentices aged 16-18 studying for a level 3 apprenticeship or higher are required to evidence achievement at level 2 in Mathematics and English before their gateway to endpoint assessment.
If the apprentice is aged 19+ when they begin their apprenticeship training, and they do not already hold a suitable equivalent qualification, English and / or maths is an optional part of the programme under the funding rules. However, L2 English remains a standard entry requirement for University of Exeter programmes.
Find out more about how we support Functional Skills.
Applicants must also have a valid and eligible residency status to gain entry onto the apprenticeship – please see the Department for Education website for further information.
Learning and teaching
On average, approximately 8 hours per week of a learner’s contractual working time will be given over to study.
The first year provides fundamental knowledge underlying project management, delivering the principles and themes of building a successful project; an understanding of the business environment, exploring how projects contribute to businesses operating in local, regional, national and global economies; and delivers training in evaluating and establishing project governance.
In the second year, the apprentices will gain knowledge and skills in project justification, constructing robust project proposals, and change management models, including practically planning and implementing change; understanding communication with internal and external stakeholders to build support; understanding of working with project sponsors, as well as the organisational influences and demands on the management of a project; and an understanding of quality management, to convert actions into project management success.
The third year delivers understanding of strategies for managing cost, quality, service, and time across supply chain networks that leverage assets to deliver financial target, before undertaking a project to demonstrate an understanding of the principles and themes of building a successful project from planning to implementation.
During and outside of this time apprentices will also be able to meet one-to-one with their academic mentor.
Careers
About the apprenticeship
Apprentices will be a full salaried member of an organisation. Much of the learning will take place at work, either through projects linked to academic content or time set aside for distance learning. Apprentices will be working in an exciting and relevant job from day one of their studies, meaning when they graduate, they'll have both the professional and academic experience sought after by employers.
Employer-valued skills
Solid industry experience is what employers look for when recruiting. The structure of the apprenticeship standards means that apprentices will gain knowledge, skills and behaviours to be a fully-fledged project manager at the end of the programme. They will have gained experience in areas including business environment and organisational strategy, governance and financial controls, project justification, change control, stakeholder engagement, communication management, organisational change management, quality and risk management, commercial procurement and contract management, and international project management.
Find out more about our Project Management degree apprenticeship
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