LEGAL MPM (Masters in Project Management)? What do you think?

[soliloquy]

I've been banging my head against the wall for months trying to determine what Masters degree (reasonably priced) I could pursue. I considered a leadership and management degree, going for an MBA (not really something I want to do), or another business degree. I want to use my legal background in conjunction with working in the corporate sector. I do not want to resign myself to working for private firms for the rest of my life. I need a way to stand out. I'm also not willing to go into a ton of debt with the hope the Masters will pay off because if it doesn't right away my mortgage and other bills aren't going to take a back seat to huge student loan debt. To that end, I have been looking at in-state programs. There are a lot on UNC Online but nothing I've been terribly interested in. Right now I'm considering a Master in Leadership and Management at Montreat College (which will cost about 20K) or a Master of Project Management (MPM) Program at WCU. There isn't yet a specific Master's degree for legal project management.

The Master of Project Management (MPM) Degree Program at Western Carolina University was the first such master’s degree in the United States at a nationally accredited institution and the first one to be accredited by PMI (1983). The MPM Program was initiated with the active sponsorship, cooperation and support of the Project Management Institute, the premiere, world-wide, non-profit professional organization for professional project managers. The program is part of the Global Management and Strategy Department within the College of Business. MPM strives to be the pre-eminent comprehensive educational program for project management professionals, to advance the project management profession through teaching, research and service, and to develop leaders in the project management profession.

Fully accredited at the national level, the goal of the program is to fit into the project management professional's busy work schedule. The program provides flexible, direct access to work-related graduate education from any location that has a communications link, at any time, and by making the best use of the latest advances in educational technology.
The MPM Program has accreditations at three levels:
-The program is accredited by Project Management Institute (PMI)
-The College of Business is accredited by Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
-The University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SAC)

The total cost of the program over the two years is approximately $7688 for in-state residents () and $24603 for out-of-state residents.

For me, I've been doing research on project management in the legal sector since I've been working as a paralegal manager for more than ten years. I've managed quite a few "projects" working with companies like Chrysler Group LLC although I do not have the title project manager. I'm learning that there is a sub-field in law for legal project managers which is not a far cry from being a paralegal and I'd love to be able to explore this niche. Because law is slow with progress, legal project management is just now gaining steam and I would love to be able to work in this capacity for a larger firm or corporation.

I was surprised that there's even a short wikipedia article on legal project management. Legal project management - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Six Big Law Firms Get Serious About Legal Project Management | Publications | Dechert LLP

This is exciting.

There are some pre-requisites that I'd probably end up needing to take because WCU requires comparable courses in your undergrad work or you end up having to take these:

1. PM 500 - Tools for Financial Management
2. PM 505 - Introductory Statistics and Microeconomics
3. PM 515 - Legal and Ethical Issues

But, I figure I can CLEP/DSST these subjects before enrolling at WCU. I may email WCU to make sure that the tests I'm thinking of will satisfy the requirements. Or, do you think it'd be easier to just take the courses?

Here's a sample job posting:

Legal Project Manager at Ropes & Gray LLP in Greater New York City Area - Job | LinkedIn

Anyway, what do you think?