Commercial construction always had first dibs on on-campus talent. But home building's new Wall Street profile and quantum leap trajectory has the pendulum swinging toward residential.
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Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas
Department Head: Dr. James Craig
E-Mail:jwcraig@archone.tamu.edu
Web Site: http://archnt2.tamu.edu/cosc
ACCE Accreditation: Yes
The Official Word: Housed in the College of Architecture, Texas A&M's program focuses on construction management through a 132-hour curriculum. With 20 full-time and five part-time professors, this program has the largest faculty of all survey participants, supporting an enrollment of more than 600 undergraduate and 75 graduate students.
Upon graduation, students are hired at an average salary of $44,000, most commonly in the position of assistant project manager. “In our program, all students that graduate have jobs. This has been the case for many years,” says Craig.
Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.
Department Head: Dr. Badger
Construction Department Website: http://construction.asu.edu
ACCE Accreditation: Yes
The Official Word: Part of ASU's mission is “to become a national center for construction education, research, and technology transfer,” says Badger. Unlike many universities with construction management programs, ASU's falls under a College of Construction. Current enrollment tops out at 523 students, supported by 14 full-time professors. (Courses can be viewed on the Web site.)
ASU's placement rates are 100 percent within three months of graduation, with new hires averaging $45,000 to $50,000. Positions that graduates take include project engineer, project manager, assistant project manager, superintendent, estimator, planner, and developer.
University of Denver, Denver, Colo.
Department Head: Dr. Mark Levine
Phone: 303-871-2142
Web Site: http://daniels.du.edu/burns/index.cfm
ACCE Accreditation: Yes
The Official Word: The Construction Management program at the University of Denver is located within the Daniels College of Business; therefore, the curriculum has a strong management bent.
The 487 students are supported by five full-time faculty members and three adjunct professors. Upon graduating, students are most typically employed as assistant builders, builders, project managers, estimators, and purchasing managers, as well as in land acquisition. Average entry-level salary: $38,500 for undergraduates; $57,400 for graduate students. Placement rate is “nearly 100 percent,” says Levine.
Brigham Young University-Idaho, Rexburg, Idaho
Department Head: Brian Blaylock
Phone: 208-496-1867
E-Mail:blaylockb@byui.edu
Web Site: http://web.byui.edu
ACCE Accreditation: No
The Official Word: Housed in the College of Physical Science and Engineering, the Construction Management program places emphasis on learning that prepares students for management roles within the construction industry. The department also offers an architectural technology degree that is closely tied to the Construction Management program.
BYU-Idaho has been in the process of transitioning from a two-year program; the first four-year class graduated in 2004 and consisted of 22 students. At this time, all of the graduates are employed in the construction industry with 17 being employed by residential builders, the majority of those by big builders. Common titles include jobsite superintendent, project manager, estimator, and draft person. Students command an average starting salary of $47,000.
The program now has an enrollment of 429 students, supported by a staff of eight full-time faculty and two adjunct faculty members. (Construction Management courses are available on the Web site.)
