Construction Management

Program Directors:
Fletcher H. (Bud) Griffs and
Lawrence Chiarelli

Undergraduate Program

The Construction Management, B.S.  program is an interdisciplinary program in the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering. The program prepares students for a challenging career in the construction industry—as future leaders in a dynamic and ever-changing environment. It concentrates on the skills and understanding necessary to excel as a construction management professional and to compete in the marketplace. Graduates are engaged by owners, developers, construction managers, contractors, architects and engineers, lenders and other construction industry participants.

The Bachelor of Science in Construction Management program covers a broad range of subjects in engineering and construction management, such as planning, cost estimating, scheduling, project management and construction administration. The program also exposes students to the latest applications in construction research and technology. The program teaches students the fundamentals of engineering and construction science, as well as business aspects of construction and the application of traditional and emerging construction methods and technologies. Students also study basic economics, accounting and management principles.

Courses and projects in the program’s junior and senior years illustrate current project management principles and methods by using materials from, and site visits to, construction projects led by experienced mentors.

Beyond the classroom, real-world work experience is available through internships and summer and part-time employment and through professional organizations and associated student chapters, including the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and the New York Building Congress (NYBC). NYU-Poly’s Career Management Center also supports these efforts.

Goals and Objectives

The objective of the Bachelor of Science in Construction Management is to provide the following for its students:

• A solid foundation of knowledge in mathematics and the basic sciences as applied to construction management.
• The knowledge and skills to excel at an entry-level position as a construction professional and/or continue graduate study in construction management or a related field.
• The necessary written and oral communications skills to enable graduates to pursue leadership opportunities.
• A thorough understanding of state-of-the-art techniques and tools in construction management involving three-dimensional computer modeling, building information modeling (BIM), integration of information technology and the application of innovative planning, design and construction administration methodologies.
• A broad education in preparation for lifelong learning and individual growth. Students are required to take courses in writing and the humanities. Electives allow students to further customize their education to enhance individual interests.

Pedagogy

Construction management courses use a variety of pedagogical models, including theory-led teaching, case-method education and project-based and team-based teaching.

Teaching based on exposition of theory is applied to engineering and construction science. Fundamentals in mathematics, chemistry and physics, statics, mechanics of materials, modeling and construction methods and materials are necessary prerequisites to developing and applying construction management skills.

Case-method teaching uses real-world business experiences to demonstrate the application of general principles and to apply them to specific problems posed during instruction. This pedagogy is used to teach construction contracts and administration, estimating, scheduling, planning, safety and construction law.

Project-based and team-based education are experiential; students learn by doing, much as they would in a natural sciences laboratory class. Project-based education also provides students an opportunity to learn how to assemble and coordinate necessary information, assert authority and delegate responsibility. This skill is particularly important in construction management, in which the essential tasks are managing people and information.

It is common in construction management courses to employ all pedagogical approaches. The construction management faculty brings together theory-based instruction and an intimate understanding of state-of-the-art construction management practices.

The City of New York provides a universe of projects that are readily available to students to serve as a virtual laboratory. Construction documents and other resources are available to students for classroom study and visiting project sites. Faculty members who are actively involved in construction projects discuss the unique and special problems encountered on such projects, as well as potential solutions. Visits to professional offices and project sites are an essential part of an NYU-Poly construction management education.

Program Content

The construction management curriculum incorporates the following subject areas:

Part-Time Students

Students may register as part-time students (fewer than 12 credits a semester). Such students must be advised, however, that the department no longer offers many undergraduate courses in the evening, and part-time students are required to take most courses in the day. Part-time students should maintain close contact with their academic advisers to plan an appropriate course sequence.

Graduate Programs

NYU-Poly offers a Master of Science degree program in Construction Management and two graduate certificate programs: one in executive construction management (Exec 21) and the other in construction management.

The Exec 21 Program: Graduate Certificate Program in Executive Construction Management

The Exec 21 Certificate Program in Executive Construction Management (Exec 21) is offered by the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering. It is directed toward individuals with significant professional experience in the construction industry and it is focused primarily on the construction industry.

Exec 21 is a leadership program for construction professionals who may not wish to commit to the full Master of Science program, but seek formal certification in construction management. This group may include students who hold a bachelor’s degree and who wish to specialize in construction management or those who may have previously completed an advanced degree and seek additional skills.

Recognized throughout the construction industry as a vital and innovative educational experience (recipient of the CMAA Academic Achievement Award), Exec 21 courses are taught by eminently qualified construction industry professionals and faculty.

Students without significant work experience who may not wish to commit to the full Master of Science program, but seek formal certification in construction management may enroll in the Certificate Program in Construction Management, jointly offered by the Department of Civil and UEngineering and the Department of Technology Management. That program includes general management courses in addition to construction management courses and does not require any work experience for full participation.

Admission
Students seeking admission to the Exec 21 Certificate Program should have earned a bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and should have a minimum of three to five years of related professional experience. Undergraduate backgrounds in engineering, mathematics, science, management and/or the liberal arts are appropriate with the requisite work experience for admission.

Graduate Certificate in Construction Management

The Department of Civil Engineering, in conjunction with the Department of Technology Management, offers a graduate certificate to students completing 15 credits of course work in construction management. The certificate program provides engineers and other professionals in the construction industry with the knowledge to understand relevant managerial and physical technological developments and to apply such knowledge effectively in their professions.

Admission
Applicants for the Certificate in Construction Management must hold relevant bachelor’s degrees. Compatible backgrounds include engineering, math, science, management, architecture, economics, law and the liberal arts. The undergraduate degree must be from an acceptable institution.

Master of Science in Consrtuction Management

The Master of Science in Construction Management program requires 30 credits of course work. Courses include those in the Exec 21 and Construction Management certificate programs, Master of Science in Civil Engineering program courses in construction management and elective courses from other NYU-Poly graduate programs.

Courses taken as part of the Exec 21 Certificate Program in Executive Construction Management and the Graduate Certificate Program in Construction Management may be applied toward the Master of Science in Construction Management and the Master of Science in Civil Engineering.

Objectives
The Master of Science in Construction Management program is intended to prepare students for leadership positions in the construction industry. Specifically, the program seeks to provide a thorough understanding of:

• Basic management principles as applied to the construction industry;
• Principles of leadership in the construction industry;
• Integration of modern technology in construction;
• Innovative management tools for the analysis and control of construction projects;
• Principles and methods of planning and financing construction projects; and
• Fundamental tools for communication with diverse employee, client-and public groups.

Admission
Students seeking admission to the Master of Science in Construction Management program must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited undergraduate institution. Students should have a minimum undergraduate grade-point average of 3.0, although this requirement can be waived for candidates with sufficient professional experience in construction management. All candidates are expected to have sufficient background in college-level mathematics; this requirement will be evaluated by a Construction Management Program Director. Students whose academic and professional backgrounds are deemed to be deficient may be required to complete additional undergraduate courses as a pre- or co-requisite to admission to any Construction Management program.

Transfer Credits
The residency requirement for the Master of Science degree is 21 credits. This is the minimum number of graduate credits that students must take at NYU-Poly to be awarded a Master of Science degree.

Students may request the transfer of up to 9 credits of acceptable course work, as determined by a Construction Management Program Director, toward the Master of Science in Construction Management. Such course(s) must be relevant to the student’s degree program and be taken at an accredited institution, and the student must have earned a grade of B or better. No transfer credit is awarded for courses in which a grade less than B was earned. Pass/fail courses will not be considered for transfer unless accompanied by a detailed written evaluation by the course instructor.

All transfer credit requests must be accompanied by an official transcript from the transferring institution. Applications for transfer credits are not considered until the candidate has earned a minimum of 12 graduate credits at NYU-Poly.

Validation credits by examination cannot be used toward fulfillment of the requirements of any graduate program.

Registration for Exec 21 Core Courses
Students not enrolled in the Exec 21 Program must obtain the prior approval of a Construction Management Program Director to register for Exec 21 Core Courses.

Campus

Graduate courses may be offered at NYUPoly’s campus in Brooklyn and at 2 Broadway in downtown Manhattan.

Applications from Foreign Institutions

Applicants to any graduate program in Construction Management from universities outside the United States must achieve a minimum score of 700 on the quantitative section of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and a minimum score of 550 (PBT), 213 (CBT), or 80 (IBT) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A Construction Management Program Director may waive the GRE and/or TOEFL requirement in exceptional circumstances after examining an applicant’s transcripts or an interview with the applicant.

Foreign applicants who meet all admission requirements, but who fail to satisfy the TOEFL requirement, may be required to take one or more remedial courses in English before or as a condition to admission.

Programs

• Construction Management Minor

• Construction Management, B.S.

• Construction Management Graduate Certificate
• Executive Construction Management (Exec 21) Graduate Certificate

• Construction Management, M.S.