Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering

Construction Engineering and Management Graduate Program

Program of Study

We offer an MS and PhD in civil engineering with a specialization in construction engineering (ConE) and management. Our top undergraduate program serves as a strong support for our graduate program. Learn more about why you should choose ConE at Iowa State.

We focus on three components that represent the three functional areas of construction engineering and management:

  • management techniques
  • construction operations
  • construction methods

Learn more about what construction engineers do.

Courses

You can choose from courses in construction engineering and management areas, related engineering areas, and a variety of programs throughout the university such as industrial engineering, management, finance, marketing, accounting, architecture, computer science, and statistics.

Courses include

  • CE 501. Preconstruction Project Engineering and Management
  • CE 502. Construction Project Engineering and Management
  • CE 503. Construction Management Functions and Processes
  • CE 505. Design of Construction Systems
  • CE 506. Case Histories in Construction Documents
  • CE 510. Information Technologies for Construction
  • CE 594. Special Topics in Construction Engineering and Management
  • CE 595. Research Methods in Construction Engineering and Management

For full course descriptions, the ISU catalog.

Degree Requirements

Research

Specialized areas of research interest include:

  • heavy/highway vehicle tracking
  • field data collection techniques
  • project success/failure prediction
  • constructability
  • Web-based technology use
  • pavement construction

Learn more about construction engineering research at Iowa State:

Center

The Construction Management & Technology (CM&T) program at the Center for Transportation Research and Education (CTRE) works to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of planning, designing, constructing, and operating transportation facilities through innovative construction processes and technologies.

Labs

Much of the research conducted by construction engineering faculty requires going into the field and visiting project sites and company offices. Testing laboratories on campus are used if required by the project.

The Construction Engineering and Management Computer Laboratory in Room 106 of Town Engineering Building is a state-of-the-art facility that contains the latest hardware and software used in managing the construction process.

Get Paid to Learn

Research assistantships and teaching assistantships are available to qualified students to help offset the cost of graduate education. In addition, graduate scholarships and fellowships are available to highly qualified students.

For more information, see Financial Aid for CCEE Graduate Students.

Admission to Graduate Study

The Graduate Admissions Office handles all admissions to Iowa State graduate programs. Graduate information is available from the CCEE Admissions and Graduate College Web pages.

You may also contact the college by mail:

Graduate Admissions Office
100 Alumni Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-3232

Prerequisites

The normal prerequisite to graduate work in construction engineering and management is a Bachelor of Science degree in construction or civil engineering. However, students from other curricula (such as other engineering curricula and architecture) may enter the program on a provisional basis provided they satisfy certain additional requirements.

Full admission requires that each candidate also have work experience, coursework, or competency in contractor organization and management, construction materials and methods, contract documents, construction equipment and heavy construction methods, concrete and steel construction, construction estimating, and construction planning, scheduling, and control.

With provisional admission, these prerequisites may be met once the student enrolls at Iowa State University and may be met while also taking graduate-level coursework.

For More Information

For more information about the construction engineering graduate program, please contact Chuck Jahren, cjahren@iastate.edu, 515-294-3829.