The continuing growth of construction volume and the demand for more sophisticated managerial talent has led to a dual emphasis on capital project education and fundamental construction engineering research. The CEPM graduate program is designed to integrate the technical education of engineering with the financial, legal, and administrative skills of business management. The unique needs of the construction industry for management personnel at all levels offer excellent career opportunities for graduates with construction companies, construction management consultants, companies purchasing construction services, government agencies, educational institutions, building material companies, real estate firms, and others.

Our graduate program combines a group of core courses in Construction Engineering and Project Management with others from various fields selected by each student. The aim is to make our CEPM program as attractive as possible by encouraging our students to match courses and research work with their individual strengths and interests.

 Back    Top

The Faculty: The CEPM faculty currently includes six tenure-track, one emeritus faculty member and six adjunct faculty members. The faculty includes the only construction faculty member in the National Academy of Engineering. The adjunct faculty are industry leaders and provide valuable real-world experiences and applications. Visiting faculty are also often involved during the summer term. Because of the unique relationship with the Construction Industry Institute and the national and international involvement of the faculty, guest lecturers are frequent by industry leaders and faculty at other leading universities.

The Students: Although large, the CEPM graduate program is limited to about 50 graduate students who are carefully selected from hundreds of applicants. The limited size allows us to maintain a collegial atmosphere and give each student individual attention. About one-half of the students are at the doctoral level, providing experienced peer access for new students. Approximately one-half of the students are international, with an intentional mix of students chosen from 20 or so different countries, to reflect the increased globalization of our industry. Our American students normally include a few military officers who, because of their superior qualifications and experience, have been selected by their service branches to pursue advanced degrees. The CEPM students have an active Graduate Students Organization to promote the collegial atmosphere and provide feedback to the faculty for continuous CEPM program improvement.

The CEPM Program has over 600 M.S. graduates and more than 100 Ph.D. graduates. The graduates are widely dispersed in both industry and at leading universities around the world. Contact with our graduates is maintained through a twice-annually published newsletter, as well as individual contacts in professional activities. Many of our graduates have professional interaction with each other during their careers.

The Courses: The size of our program allows a breadth of available courses. Typically, five or six different graduate courses are taught each semester by CEPM faculty, in addition to the many courses available throughout the University. Thus, a student’s program can be individually designed to relate to buildings, industrial projects or infrastructure projects such as highways or airports. A student is also able to focus on management, controls, automation or other specializations.

Research: An aggressive faculty research effort, totaling over $1 million/yr., provides current topics for graduate studies. It also ensures inclusion of state-of-the-art material in our courses. The interdisciplinary Center for Construction Industry Studies (CCIS), with funding support from the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, involves many CEPM faculty and students. Similarly, the Construction Industry Institute (CII), widely considered as the world’s premier construction research organization was founded by CEPM faculty and is headquartered at UT Austin. The CII project database, including over 1000 projects, is utilized in both courses and in research studies. Some CEPM students are involved in projects through the Center for Transportation Research and the International Center for Aggregates Research as well as other research centers at The University.

Industry Interaction: CEPM students have unique opportunities to interface with leading companies and executives. The CCIS and CII both enjoy high levels of industry involvement, totaling several hundred industry professionals. As a result, industry executives often provide guest lectures, and graduate students are often involved with company projects during their research efforts. Many CEPM graduates join companies because of acquaintances made during their research activities.

Intangibles: Project management involves relationships. Our courses emphasize teamwork through group assignments and activities. The resulting informal atmosphere manifests itself through many CEPM intramural teams and social activities. Acquaintances made as students continue throughout careers in professional and business relationships. Indeed, the CEPM graduate experience is considered to be the first stage of a long-term professional relationship among our faculty, students and industry friends.

 Back    Top

Reflective of the dynamic and leading nature of the CEPM program, the faculty has had expected transitions. Dr. Borcherding has transitioned to Adjunct Professor status, but maintains an active CEPM involvement. Professors Popescu and Tucker have retired, although Dr. Tucker remains as an emeritus professor and maintains a campus office. Professors Ashley, Gibson, and Haas have assumed administrative positions at other universities, but continue an active liaison with the CEPM program. Professors Carlos Caldas, William O'Brien and Cindy Menches have joined the program in recent years. In addition, the CEPM program enjoys several adjunct faculty, including Dr. Stephen Thomas, Dr. Michael Pappas, Dr. Stephen Mulva, Mr. Steve Nelson, and Mr. August Petersen, along with tenure-track faculty in other programs aligned with CEPM.

The National Academy of Construction, the industry's most prestigious organization, is headquartered at UT Austin and allows interaction with industry leaders.

 Back    Top

The University of Texas in general, and the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department in particular, lead in the state-of-the-art computer and software technologies' laboratory facilities.

 Back    Top