Undergraduate CEM Concentration
The CEM track is a dynamic pathway within Civil Engineering undergraduate studies, designed to cultivate the next generation of construction professionals.
Rooted in a fusion of engineering and business fundamentals, the track offers a practical and skills-oriented education. It seamlessly intertwines theoretical prowess with hands-on experiences in Construction Engineering and Management (CEM), while fostering invaluable industry connections.
Key Highlights of the CEM Track:
- Within the CEM track, Civil Engineering students delve into immersive experiential learning that extends beyond conventional classroom boundaries. This approach imparts theoretical knowledge and exposes students to tangible on-site CEM experiences. As a result, they step into their roles as new project or field engineers with a distinctive edge, ready to excel from the very start.
- Students opting for a Real Estate minor uncover the intricate interplay between construction projects and real estate. This interdisciplinary approach equips students with fundamental insights into navigating both sectors, effectively bridging the gap between the construction and real estate industries.
- The benefits of the CEM track extend beyond Civil Engineering students. Learners from diverse academic backgrounds can find value in specific CEM courses designed with an inductive methodology. These courses progressively cultivate skills and expertise from the foundational project and management principles, gradually applying them to the complexities of the construction industry and real-world building projects.
Curriculum
Undergraduate Civil Engineering students opting for the CEM track should take: one (1) required construction course, two (2) CEM Electives, and one (1) CEM Elective II from the following lists:
As an introductory course to Construction Engineering and Management, this course covers the essential aspects of the field: project definition, scoping, scheduling, budgeting, and control techniques. The project stages and the way they interact with each other are considered as a whole object of study to be managed - the Project Life Cycle. This course also provides an overview of how the construction industry works and what it is like to have a career in CEM.
Semester: Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Fall 2022
CE 3010: Project Business Planning
Construction projects only occur when the needs of the market, sponsors, end-users, and society are sustainably met. In this course, students will learn how to: 1) plan successful business cases for construction projects considering technical, societal, financial, legal, environmental, and market limitations, 2) evaluate and select the best alternative, and 3) express it through a business plan while increasing their entrepreneurship competencies.
Semester: Spring 2021, Spring 2022
CE 4015: Industry Workshop: Bringing Theory to Practice
Uniqueness is part of a construction project's nature. However, if you study real-world cases hand-in-hand with CEM practitioners; patterns, and principles of decision-making emerge. This course is co-taught in partnership with field engineers, project managers, subject matter experts, and executives from the top construction companies of the region, in a series of case-study sessions designed to bring the theory and practice of CEM into the same room.
Semester: Fall 2021, Fall 2022
CE 4025: VDC Coordination and Control
Technologies are revolutionizing the way 21st-century construction projects are delivered. In this course, students will learn how to use Building Information Modeling (BIM) to 1) support the decision-making over a project life cycle and 2) improve coordination between stakeholders throughout the design and construction stages. With this hands-on course, students will learn how to integrate all models of a project to visualize construction processes and better predict, manage, and communicate project outcomes.
Semester: Spring 2022
CE 3030: Land Development Engineering
This course has been structured to provide an experience similar to working in a professional site/civil engineering design firm. Project work will require the use of technology design tools (CAD), leadership, and problem-solving. Management experience will come from project team assignments based on real design scenarios. A series of five modules throughout the course will focus on project procurement, road design, utility/stormwater design, site grading design, and construction. Each module includes lectures with individual assignments, a design workshop, and a group presentation where project teams will communicate and defend their design.
Semester: Fall 2021, Fall 2022
CE 4040: Sustainability and Systems in the Built Environment
This course takes a systems perspective to study and design for sustainability in the built environment at various scales (e.g., materials, buildings, cities, and regions) and for different types of systems (e.g., physical, social, information). Students from SEAS, A-School, and other majors are welcome in this course, which emphasizes interdisciplinary design collaboration and diversity of thought.
Semester: Spring 2021, Spring 2022
Any CEM Elective I or any course from the following list. And as appropriate, select special topics classes (CE3500, CE4500, CE 5500, or SYS 4582) may be approved for use.
CE 5500: Construction Scheduling and Control
This course focuses on teaching theoretical concepts and practical techniques for scheduling and controlling construction projects. The course provides students with the ability to prepare a comprehensive schedule for a project, including bar charts, network diagrams, resource profiles, and an earned value analysis. It emphasizes manual and computer-based approaches.
Semester: Fall 2021, Summer 2021, Summer 2022
CE 5035: Construction Estimating and Bidding
This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of how a general contractor pursues, estimates, bids and procures work. The course will cover the full range of activities from conceptual estimating, to scoping and bidding projects, to the submission of proposals to the general contractor’s clients as well as the procurement types and the corresponding strategies that a general contractor employs in the pursuit of these procurements.
Semester: Spring 2021, Spring 2022
ENGR 4880: Business and Technical Leadership in Engineering
This course on Business and Technological Leadership is normally taught by a senior-level corporate executive with broad experience who serves as the Brenton S. Halsey Distinguished Visiting Professor of Chemical Engineering and Related Disciplines. The instructor provides experienced insight on business and professional issues likely to be faced by engineers early in their careers. The course normally covers major business skills and competencies in career management, leadership, working in teams, problem solving, and change management as well as international issues facing global companies.
SYS 4582: Introduction to Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma
CE 3220: Water Resources Engineering
Covers topics related to hydraulics and hydrology, including complicated pipes designs, pumps, open channels, rainfall, evaporation, and surface runoff applied to stormwater and BMP design. Applications include water supply, drainage, flood control, and water control, and computer modeling
CE 3400: Transportation Infrastructure Design
Fundamentals of transportation infrastructure design will be covered. Topics include analysis of the characteristics of the driver, pedestrian, vehicle, and road; highway geometric design; intersection design and operations; highway drainage and drainage structures; highway pavement design.
Contact Information
Diana Franco Duran
Diana Franco Duran is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She manages the newly initiated Construction Engineering and Management (CEM) concentration.
The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. The Undergraduate Record and Graduate Record represent the official repository for academic program requirements. These publications may be found here.