A professional construction manager is someone who coordinates all that goes into a construction project. The overall goal of a construction manager is to meet the needs of their clients, by producing a financially sound project that is completed on time. This product must meet the specific needs of the client as well as the codes put forth by government.
Responsibilities of a construction manager are plentiful. He or she must manage:
Project planning
Cost
Time
Safety
Quality
Contracts
Working professionals seeking to advance their education, students interested in construction management, or seasoned employees looking to start their own companies often choose construction management to help achieve their career goals. People with construction management degrees often work as project managers, superintendents, estimators, schedulers, or green construction/LEED specialists. Many people in the construction industry own and operate their own businesses.
Our program
WSU started offering construction management courses in 2008 in order to meet the demands of students and industry. This program was originally articulated with Macomb Community College, and still shares a great partnership with this institution. Students with associate's degrees in architectural technology, construction technology, and civil technology will find transferring to this program simple and easy. Students from other disciplines and colleges can also become a part of this program through appropriate credit transfer.
The program offered in construction management specialization includes coursework on construction project management, estimating, scheduling, safety, legal and professional aspects, specifications, computer applications and a capstone project. Additional courses from the Business School on accounting, marketing, and management complement the program. Co-op and internship opportunities are available to the students in summers as well as the academic year.
Course sequence
Each program has a course sequence or a proper order in which to take classes. It is important that students take their classes following the course sequences provided by the department because foundational or prerequisite classes contain information that utilized in the upper level courses.
Since our students are coming from many different community colleges and technical backgrounds they transfer with a different amount of credits. It is difficult to prescribe a semester-by-semester plan that would fit each individual student's situation, so instead priority lists are used.
Each list contains a group of classes that are required to be completed before registering for classes in the subsequent lists. This helps students progress through the program, while building on their foundational skills.
| Priority level 1: | Priority level 2: | Priority level 3: | Terminal courses: |
| MAAT 1800 | CALC 1 or ET 3430 | CMT 3020 | CMT 4050 |
| PHYS 2130+1 | ECO 2020 | CMT 3040 | CMT 4030 |
| ENG 1020 | PHI 1120 | CMT 3050 | CMT 4070 |
| Soil and Foundations | CHEM 1050 | CMT 3060 | Constructive Elective |
| Applied Building Constructions | CMT 3000, 3010, 3030 | CMT 3070 | Business Elective |
| ET 3870 | CMT 3080 | Business Elective | |
| 2D and 3D CAD | ENG 3050 or TECH WRITING | CMT 4200 (last semester) | |
| Lower Division Electives (=18) | CMT 4290 (need permission) |
NOTE:
- Students who are found to be "out of order" can be administratively withdrawn from their classes. Students need a C- or better in a class that is listed as a prerequisite to another class.
- Maximum 64 semester credits can be transferred from Community Colleges.
- Transfer credits are subject to WSU Transfer Student Statute and may be revised.
- Minimum 30 credits must be earned from WSU including 24 credits from Div. of Engineering Technology
- WSU General Education Requirement includes: (a) Foundational Competencies for BC, IC, OC, and (b) Inquiries in QR, CI, CIV, SI, NSI, DEI, GL
All courses required are not on these priority lists. General education and communication courses are left off these lists. Students can use the general education and communication classes to help balance their schedules, but these are outside of the technical/program of study area. A student should first try to schedule classes at the priority level they are at, and then opt to take general education classes.
Program location
This program is also unique because it is instructed at one of WSU's suburban campuses, the Macomb Community College South Campus located just north of WSU's main campus:
14500 East 12 Mile Road
Warren, MI 48088