Needs Assessment: Construction Management Doctoral Programs in the United States

Abstract

Construction education programs are maturing, with the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) reporting in 2001 that 31 (55.4%) of 56 ACCE accredited programs offer a master's degree. In 2005, ASC reported that 19 of these master's degrees have the wowrd “construction” in the degree title. While construction management programs are interdisciplinary in their content—drawing on engineering, architecture, technology, and business—they are a unique discipline. During the 2004–2005 school year, 100% of the ASC advertisements for open construction education faculty positions required or preferred the candidate to have a doctoral degree. Many of the open positions go unfilled because the demand for faculty members to teach in construction education programs exceeds the available supply. Interviews with construction education department heads and a survey completed by faculty teaching in ACCE accredited post-secondary construction education programs clearly indicate that Construction Management doctoral programs are needed in the United States.

Keywords:

• construction education
• construction management
• creation of a doctoral degree program
• doctoral degree
• Ph.D. degree programs