U-Michigan offers online construction engineering and management master’s
Institutional expertise in managing construction projects is not being passed along.
At a time when the construction industry faces a shortage of qualified construction engineers and project managers, University of Michigan Engineering now offers its master’s degree in construction engineering and management online.
At any time in the U.S., the construction industry may make up as high as 10% and 12% of the gross domestic product and employ between 8- and 10 million workers.
In a 2024 workforce survey released by the Associated General Contractors of America, 81% of construction firms responding indicated project manager/supervisor positions were difficult to fill.
“The construction industry must immediately address three critical challenges, with the first being the urgent shortage of skilled labor across nearly every trade,” said Joseph Vig, CEO of JS Vig Construction Company in Metro Detroit. “Second is the need to integrate AI into a seamless, collaborative process of design-permitting-construction. And the third is the demand for smart building systems and technicians who can improve the performance, data intelligence and adaptability of the built environment.”
The online construction engineering and management master’s, offered by the Tishman Construction Management Program (TCMP) is designed for students interested in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. The program is open to students who just completed their undergraduate studies as well as more seasoned professionals already working in the construction industry.
The new online M.Eng, or master of engineering, program complements the flagship residential MSE, or master of science and engineering, degree in construction and engineering management U-M launched in 1954, the first degree of its kind in the nation.
Full-time students can complete the 26-credit online degree in eight months and part-time students have up to five years.
Students can also begin with the program’s stackable online Construction Engineering & Management certificate, which allows them to complete up to six credits before formally applying to the master’s program. If completed, those credits can count toward the degree, potentially saving students more than $6,000 in tuition while providing a flexible entry point for working professionals and recent graduates.
Applications for the Fall 2026 term close on June 15.
Graduating students receive the same University of Michigan diploma and transcript as those attending in-person programs.
“Construction management involves oversight of people, materials, schedules and subcontractors, and these projects are becoming more complex and more expensive,” said Carol Menassa, a U-M professor of civil and environmental engineering. “But a lot of companies we talk to say that senior people—the ones who have amassed all of the needed skillsets to do this work—are retiring, leaving the industry and taking that acquired knowledge with them without passing it on.”
The core curriculum includes these courses:
- Construction Professional Practice
- Construction Cost Engineering
- Advanced Construction Management
- Project Planning Scheduling and Control
- Building Information Modeling
Elective courses include:
- Construction Engineering, Equipment and Methods
- Construction of Buildings
- Modern Construction Management
- Sustainability of Civil Infrastructure Systems
“We are excited to be offering this degree and welcoming the first cohort of students in Fall 2026,” Menassa said. “The program is designed to educate students in fundamentals of construction engineering and management but also offer them courses in contemporary topics to ensure graduates of this program are equipped to lead the next generation of construction and infrastructure projects.
The degree builds on the University of Michigan’s decades of leadership in this area. engineering and management.
Now, U-M’s expertise, as well as this degree, is available far beyond Ann Arbor and the U.S.
“In many countries, even at top universities in India or China, there aren’t a robust set of institutions offering graduate education specifically in construction engineering and management,” said Vineet Kamat, the John L. Tishman Family Professor of Construction Management and Sustainability.
“It’s also true in emerging educational environments like parts of the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia—places where construction engineering and management itself may not be a mature field, but where infrastructure development and building and investments have created a demand.”
For more information, contact Menassa at [email protected], or Kamat at [email protected].