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Construction Engineering and Management MEng

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Contact Construction Engineering & Management Admissions

Matt Blank

Student Services Manager

Vineet Kamat
Vineet Kamat

Faculty Advisor

Construction Engineering & Management at Michigan Statistics

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No. 7

in Civil Engineering - US News & World Report

5:1

student-to-faculty ratio

~100%

of department graduates are employed directly out of school or pursue a higher education

185+

years as a department

$12.5M+

spent on research in 2022

39%

female (CEE average, 2015-2019)

Why get your Construction Engineering & Management master's degree at Michigan?

MEng in CEM has been designed for students and professionals who want to meet a societal and professional need while building on their strong background in construction engineering and management.

The Master of Engineering in Construction Engineering and Management is specifically designed for students who want to pursue a professional career in the construction industry, are seeking a world-class education that combines theoretical knowledge and professional practice, and can finish the entire degree program in 2 semesters (8 months). 

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Person working on laying flooring

What can you do with an MEng in Construction Engineering & Management?

Construction engineers and managers are involved in the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of constructed facilities and civil infrastructure.

They use modern analysis and design tools, construction methods, materials, and equipment. The U.S. construction industry annually performs about $1.2 trillion of work, employs more than 7.7 million people, and accounts for about 10% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making construction one of the largest industries in the nation.

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Person working in construction site

Specializations

A specialization within Construction Engineering and Management is not required. However, students can choose a relevant secondary area of interest within or outside the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as part of their graduate plan of study.

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Courses Offered

Individualized plans of study will be developed by students in consultation with an advisor. Refer to the Bulletin for detailed course descriptions.

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Practice Your Purpose

There is a rich variety of experiential learning opportunities to help you find your niche, connect with people who share your passion, and gain hands-on experience that’ll set your resumé apart from the stack.

Graduate Student Organizations

Engineering graduate student council meeting
Graduate Student Advisory Council

Graduate Student Advisory Council

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Professional Development

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American Society of Civil Engineers

American Society of Civil Engineers

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Network for Women in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Network for Women in Civil and Environmental Engineering

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Grad SWE

Grad SWE

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Sustainability, Civil, and Environmental Engineering Minorities

Sustainability, Civil, and Environmental Engineering Minorities

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Examples of Current Research

Vineet Kamat
Vineet Kamat

Vineet Kamat

LIVE Robotics Group

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SangHyun Lee
SangHyun Lee

SangHyun Lee

Dynamic Project Management Group

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Carol Menassa
Carol Menassa

Carol Menassa

Sustainable and Intelligent Civil Infrastructure Systems Group

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Construction on South University Ave. in Ann Arbor, MI on September 15, 2017.
New CEE Research Grants

New CEE Research Grants

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Research Videos

Alumni Bios

Each of these alumni were once in your shoes, deciding on a master’s degree. Explore their educational path and how it set their life in motion.

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Alexandra Chen

MArch Architectural Design, 2015; MEng Construction Engineering and Management, 2015

ASD

Designer

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Naga Veena Tarlana

MEng Construction Engineering and Management, 2016

DRP Construction

Senior VDC Engineer

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Zi Liang

MEng Construction Engineering and Management, 2012

Greenland Holding

Project Manager

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Alexandra Chen

Yale University, BA History of Science and Medicine, 2008

University of Michigan, MArch Architectural Design, 2015

University of Michigan, MEng Construction Engineering and Management, 2015

ASD

Designer

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Career Summary

After my BA at Yale, I went to the Peace Corps for three years before enrolling in a dual degree program at UMich. The projects I’ve worked on since leaving college have included historical renovations in California as well as here in Georgia. All experience helps you to be better at your job, but I would say these particular projects helped me become a more adaptable and flexible designer as you can never truly know the extents of existing conditions on the ground, especially for structures that are already decades old.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

Having a dual degree has been very helpful as it gives me credit with the contractors as well as the designers. Working on the design side, it sets me apart from my peers since I started with a working knowledge of how projects come together.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

Enjoy your time and try not to hole up in the Dude!

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Naga Veena Tarlana

National Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, India, B.Tech Civil Engineering

University of Michigan, MEng Construction Engineering and Management, 2016

DRP Construction

Senior VDC Engineer

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Career Summary

Being at Michigan, helped and gave me an amazing opportunity to intern with Hensel Phelps. Following that exposure, I interviewed with DPR Construction and acquired a full-time position after graduation from Masters. I had started off as a Project Engineer and applied a lot of the fundamentals that I had learned in Grad school. But, over time, I realized my interest lied in Coordination, and eventually I made a career shift within DPR to be a Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) or Building Information Modeling (BIM) Engineer. With this shift, once again, I realized a lot of the nuances that I had learned in Grad school with Scheduling, sequencing, construction equipment. Michigan had a plethora of opportunities to learn new software, understand various aspects of construction including cost as well. In my current role, I am also using and applying lean concepts to ensure coordination is in alignment with field applications. I learned a lot of those concepts through the projects I had been part of at Michigan. A lot of team-building exercises, knowledge training, and transfer, competitive projects, wonderful teachers at Michigan are what has kept me grounded and continue to strive towards learning and grow in the industry.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

Michigan definitely has one of the very competitive Master’s programs and I have felt confident when anyone references a course from school, I am able to recollect and point that I had learned this in school.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

I didn’t participate in a lot of the activities on campus, but I often made it to a lot of the School of Music, Art, and Dance performances on campus. I had enrolled in classes with the Math school on central campus as my minor, and explored into some more environmental engineering classes as well as these were my area of interest outside of Construction. These ended up being very relevant to my overall experience at Michigan. Michigan has an advanced Library and a lot of the information and help for coursework is available at Duderstadt, make full use of it. Advice, for anyone in Civil Engineering, it would be good to do some Business and Architectural school courses, as it might help in overall growth as well. I had not done them and to think of it now, I feel it would have been super helpful. Outside of construction, I am a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, and I have restarted dancing after moving to the Bay area.

Image of Zi Liang

Zi Liang

University of Michigan, MEng Construction Engineering and Management, 2012

Greenland Holding

Project Manager

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Career Summary

Project Engineer – Senior Project Engineer – Estimator – Project Manager. 

Projects: repurposing existing factory into a manufacturing plant, new construction – office building, warehouse, hospital, and high-rise. Working as a project engineer, I gained field experience on project sites. Field experience enables me to better understand design and details, provide more practical solutions and suggestions, and improve communication and interpersonal skills. Also, field experience helps me to be a practical engineer and gives me more confidence when negotiating with designers and contractors. My PE experience also added value to estimating jobs. Understanding construction means and methods is a great benefit for estimators and creating desirable estimating results. Estimating experience accelerated my project management career with project control skills. A quantifiably defendable estimate sets the project up for success.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

My undergraduate major is civil engineering with a focus on structural design. Master’s in CM imparts my project management skills, budgeting, scheduling, and other technical skills (for example BIM modeling, Visual Studio). My master’s study and degree help me to stay competitive in the job market for the first 3-5 years. And also, I feel that the growth mindset cultivated in UM will be valuable for my entire career.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

I like my study experience in CEE and enjoy those days spent with my classmates and professors. And I joined UM Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) and ASCE (Alumni Chicago trip is a good experience if you want to know what is happening in the real world.) CEE539 is impressive and I believe that Professor Vineet Kamat will encourage you to explore how automation and technology are going to impact the construction industry. My advice to students will be getting some internship and try as many as you can. Find what you like, and love what you choose.

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Industries & Occupations

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  • Asset Management
  • Civil Infrastructure
  • Construction Engineering
  • Construction Management
  • Facility Management
  • Federal Government
  • Infrastructure
  • Offshore Structures
  • Renewable Energy Technology
  • Scientific Research
  • Smart City Technologies
  • Strategy Consulting
  • Sustainability
  • Transportation Engineering
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Companies

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  • AECOM Technology Corporation
  • Arcadis
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Arup
  • Atkins
  • Balfour Beatty
  • Barton Malow
  • Bechtel
  • Consumers Energy
  • HDR, Inc.
  • Jacobs Engineering Group
  • Laing O’Rourke
  • Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)
  • Mott McDonald
  • Nike
  • Skanska
  • Stantec
  • Turner
  • Walbridge
  • Walsh
  • Vinci
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Salaries

Discover the value of a master’s degree!

On average, U-M graduates with a master’s degree in an engineering field can earn 15-25% more than those with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.  Use the link below to research average salaries based on a U-M engineering master’s degree, experience level, and desired work location.