Construction Engineering major
Construction Engineering: courses, careers, and where to study
Construction Engineering joins civil engineering design with construction management, so students engineer how structures and facilities are actually built, sequenced, and costed.
Construction Engineering prepares students to apply scientific, mathematical, and management principles to the planning, design, and building of facilities and structures. It sits where civil engineering analysis meets the practical work of construction, so coursework pairs structural principles, materials, geology, and computer-assisted design with site analysis, evaluation, and testing of what gets built. Unlike Construction Management, which concentrates on the business side of scheduling, budgeting, and contracts, Construction Engineering keeps the engineering of the structure at its center, asking how loads are carried, how soil and site conditions behave, and how methods and means translate a design into a finished facility. It is narrower than broad Civil Engineering in scope but deeper on the act of building itself, blending design judgment with the realities of fieldwork, equipment, and sequencing on a real project.
The common entry point is a bachelor's degree, the same level expected of the closely related civil engineering occupation, and programs lean heavily on labs, site visits, and a capstone where students plan and price a project. Students learn computer-assisted design and modeling, structural and geotechnical analysis, materials testing, and construction methods, then practice estimating cost and laying out a build plan. Graduates work for contractors, engineering and design firms, and public agencies that deliver buildings, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. Because construction work affects public safety, engineering careers often move toward licensure that calls for an accredited degree, examinations, and supervised experience, so confirm a program's standing and your state's path before you enroll.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of civil engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $99,590 and projects employment to grow about 5% from 2024 to 2034; a bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Construction Engineering maps to CIP 14.3301, Construction Engineering, within the ENGINEERING family. The official definition:
A program that prepares individuals to apply scientific, mathematical, and management principles to the planning, design, and building of facilities and structures. Includes instruction in civil engineering, structural principles, site analysis, computer-assisted design, geology, evaluation and testing, materials, contracting, project management, graphic communications, and applicable laws and regulations.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Construction Engineering is awarded as
Of the 1,567 Construction Engineering credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate<1%7
- Bachelor's57%898
- Graduate42%662
CampusPin does not have enough states reporting this field to say whether the mix changes from state to state. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Engineering mechanics, statics, and behavior of structural systems
- Structural principles and the analysis of what is built
- Site analysis, geology, and geotechnical and soil conditions
- Computer-assisted design and construction modeling software
- Materials evaluation, testing, and quality control
- Construction methods, means, equipment, and field operations
- Project planning, scheduling, and sequencing of the work
- Cost estimating, quantity takeoff, and budget control
- Construction safety, codes, and the senior capstone project
Typical careers
- Civil Engineer
- Construction Engineer
- Structural Engineer
- Site or Field Engineer
- Construction Project Engineer
- Estimating Engineer
Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 civil engineers median $99,590).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Construction Engineering, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Engineers | $99,590 | 23,600 | +5% | Bachelor's degree |
| Cost Estimators | $77,070 | 16,900 | -4.2% | Bachelor's degree |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $167,740 | 14,500 | +3.8% | Bachelor's degree |
| Engineers, All Other | $117,750 | 9,300 | +2.1% | Bachelor's degree |
| Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary | $106,120 | 4,100 | +8.1% | Doctoral or professional degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 5 of these 5 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Construction Engineering does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Construction Engineering major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Construction Engineering program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Construction Engineering department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Construction Engineering program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Construction Engineering credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- The University of Texas at ArlingtonTX · 343
- Kennesaw State UniversityGA · 147
- Oregon State UniversityOR · 71
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityVA · 69
- Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegeLA · 68
- Stevens Institute of TechnologyNJ · 67
- New York UniversityNY · 64
- Kent State University at KentOH · 58
- University of Cincinnati-Main CampusOH · 56
- Iowa State UniversityIA · 54
- Bowling Green State University-Main CampusOH · 43
- University of North Carolina at CharlotteNC · 42
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Construction Engineering credentials were awarded
2 states have a distinct enough set of Construction Engineering colleges to be worth its own page.
Search Construction Engineering schools by state
- Construction Engineering in California
- Construction Engineering in Florida
- Construction Engineering in Georgia
- Construction Engineering in Illinois
- Construction Engineering in Maryland
- Construction Engineering in Massachusetts
- Construction Engineering in New York
- Construction Engineering in North Carolina
- Construction Engineering in Pennsylvania
- Construction Engineering in Texas
Related majors
Civil Engineering
Civil Engineering applies physics, mechanics, and design to the built environment, roads, bridges, water systems, and buildings, suiting students who want to plan and build public infrastructure.
Construction Management
Construction Management blends building science, project planning, and business to prepare graduates to plan, budget, and oversee construction projects from groundbreaking to handover.
Architecture
Architecture combines design, structural reasoning, and building systems to plan habitable spaces, suiting students who pair creative drawing with technical problem-solving.
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering applies physics, materials, and design to machines and mechanical systems, suiting students who want to build, analyze, and test physical hardware.
Urban Planning
Urban Planning studies how communities use land, housing, and transportation, suiting students who want to shape physical and policy decisions about where people live and move.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Construction Engineering degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Engineering & Architecture careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
Explore Management careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Construction Engineering degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Construction Engineering path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.