Construction Management major
Construction Management: courses, careers, and where to study
Construction Management blends building science, project planning, and business to prepare graduates to plan, budget, and oversee construction projects from groundbreaking to handover.
Nationally, bachelor's graduates in Construction Management earn a median $95,124 four years after graduating; the middle half of programs ranges from $77,072 to $115,179 (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard). By credential and college
A Construction Management (CM) major, usually a four-year bachelor's degree, sits at the intersection of building science and business. Coursework covers construction methods and materials, structural and mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) systems, blueprint and plan reading, estimating, scheduling, cost control, contracts, building codes, and construction safety (including OSHA standards). Most programs pair classroom work with a required internship or field experience on an active jobsite.
Graduates coordinate the people, materials, schedules, and budgets that turn designs into finished buildings. Day to day, they prepare bids and estimates, build and update project schedules, manage subcontractors and procurement, track costs against budget, enforce safety and quality standards, and serve as the link between owners, architects, engineers, and trade crews. Typical entry into construction manager roles is a bachelor's degree, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of construction managers to grow 8.7% from 2024 to 2034 and reports a 2024 median wage of $106,980 for the occupation. CM graduates work for general contractors, specialty subcontractors, developers, and owners across commercial, residential, industrial, and infrastructure construction.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Construction Management maps to CIP 52.2001, Construction Management, General, within the BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES family. The official definition:
A program that prepares individuals to manage, coordinate, and supervise the construction process. Includes instruction in commercial, residential, mechanical, highway/heavy civil, electrical, environmental, industrial, and specialty construction; facilities management; budgeting and cost control; logistics and materials management; organization and scheduling; personnel management and labor relations; site safety; construction contracting; construction processes and techniques; and applicable codes and regulations.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Construction Management is awarded as
Of the 5,436 Construction Management credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2024-25:
- Certificate: 17%, 931 credentials.
- Associate: 13%, 686 credentials.
- Bachelor's: 61%, 3,342 credentials.
- Graduate: 9%, 477 credentials.
This is one of the fields where the answer genuinely depends on where you study: across the 30 states reporting it, certificates run from 0% of credentials in the 10th-percentile state to 59% in the 90th. Check the mix in your state before assuming which credential a program leads to. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2024-25, 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
- Construction methods, materials, and means of building assemblies
- Plan and blueprint reading and construction documents
- Cost estimating and quantity takeoffs
- Project scheduling (critical path method, Gantt charts) and cost control
- Construction contracts, delivery methods, and bidding
- Building codes, structural and MEP systems fundamentals
- Construction safety management and OSHA standards
- Building information modeling (BIM) and construction project software
Typical careers
- Construction managers
- Project Engineer
- Estimator
- Scheduler / Project Controls Analyst
- Superintendent
- Construction Project Manager
Typical salary range: BLS, 2024 construction managers median $106,980Ranges 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.
How much do Construction Management graduates earn?
Nationally, bachelor's graduates in Construction Management earn a median $95,124 four years after graduating; the middle half of programs ranges from $77,072 to $115,179 (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
| Credential | National median | Middle half of programs |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's | $95,124 | $77,072 to $115,179 |
| Associate's | $72,110 | $48,411 to $98,514 |
| Master's | $112,166 | $80,895 to $144,950 |
| Post-baccalaureate certificate | $102,711 | $80,860 to $143,518 |
Compare Construction Management programs in your state
Highest-earning bachelor's Construction Management programs
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (CA): $118,331, median federal debt $18,500
- Wentworth Institute of Technology (MA): $111,195, median federal debt $27,000
- California State University-Chico (CA): $108,021, median federal debt $19,341
- Washington State University (WA): $107,531
- Drexel University (PA): $105,887, median federal debt $31,000
- Weber State University (UT): $105,738, median federal debt $15,928
- Arizona State University Campus Immersion (AZ): $103,060
- Minnesota State University-Mankato (MN): $102,090, median federal debt $24,675
- University of Wisconsin-Stout (WI): $101,758, median federal debt $20,175
- Northern Arizona University (AZ): $99,015, median federal debt $22,589
Ordered by median earnings: one federal measure, not a ranking of program quality. Federal program group: Construction Management. Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars, for graduates who received federal aid, worked and were not enrolled. Programs need at least 30 graduates in the earnings cohort to be listed; multi-state systems whose figures pool campuses are not listed. Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, 10 June 2026. How much the college matters, by major. Graduate programs over the new federal loan caps.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Construction Management, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction Managers | $106,980 | 46,800 | +8.7% | Bachelor's 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). 1 of these 1 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 Management 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.
The federal crosswalk associates only one occupation with Construction Management. That is a statement about the field, not about its graduates: a breadth degree is not tied to a particular job, so the crosswalk has little to map. Graduates of this field work across many occupations, and what follows the degree depends far more on the skills and experience built alongside it.
Before you commit to a Construction Management major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Construction Management program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Construction Management 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 Management 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 Management credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2024-25. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- Collin County Community College District, TX · 428 credentials
- Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, LA · 408 credentials
- Kirkwood Community College, IA · 203 credentials
- Everglades University, FL · 157 credentials
- Appalachian State University, NC · 151 credentials
- Wentworth Institute of Technology, MA · 147 credentials
- Rowan University, NJ · 141 credentials
- Utah Valley University, UT · 139 credentials
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, VA · 136 credentials
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, CA · 131 credentials
- Brigham Young University-Idaho, ID · 118 credentials
- Brigham Young University, UT · 100 credentials
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2024-25. 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 Management credentials were awarded
10 states have a distinct enough set of Construction Management colleges to be worth its own page.
Construction Management by state
- Construction Management in California
- Construction Management in Florida
- Construction Management in Georgia
- Construction Management in Illinois
- Construction Management in Maryland
- Construction Management in Massachusetts
- Construction Management in New York
- Construction Management in North Carolina
- Construction Management in Pennsylvania
- Construction Management in Texas
Every Construction Management program with its own CampusPin page
15 programs in 13 states, A to Z by state and then by college. Each page gives what the program's graduates earned four years after finishing, what they borrowed in federal loans, the monthly payment, and how the program compares with others in its state and the nation. The figure beside each college is the median for its largest credential with at least 30 graduates (U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, 2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23). The list is alphabetical; it is not a ranking.
Construction Management programs in Florida, 1 program
- Everglades University Bachelor's, $90,526
Construction Management programs in Georgia, 1 program
- Kennesaw State University Bachelor's, $93,910
Construction Management programs in Idaho, 2 programs
- Boise State University Bachelor's, $95,250
- Brigham Young University-Idaho Bachelor's, $91,759
Construction Management programs in Illinois, 1 program
- Illinois State University Bachelor's, $91,017
Construction Management programs in Indiana, 1 program
- Indiana State University Bachelor's, $94,902
Construction Management programs in Michigan, 1 program
- Ferris State University Bachelor's, $90,504
Construction Management programs in Minnesota, 2 programs
- Minnesota State University-Mankato Bachelor's, $102,090
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities Bachelor's, $91,947
Construction Management programs in North Carolina, 1 program
- Appalachian State University Bachelor's, $80,257
Construction Management programs in Ohio, 1 program
- Kent State University at Kent Bachelor's, $89,959
Construction Management programs in South Carolina, 1 program
- Clemson University Bachelor's, $98,726
Construction Management programs in Utah, 1 program
- Brigham Young University Bachelor's, $98,073
Construction Management programs in Virginia, 1 program
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Bachelor's, $95,165
Construction Management programs in Wisconsin, 1 program
- University of Wisconsin-Stout Bachelor's, $101,758
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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 Management degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Management careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Construction Management 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 Management 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.