PhD in Construction Management 

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Program of Study Form Download.

The Ph.D in Construction Management prepares students for extensive research and careers in academia, industry, and government while providing a broad knowledge of construction­related disciplines. The Ph.D in Construction Management deals with developing new methods and technologies that allow for efficient and cost-effective construction. Construction managers and engineers are critical to the planning, execution, and closeout of construction projects at all levels and across industries. The CM graduate student will have an in-depth education in state-of-the-art construction specializations, including sustainable construction, hazard management construction, building information modeling, decision-making, and advanced productivity, explored through three primary focus areas: Facilities Management, Construction Engineering, and Construction Management.

The Ph.D in Construction requires a minimum of 54 credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree and a dissertation acceptable to the advisory committee and the Graduate School. Students must complete at least 42 credit hours of required and elective non-research coursework and at least 12 credit hours of dissertation research. All courses are selected with a faculty advisor and approved by the dissertation research committee. The doctoral advisor (dissertation advisory committee chair) must be a graduate faculty from the Department of Construction Management. The committee will include the student's doctoral advisor and at least two additional graduate faculty members such that the LSU Graduate School's requirements for graduate committees are satisfied. 

An individualized program of study that meets the minimum curricular requirements will be developed for each student in consultation with their doctoral advisor and approved by the dissertation advisory committee. Ph.D. students must pass a departmental qualifying exam and a general exam per graduate school requirements. The qualifying exam is an oral exam designed to assess a graduate student's knowledge competency in their chosen field of study and their ability to conduct original research resulting in a dissertation. Following the qualifying exam, the student and advisory committee formalize the plan of study. The general exam may include oral and written components at the discretion of the committee. The advisory committee will evaluate the dissertation proposal developed by the student during the general exam. A dissertation must be produced by the student and approved by the committee. The final examination is an oral defense of the dissertation. 

Ph.D in Construction Management (CM) courses include:

Required Courses (6 credit hours)

  • CM 7010 - Research Methods in Construction Management (3 credit hours), or equivalent
  • A course in statistical inference or experimental statistics or statistical techniques, or equivalent (3 credit hours)

Construction Elective Courses (12 credit hours)

Four (4) CM courses eligible for graduate credit.

Other Elective Courses (24 credit hours minimum)

These courses may be additional Construction courses and/or courses from other university programs to satisfy the needs of research goals or career objectives. Selected courses must be approved by the student's committee.

Dissertation Research Hours (12 credit hours minimum): 

CM 9000 Dissertation 

The curricular requirements include: 

  • At least half of the coursework must be at the 7000-level.
  • A minimum core requirement of 6 credit hours in research design and statistics.
  • A minimum of 12 credit hours in construction management (CM) elective courses.

 

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