Construction Engineering at Iowa State University

The Gourman Report, which evaluates academic programs, rated Iowa State’s construction engineering program as the best in the nation. One feature that makes it so competitive is its on-site construction laboratory—the only facility of its kind in the nation.

The program is also one of only six construction engineering programs in the nation to be accredited by the prestigious Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.

As a construction engineering student, you will learn to identify the best methods and techniques of construction, to determine construction costs and set schedules, and to supervise construction projects.

You will take courses in engineering, computer science, math, business, law, and economics. In addition, you will choose from one of the three following emphasis areas:

• Heavy/Highway construction engineering. These engineers build highways, bridges, railroads, and other such projects.
• Building construction. Professionals in this area manage and perform work on commercial building projects. Graduates frequently work as general contractors or construction managers.
• Mechanical/Electrical construction. Engineers in this field make the environments inside buildings comfortable and provide power to the people who occupy them.

An honors program is available. You will find the construction engineering program has an excellent student job-placement record with the numerous worldwide employers who come to campus each year.


Top-Notch Faculty
The faculty in the construction engineering program are a distinguished group of experts who have won several awards for teaching, advising, and research. They serve as editors of numerous technical journals, hold leadership positions in national professional societies, give lectures around the world, and create innovative management tools that are used extensively by the country’s top corporations and their contractors.

Most importantly, students get a chance to interact with these engineering leaders on an individual level. Class sizes are monitored to keep enrollments at levels that enhance one-on-one learning with professors.

Combined, the faculty represent many decades of practical experience in all facets of construction. This experience coupled with their commitment translates into faculty advising of the highest caliber.


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World-Class Facilities
Students use sophisticated workstations linked to faculty offices, the campus network, and the Internet. Plus, they are among a select group of undergraduates in the U.S. who can “walk” through 3-D images of construction projects, thanks to the $5-million, state-of-the-art computer graphic workstations donated by Silicon Graphics, a company founded by an Iowa State engineering graduate.

Students also have the opportunity to get real-world experience in the Onsite Weitz Learning Lab, the result of a strategic alliance between the Iowa State construction engineering program and The Weitz Company, Inc. Housed in a construction trailer located on campus, the lab provides an opportunity for students to earn credit in an innovative, experience-based learning environment. Many of the features of the lab enhance this opportunity, including an observation deck and the trailer location (adjacent to the construction site). Town Engineering Building, opened in 1971, houses state-of-the-art equipment, including a computer-aided design laboratory. The department is in the process of bringing all of its resources together under one roof in a project called “Our Town.”


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Endless Opportunities
Today, education is comprised of more than just the traditional classroom and laboratory experiences. The Department of Construction Engineering at Iowa State also offers

• internship and co-op programs that provide industry experience and give students a chance to earn money for college and living expenses; monthly salaries for construction engineering interns and co-op students range from $1,829 to $1,907*
• foreign study programs in the Czech Republic, Scotland, Mexico, and other countries that give students an edge in today’s global market
• opportunities for hands-on, real-world experiences

Iowa State has an active student Associated General Contractors (AGC) student chapter as well as a chapter of Sigma Lamda Chi, the construction honorary society, and a Design-Build student chapter. The AGC student chapter was chartered as the first such chapter by the AGC of America in 1968 and has regularly been named the Student Chapter of the Year by the AGC of America.

The student AGC chapter complements your classroom education by sponsoring speakers, field trips, and community work.


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Scholarships
The support of over 200 individuals and corporations maintains an engineering scholarship endowment of nearly $9 million. From these and other funds, the college awards more than 900 scholarships totaling more than $1.3 million each year. Construction engineering students can also compete for $40,000 in scholarships exclusively for them. In addition, engineering students compete well for scholarships available to all Iowa State students.


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Employment Outlook
Engineering is a career path that works! More than 3 million engineers work in the U.S. today, making engineering the nation’s second-largest profession. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the job market is predicted to remain strong well into the millennium. The average starting salary for a construction engineering graduate is about $40,000. Additionally, starting salaries are expected to increase about six percent a year.

Construction engineering graduates are in great demand. Nearly all students with engineering-related work experience have jobs by graduation. For example:

• 95% of co-op students are placed by graduation
• 85% of interns are placed by graduation
• 79% of graduates with summer work experience are placed by graduation

Iowa State’s construction engineering graduates are nationally known; several have received national awards. Graduates work in all parts of the world, in industry and government, in large firms and small companies. Many graduates earn advanced degrees, becoming experts in their chosen fields.

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To learn more about opportunities in construction engineering, contact:

Construction Engineering
Room 456 Town Engineering
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-3232
515-294-2045
www.cce.iastate.edu


* All statistics are based on surveys conducted in spring 1999.

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