Online Graduate Certificate in Construction Management
Advance your career with KU’s Online Graduate Certificate in Construction Management. This flexible program helps working professionals build skills in construction leadership, project delivery, and risk management.
Online Graduate Certificate • Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering
What Is the Online Graduate Certificate in Construction Management?
KU's online graduate certificates provide an affordable, flexible way to build specialized engineering expertise in just 12 credit hours. Coursework may be eligible to transfer toward a related KU graduate degree, though admission to a master's or doctoral program requires a separate application and approval.
Strengthen your leadership and project delivery skills through advanced study in construction engineering and management. Coursework explores topics such as project management, planning and scheduling, estimating, safety, risk analysis, contracts, and project delivery methods, helping professionals prepare for increased responsibility across the construction industry.
See the Graduate Certificate in Construction Management in the KU catalog for courses and requirements.
Program requirements verified against the 2026–27 KU Academic Catalog. Last reviewed August 2026.
Certificate at a Glance
Everything a practicing professional usually scrolls to find, before you have to scroll.
Career outcomes
What Can You Do with a Graduate Certificate in Construction Management?
Construction management is the function that decides whether a project lands on time and on budget, and it is the fastest-growing occupation across every KU engineering certificate. Lightcast projects construction managers to grow 12.8 percent through 2030, against 13,743 U.S. jobs and 1,361 annual openings across the wider occupation set.
A graduate certificate in construction management is a short, focused post-baccalaureate credential in the management of construction projects. At KU it requires four graduate courses and 12 credit hours, selected from eleven options covering project management, planning and scheduling, equipment and methods, quality, estimating and bidding, contracts, alternative delivery, risk analysis, and construction safety.
Source for all labor market figures on this page: Lightcast Q3 2026 Data Set (August 2026), CIP 52.2001 Construction Management, General, United States, filtered to the share of the national workforce in these occupations holding a doctoral or professional degree. The occupation set is construction managers, first-line supervisors of construction trades, cost estimators, and construction and building inspectors. This CIP has a smaller posting pool than the engineering CIPs, 10,199 unique postings against 97,311, so absolute posting counts on this page are correspondingly lower. Figures are national aggregates, not KU outcomes, and no figure here is a guarantee of employment or salary.
Where construction management skills are hired
Four functions account for most of the hiring. The eleven courses in this certificate map onto them almost one for one, which is unusual and is what makes this credential easy to point at in an interview.
Project management and delivery
This is the largest and fastest-growing occupation in the set. Construction managers are projected to grow 12.8 percent through 2030, the strongest growth figure across every KU engineering certificate, and the courses in project management, scheduling, and alternative delivery methods sit directly underneath the role.
- Construction ManagerGeneral contractors, owners, and CM firms5,907 jobs · 600 annual openings · $46.14/hr median · +12.8% by 2030
- Construction Project ManagerThe most-posted title in this occupation set285 unique job postings, Jan 2010–Jul 2026
- Site ManagerSingle-site delivery accountability130 unique job postings, Jan 2010–Jul 2026
- Construction Program ManagerMulti-project and capital program leadership99 unique job postings, Jan 2010–Jul 2026
Preconstruction, estimating, and cost
Estimating and bidding is where a project's margin is decided, long before anyone breaks ground. Cost estimators are a distinct occupation in this CIP with their own wage and openings data, and CMGT 704 and CMGT 713 map straight onto the estimating and proposal work these roles do.
- Cost EstimatorContractors, owners, and consultancies1,817 jobs · 172 annual openings · $37.84/hr median · +2.7% by 2030
- EstimatorPreconstruction and bid teams213 unique job postings, Jan 2010–Jul 2026
- Cost EngineerCapital cost control and forecasting87 unique job postings, Jan 2010–Jul 2026
- Energy AnalystCost and performance analysis on energy projects231 unique job postings, the third most-posted title in this set
Field operations and construction safety
Two of the eleven courses are devoted to safety, which is unusual for a graduate certificate and directly reflects where liability sits on a jobsite. First-line supervisors are the second largest occupation in this set, and the field path runs from superintendent into that supervisory tier.
- First-Line Supervisor, Construction TradesJobsite crew and trade supervision4,512 jobs · 397 annual openings · $37.58/hr median · +4.8% by 2030
- SuperintendentDay-to-day site leadership195 unique postings · 6-day median duration, the fastest in this set
- Field EngineerField engineering and construction support93 unique job postings, Jan 2010–Jul 2026
- Construction Safety ManagerSite safety programs and complianceConstruction skills named in 3,549 postings, 34.8% of this occupation set
Inspection, quality, and compliance
Construction and building inspectors sit on the owner and authority side of the same projects, verifying that what was designed is what got built. Quality and productivity, contracts and bonds, and risk analysis are the courses that speak to this function.
- Construction and Building InspectorPublic authorities and owner representatives1,506 jobs · 192 annual openings · $35.69/hr median · +8.7% by 2030
- Construction InspectorField verification and documentation139 unique job postings, Jan 2010–Jul 2026
- Quality Manager, ConstructionQuality programs and nonconformance controlConstruction management named in 1,762 postings, 17.3% of this set
- Department ManagerFunctional leadership across delivery organizations72 unique job postings, Jan 2010–Jul 2026
Credentials employers ask for
Construction management hiring rewards a different credential mix than engineering design does. Project management certification and site safety cards carry more weight here than licensure, which reflects who actually signs for what on a jobsite.
- Master of Business Administration (MBA) 597 postings
- Professional Engineer (PE) License 388 postings
- First Aid Certification 338 postings
- Project Management Professional (PMP) 250 postings
- Engineer in Training (EIT) 222 postings
- 30-Hour OSHA General Industry Card 96 postings
Counts are unique U.S. job postings naming each qualification between January 2010 and July 2026, drawn from this CIP's 10,199-posting pool, which is roughly a tenth the size of the structural engineering pool, so the absolute numbers are not comparable across certificates. This certificate is graduate coursework and does not itself confer any of these credentials.
Software employers ask for by name
Construction management runs on scheduling, cost, and reporting tools rather than analysis engines. These are the packages named most often in postings across this occupation set.
- Microsoft Excel 1,651
- Microsoft Office 1,513
- Microsoft PowerPoint 908
- Python 636
- Primavera 367
- Microsoft Project 293
Skills employers hire for
Each percentage is the share of postings in these occupations that names the skill. Construction and construction management together dominate this set far more sharply than any single skill dominates the engineering CIPs.
- Construction 35%
- Project management 33%
- Construction management 17%
- Subcontracting 10%
- Economics 10%
- Finance 10%
- Project schedules 8%
- Cost estimation 7%
- Procurement 7%
Organizations that hire these skills
Engineering and environmental consultancies, national laboratories, and large contractors are the most active recruiters in this occupation set. These ten posted the most unique U.S. openings between January 2010 and July 2026.
- Terracon Consultants 248
- Exponent 221
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory 203
- Lendlease 154
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 127
- Northrop Grumman 123
- HNTB 114
- Johnson & Johnson 97
- SAIC 87
- City of Orlando 86
Figures are unique job postings per organization within this CIP's occupation set. That set includes cost estimation and analysis roles, which is why national laboratories and research organizations appear alongside contractors and consultancies. Employer listings reflect national hiring activity and are not placement guarantees or KU partnerships. Full methodology at Lightcast (opens in a new tab).
Curriculum
Four Courses, Chosen from Eleven.
There are no required courses. You select any four of the eleven graduate courses below and build the sequence around the part of delivery you own, whether that is the schedule, the estimate, the contract, or the safety program. Every course requires a minimum grade of B, and no credits transfer in from another institution.
The rule • 12 credit hours
Select any four courses
No core requirement and no prescribed sequence. All eleven options below count toward the certificate, so the certificate can be built to match the function you actually work in.
Two courses on safety
Unusual, and deliberate
Two of the eleven courses are devoted to construction safety and safety solution development, which is rare in a graduate certificate and reflects where jobsite liability actually sits.
All eleven course options
Management of construction projects from preconstruction through closeout. The anchor course for anyone moving into or up within a project management role.
Planning and scheduling techniques including critical path methods, the discipline behind every credible delivery date.
Selection, productivity, and economics of construction equipment and means and methods on heavy and building work.
Quality management and productivity measurement, covering how work gets verified and how output gets improved.
Cost estimating and bid preparation, where a project’s margin is decided long before mobilization.
Contract structures, surety bonds, and insurance, the commercial framework that determines who carries which risk.
Design-build, CM at risk, and other alternative delivery approaches now common on public and private work.
Quantitative risk assessment and decision analysis, the analytical core of contingency and go/no-go decisions.
Construction safety management, regulation, and hazard control across the jobsite.
Developing and implementing safety solutions and programs, the applied companion to CMGT 711.
Preparing and evaluating requests for proposals, the front end of winning and awarding design and construction work.
Course list from the 2026–27 KU Academic Catalog. The official catalog entry is the authoritative source for requirements.
Admissions
Who Can Apply
This certificate has the widest admission path in the CEAE family. Engineers apply at a 3.0, and graduates of other fields apply at a 3.3.
- A bachelor’s degree in engineering with a GPA of 3.0 or better, from a regionally accredited institution or a foreign university with equivalent requirements.
- Applicants holding a baccalaureate degree in a field outside engineering need an undergraduate GPA of 3.3 or higher.
- Official transcripts showing the bachelor’s degree and any post-bachelor’s coursework or degrees.
- Proof of English proficiency for non-native English speakers. Applicants to online programs need Full proficiency.
- All applicants must meet the requirements in KU’s Admission to Graduate Study policy.
To complete the certificate, earn a minimum grade of B in every course applied toward it. No credits may be transferred from another institution for this certificate.
Next step
How to Apply
Three steps from where you are now to your first course.
Gather your materials
Official transcripts showing your bachelor’s degree, plus English proficiency documentation if it applies to you. Note the GPA threshold that applies to your degree field.
Apply online
Submit the KU graduate application as a certificate-seeking student through the graduate application portal.
Plan your four courses
Work with the Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering department to sequence the four courses that fit your practice.
Certificate now, or the full master’s?
KU offers both an online Master of Construction Management and this four-course certificate. The certificate is the shorter commitment and its credits may carry forward, so it works well as a way to test the field before committing to the degree. Tell us where you are and we will lay out both paths honestly.
Keep exploring
Related KU Engineering Graduate Certificates
Three more 12-credit CEAE certificates share this admission standard and the same stackable structure.
Learn more about this online program
Get more info on admission, deadlines, tuition and financial aid, career paths, and more when you fill out the form below. We’ll be in touch to answer any questions and help you get started.
Before you apply
Construction Management Certificate Questions, Answered
The questions construction professionals ask most — including whether you need an engineering degree to get in, and how this compares with the full master’s.
It is a four-course, 12-credit-hour graduate credential from the University of Kansas covering the management of construction projects. Coursework spans project management, planning and scheduling, estimating and bidding, contracts and risk, alternative delivery methods, and construction safety.
The certificate requires four graduate courses totaling 12 credit hours. Your timeline depends on course load. Many working professionals take one course per semester and finish in about two years, while a heavier load compresses that. The CEAE department can help you build a realistic sequence.
None are required. You select any four of the eleven graduate courses on offer, so the certificate can be built around the part of delivery you own, whether that is the schedule, the estimate, the contract, or the safety program.
No. Applicants with an engineering bachelor’s degree need a GPA of 3.0 or better. Applicants holding a baccalaureate degree in a field outside engineering need an undergraduate GPA of 3.3 or higher. This is the widest admission path of any CEAE graduate certificate.
Yes. Graduate courses taken for this certificate may be eligible to transfer for credit toward a KU graduate degree program. Many students complete the certificate first, then carry those 12 credit hours forward, subject to the degree program’s admission and transfer policies.
Roles include construction manager, construction project manager, superintendent, estimator, and construction inspector. Per the Lightcast Q3 2026 Data Set, construction managers alone show 5,907 U.S. jobs, 600 projected annual openings, and 12.8 percent growth through 2030.
Yes. Construction managers are projected to grow 12.8 percent from 2024 to 2030, which is the highest growth rate of any occupation across the KU engineering certificate family. Construction and building inspectors follow at 8.7 percent over the same period, per Lightcast.
The certificate is four courses and 12 credit hours. The master’s requires substantially more coursework and a broader curriculum. Because certificate credits may transfer toward a KU graduate degree, many students use the certificate as a lower-risk way to start before committing to the full degree.
Every course applied toward the certificate requires a minimum grade of B. No credits may be transferred in from another institution, so all four courses are completed at the University of Kansas. Plan your course load with both standards in mind from your first semester.
KU’s CEAE department offers companion 12-credit certificates in Structural Design, Structural Forensics, and Water Resources. Those require an engineering or science bachelor’s degree.