The request to revise the M.S. in Construction and Facilities Management

Date: April 3, 2014
To: College of Engineering
From: Office of Academic Affairs
Approved On: March 12, 2014
Approved by: Graduate Council
Implementation Date: Fall 2014

Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.

Catalog Copy

Construction and Facilities Management

  • M.S. in Construction and Facilities Management

Department of Engineering Technology and Construction Management

et.uncc.edu

Department Chair and Graduate Program Director

Dr. Anthony L. Brizendine

Graduate Faculty

Anthony L. Brizendine, PhD, PE, Professor

Nan Byars, PE, Professor

Tara Cavalline, PhD, PE, Assistant Professor

Don Chen, PhD, LEED AP, Assistant Professor

Chung Suk Cho, PhD, Assistant Professor

G. Bruce Gehrig, PhD, PE, Associate Professor

Rodney Handy, PhD, Professor

John Hildreth, PhD, Assistant Professor

Parminder Juneja, PhD, Assistant Professor

Hyunjoo Kim, PhD, Assistant Professor

Jeff Kimble, Associate Professor

Steve Kuyath, PhD, Associate Professor

Na Lu, PhDEd.D., AIC, Assistant Professor

David Murphy, Associate Professor

Thomas Nicholas, PhD, PE, Assistant Professor

Maciej Noras, PhD, Associate Professor

Carlos Orozco, PhD, PE, Associate Professor

Peter Schmidt, PhD, PE, Associate Professor

Deborah Sharer, PhD, Associate Professor

Barry Sherlock, PhD, Professor

Patty Tolley, PhD, PE, Associate Professor

Nicholas Tymvios, PhD, Assistant Professor

Jozef Urbas, PhD, Associate Professor

Sheng-Guo Wang, PhD, Professor

Wesley Williams, PhD, Assistant Professor

Aixi Zhou, PhD, Associate Professor

M.S. IN CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Construction Management is a program that prepares individuals to manage, coordinate, and supervise the construction process from concept development through project completion on timely and economic bases. Such programs include instruction in commercial, residential, mechanical, highway/heavy civil, electrical, environmental, industrial, and specialty construction; facilities management; project planning; budgeting and cost control; logistics and materials management; personnel management and labor relations; site safety; construction contracting; construction processes and techniques; organization and scheduling; and applicable codes and regulations.

Facility Management is a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology. The body of knowledge required for facility management degree programs includes facility function (professional practice), human and environmental factors, planning and project management, finance, operation and maintenance, real estate, written and oral communication, information technology, quality management and assessment procedures (research and analytical methods), and integrative and problem solving skills.

Construction and facility management professionals work with owners, engineers, architects, specialty and sub-contractors, government agencies, and others to deliver, operate and maintain constructed projects and facilities. This MSCFM program provides the advanced professional development and graduate education necessary for construction and facility management professionals to work in the increasing high tech, rapidly changing construction industry and related careers such as real estate and land development, infrastructure development, code enforcement, and insurance. The program also has a special relationship with and focus on sustainability and energy infrastructure as part of the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) and Innovative Design, Engineering, and Sustainability (IDEAS) Center initiatives at UNC Charlotte.

Application Deadline

Applications can be received by the Graduate Admission Office any time prior to the published deadlines. In order to be considered for assistantships and tuition grants for the following academic year, students should apply by March 1 for priority consideration. The first round of award decisions typically occurs by March 15. However, the Department will evaluate admission applications at any time complete applications are received by the Graduate School.

Assistantships

Research and teaching assistantships are available from the Department on a competitive basis to highly qualified applicants/students.

Tuition Grants

Tuition grants, including out-of-state tuition differential waivers and in-state tuition support, are available on a competitive basis for both out-of-state and in-state students, respectively.

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements are found at http://graduateschool.uncc.edu/future-students/admissions.

The minimum admission requirements for the program are:

  1. An earned undergraduate degree in construction management, facility management, engineering technology, engineering, architecture, or a closely related field
  2. An undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or better
  3. Acceptable scores on the verbal, quantitative, and analytical sections of the GRE
  4. Positive recommendations
  5. A combined TOEFL score of 220 (computer-based) or 557 (paper-based) is required if the previous degree was from a country where English is not the common language
  6. Integral and differential calculus (MATH 1120 or 1121 or ETGR 3171 at UNC Charlotte or equivalent)
  7. Statistics (STAT 1220 or STAT 3128 at UNC Charlotte or equivalent)
  8. Other credentials as required by the Graduate School

Documents to be Submitted for Admission

  1. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
  2. Official GRE scores
  3. Official TOEFL scores
  4. The UNC Charlotte application for graduate admission online
  5. Three professional recommendations
  6. Others as required by the Graduate School

Degree Requirements

The program leading to the Master of Science degree in Construction and Facilities Management is a 30 semester-hour program. The program consists of an 18–a 9 credit hour common core, a 6-credit hour elective technical core in either construction management or facility management, and a capstone experience including either a non-research focused sequence of 216-credit hours of electives or a research focused sequence of 15-credit hours of electives with a formal 6-credit hour graduate research thesis and completion of the 3-credit hour CMET 6160 Research and Analytical Methods course. At least 15 semester hours must be in courses numbered 6000 or above. The 30-credit hour degree program is outlined below:

Required Common Construction / Facilities Management Core Courses (18 hours)

CMET 5240 6240 Safety and Risk Management (3)

CMET 5270 6270 Operation of Constructed Facilities (3)

CMET 6130 Building Information Modeling (3)

CMET 6135 Advanced Construction Planning & Management (3)

CMET 6140 Building Energy Management (3)

CMET 6160 Research and Analytical Methods (3)

Technical Cores (6 hours)

(Students select one of the following)

  1. Construction Management Core

CMET 6180 Alternative Project Delivery Methods (3)

CMET 6285 Quality Assurance in Construction (3)

  1. Facilities Management Core

CMET 6145 Facilities Management Financial Analysis (3)

CMET 6250 Asset Management for Facility Managers (3)

Capstone Options (6 21 hours)

(Students select one of the following)

  1. Non-Thesis Option (6 21 credit hours)

Major Elective (3 21 credit hours total)

Major Elective (3)

  1. Thesis and Research Option (6 credit hours)

CMET 6160 Research and Analytical Methods (3)

Major Electives (12 credit hours total)

CMET 6900 Master’s Thesis & Research (6)

Electives

(Students select from the following or others with director approval)

CMET 5130 Building Information Modeling (3)

CMET 5140 Building Energy Management (3)

CMET 5150 Green Building (3)

CMET 5160 Advanced Construction Materials (3)

CMET 5290 6290 Temporary Structures in Construction (3)

CMET 6000 Special Topics in Construction and Facilities Management (3)

CMET 6145 Facilities Management Financial Analysis (3)

CMET 6155 Facility Instrumentation and Controls (3)

CMET 6160 Research and Analytical Methods (3)

CMET 6165 Transportation Asset Management (3)

CMET 6180 Alternative Project Delivery Methods (3)

CMET 6250 Asset Management for Facility Managers (3)

CMET 6255 Advanced Plant Layout and Design (3)

CMET 6275 Advanced Construction Means and Methods (3)

CMET 6285 Quality Assurance in Construction (3)

CMET 6295 Design and Improvement of Construction Operations (3)

CMET 6800 Independent Study in Construction and Facilities Management (3)

ENER 5250 Analysis of Renewable Energy Systems (3)

ENER 5275 Air Conditioning Systems (3)

ENER 5285 Applied Noise and Vibration Control (3)

ENER 6120 Energy Generation and Conversion (3)

ENER 6135 Energy Transmission & Distribution (3)

ENER 6150 System Dynamics (3)

ENER 6170 Applied Mechatronics (3)

ENER 6220 High Voltage Technology (3)

ENER 6250 Advanced Instrumentation (3)

ETGR 5272 Advanced Engineering Analysis (3)

Additional new major electives courses may be created based on industry needs and faculty research interest. In addition, appropriate existing graduate level courses from other programs may be approved by the program director.

Capstone Experiences

Students pursuing the Master of Science in Construction and Facilities Management have two options to complete the 30-credit hour program as follows:

  1. 24 hours of coursework plus 6 hours of thesis project
  2. 30 hours of coursework and a comprehensive examination.

Both options require the formation of a program committee. The thesis option is reserved for students who are attending the on-campus program and are performing research under formal graduate research or teaching assistantships. Students receiving such assistantships may be required to pursue the thesis option. The thesis option requires students to submit a written thesis and orally defend their work before their program committee.

All non-thesis students must complete 30 credits of coursework and successfully complete a formal comprehensive examination. The comprehensive examination is a written exam. A student’s exam will be scheduled when he/she has at least 24 hours of course credit completed or in progress. The student’s graduate advisor and the examining committee will coordinate the examination (to be offered once in the fall and once in the spring semesters), preparing the exam with the assistance of members of the student’s program committee. The exam will measure the student’s mastery of theories and applications in the selected area of specialization within the discipline. Students will have only two opportunities to receive passing marks on the examination.

Advising

Each student is supervised by his/her graduate advisor and a program committee.

Plan of Study Requirements

Each student is required to submit a Plan of Study to the Department’s Graduate Director before completing 18 hours of graduate credits.

Application for Degree

Each student should submit an Application for Degree prior to graduation. If a student does not graduate in the semester identified on the Application, the student must complete a new form and repay the application fee to be considered for graduation in a subsequent semester.

Transfer Credit

The Department, at its discretion, may accept transfer of graduate courses (6 credits maximum) taken at another institution or from another program prior to admission to the Master’s program in Construction and Facilities Management. Only courses in which the student earned a grade of B or above may be transferred.

Grades Requirement

All candidates must earn an overall 3.0 GPA to graduate. Accumulation of one U grade or three C grades will result in the suspension of the student’s enrollment in the program.

Other Requirements

The program has both a thesis and non-thesis track. After admission to candidacy, thesis students will complete a comprehensive oral exam while non-thesis students will complete a comprehensive written exam. Residence will be per Graduate School rules. There is no language requirement. While full-time students will typically take three semesters to complete the program, part-time students are expected to take no more than six years to complete the program as per Graduate School rules.

Proposed Catalog Copy of Courses:

(Only affected course descriptions are listed)

CMET 65130. Building Information Modeling. (3) Prerequisites: ETCE 1104, ETGR 1104, or permission of instructor. The creation, management, and application of building information models to the construction, operation, and maintenance of a facility. Focus will be on 2D and 3D computer models of building components, renderings, animations, and interfacing with analysis tools. (On demand)

CMET 65140. Building Energy Management. (3) Prerequisites: ETCE 3271, ETME 3143, or permission of instructor. Integrated planning of energy efficient technologies for building environmental control systems. Introduction to the design, planning, and optimization of HVAC systems and technology needed to integrate the heating, cooling, natural ventilation, lighting, electricity, and building energy management systems into a building’s structure and design. (On demand)

CMET 5150. Green Building (3) Sustainable design and construction. Topics include sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation in design, and regional priority. (On demand)

CMET 5160. Advanced Construction Materials (3) Materials utilized in concrete, concrete construction, and quality control. Study of concrete properties and the variables that affect them. Topics also include destructive and non-destructive testing of structural concrete, service life prediction models, and preventative measures, as well as recent advances in concrete materials, construction, and technology. (On demand)

CMET 65290. Temporary Structures in Construction. (3) Prerequisite: ETCE 3163 or permission of instructor. Temporary structures used to support construction operations such as concrete formwork, scaffolding systems, shoring systems, cofferdams, underpinning, slurry walls, and construction dewatering systems. (On demand)

CMET 6165 Transportation Asset Management (3) Management and planning techniques for transportation infrastructure assets. Focus on recent advances for maintaining and managing transportation assets, including performance management, prioritization of maintenance strategies, network and project level optimization. (On demand)

CMET 56240. Safety and Risk Management. (3) Prerequisite: CMET 4228 or permission of instructor. Causes and prevention of industrial accidents, hazardous processes and material, OSHA regulations and requirements, and design of accident prevention programs. (On demand)

CMET 56270. Operation of Constructed Facilities. (3) Prerequisites: CMET 3224 and ETCE 3271 or permission of instructor. Acquisition, operation, maintenance, and disposal of building systems, structures, permanent interiors, furniture, and equipment; grounds and other exterior elements. (On demand)

CMET 6275. Advanced Construction Means and Methods (3) Construction means, methods, and equipment used to transform a particular design concept into a completed usable structure or facility. Emphasis is placed on current and innovative construction techniques and equipment. (On demand)