Detailed Information
Programs of Study
The Department of Construction Management in the College of Engineering and Computing offers the Master of Science (M.S.) degree in construction management and the Certificate in Construction Engineering and Management (CEM). The Department is committed to being the preeminent center for the advancement and dissemination of construction knowledge.
The M.S. in construction management is geared toward preparing students for middle- and upper-level management positions in the construction and development industries. Students may choose an emphasis in several areas of construction: building codes, concrete in construction, data warehousing in construction, decision and risk analysis, information technology in construction, legal issues and trends, product and process modeling, safety in construction, or structural integrity of residential construction in areas prone to hurricanes. Students have a choice of either a thesis or a nonthesis option and must complete between 30 and 36 semester hours. The thesis option consists of a minimum of 24 to 30 semester hours of course work and 6 semester hours of thesis preparation. The nonthesis option consists of 30 to 36 semester hours of course work and may include up to 6 semester hours of independent studies. This degree program may also be fully pursued in an online format from anywhere in the world.
The Certificate in Construction Engineering and Management program develops construction management techniques related to the technological environment of the construction industry. The program blends a carefully chosen mix of civil engineering and construction management courses designed to provide specialization opportunities in construction engineering and construction management. Students must successfully complete 18 credit hours or six courses (three core courses and three electives).
Research Facilities
The College of Engineering and Computing has numerous research institutes, centers, and laboratories that support its academic and research programs. The institutes include the AccessGrid Virtual Institute (AGVI), the Advanced Materials Research Institute (AMERI), the Institute for Technology Innovation (ITI), and the Telecommunications and Information Technology Institute (IT2).
The research centers include the Applied Research Center (ARC), the Center for Advanced Distributed System Engineering (CADSE), the Center for Advanced Technology and Education (CATE), the Center for the Study of Matter at Extreme Conditions (CeSMEC), the Center for Energy and Technology of the Americas (CETA), the Center of Emerging Technologies for Advanced Information and High-Confidence Systems (CREST), the Engineering Information Center (EIC), the Engineering Manufacturing Center (EMC), the High Performance Database Research Center (HPDRC), the Lehman Center for Transportation Research (LCTR), the IBM Latin American Supercomputing Consortium (LA GRID), and the Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility.
Research laboratories include the Autonomic Computing Research Laboratory (ACRL), the Construction and Structures Research and Testing Laboratory, the Distributed Multimedia Information System Laboratory (DMIS), the Digital Signal Processing Laboratory (DSP), the Enterprise Information Systems Research Laboratory, the Enterprise Systems Engineering Laboratory (ESE), the Graphic Simulation Laboratory (GSL), the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory, the Information Systems Research Laboratory, the Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research (LWER), the Multidisciplinary Analysis, Inverse Design, Robust Optimal Control Laboratory (MAIDROC), the Optical Imaging and Tomography Laboratory, the Plasma Forming Laboratory (PFL), and the Photonics Research Laboratory.
Affiliated Centers and Programs include the AMPATH International Exchange Point in Miami, CHEPREO: Center for High Energy Physics Research and Education Outreach, CIARA: Center for Internet Augmented Research and Assessment, CyberBridges, GEC: The Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center, IHRC: the International Hurricane Research Center, MOTOROLA Women in Engineering (MWIE), NASA All-Star Project, and Ware Foundation Neuro-Engineering and Brain Research Laboratory at Miami Children’s Hospital.
The Department has achieved extraordinary growth in research in the last ten years. Faculty members have submitted proposals to a broad spectrum of funding agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, the Building Construction Industry Advisory Committee, the Florida Department of Education, the Center for Indoor Air Research, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Florida High Technology and Industry Council, the Florida Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Air Force.
Financial Aid
The College of Engineering and Computing offers a variety of merit-based fellowships, assistantships, and scholarships to qualified domestic and international students. These awards are highly competitive, and the amounts vary depending on the type of the award. Additional financial aid information is available from the Financial Aid Office at http://www.fiu.edu/orgs/finaid.
Cost of Study
For the 2009–10 academic year, tuition is $340.68 per credit for Florida residents and $844.76 per credit for out-of-state and international students. Students pay an additional $170 per semester for student activity fees, a health fee, a photo ID, and parking. Books and supplies are estimated at $1200 per semester, and health insurance costs $1800 for two semesters.
Living and Housing Costs
Graduate student housing is available at University Park (305-348-4190) and the Biscayne Bay Campus (305-919-5587). On-campus housing ranges between $4900 and $6600 per semester, depending on the type of accommodation and meal plan selected. Additional information about on- and off-campus housing can be found through the Office of Housing and Residential Life Web site at http://www.fiu.edu/~housing.
Student Group
The College of Engineering and Computing has 892 graduate students, of whom 515 are full-time, 225 are women, and 431 are international students.
Location
Greater Miami is noted for its cultural diversity. Greater Miami has extensive cultural amenities, such as the New World Symphony, the Florida Grand Opera, and the Miami City Ballet, in addition to a tropical climate. The area has franchises in all major sports, and the University has inaugurated intercollegiate football to round out its extensive sports offerings. Miami is a major transportation hub with easy air and sea connections throughout the Americas and Europe.
The University and The College
Florida International University (FIU) is Miami’s first public four-year university. With more than 39,000 students, almost 1,100 full-time faculty members, and 124,000 alumni, FIU is the largest university in South Florida and one of the most dynamic institutions in the United States. The University’s growth in enrollment and stature in the academic community are remarkable. In four decades, FIU has become nationally renowned as a doctoral-granting institution, with more than 200 degree programs. For the past five years, FIU was ranked among the top 100 public universities in U.S. News & World Report‘s “America’s Best Colleges,” and it is also is ranked as a Research University in the High Research Activity category of the Carnegie Foundation’s prestigious classification system. FIU recently graduated its first law class, and opened a medical school, attesting to the University’s growth and recognition.
The College of Engineering and Computing is South Florida’s leading engineering education resource. The College offers a full range of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs in engineering, construction, management, and computer sciences. Research is an integral part of the College’s mission and its success, with more than $90 million in external research funding over the last five years from a variety of governmental and corporate sources.
Applying
In order to be admitted, both master’s and certificate applicants should hold a bachelor’s degree in construction, construction management, architecture, engineering, business, or equivalent related fields. Students should submit the completed application and fee, all official transcripts from an accredited institution showing completion of a baccalaureate degree or higher in a related field, official GRE scores, proof of degree, and letters of reference. In addition, international students must submit an evaluation of international academic credentials by an authorized agency and TOEFL scores. Graduate candidates should submit their completed applications and supporting documents at least ninety days prior to the beginning of the academic session intended for enrollment.
The Faculty and Their Research
- Irtishad U. Ahmad, Associate Professor and Chairman; Ph.D., Cincinnati; PE. Information technology and information systems in construction, decision and risk analysis, civil engineering system management, reinforced concrete designs, concrete technology.
- Syed M. Ahmed, Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director; Ph.D., Georgia Tech. Risk management, project controls, quality and construction safety, construction procurement, construction education and information technology.
- Ronald A. Baier, Instructor and Undergraduate Advisor; M.E., Florida; PE. Structural and geotechnical engineering, project management.
- Mehmet Emre Bayraktar, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Purdue. Infrastructure management, cost and schedule control in highway projects, innovative contracting in construction.
- José A. Faria, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Maryland. Mixed integer optimization applied to land development, mathematical decomposition and hybrid techniques to solve mixed integer programming problems. Future areas of research: decision analysis applied to capital allocation, probabilistic optimization models, and analysis of project management networks under uncertainty.
- Eugene D. Farmer, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director; M.Arch., Illinois; RA, AIA. Building codes, construction techniques, legal aspects of construction, construction materials.
- Jose D. Mitrani, Associate Professor; M.E., Florida; PE, CPC, CGC. Forensic engineering and construction, claims analysis, scheduling and planning, cost control, hurricane-resistant design, building codes, and structural engineering; project development; cash flow and economic analyses.
- Yimin Zhu, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Florida; CCE. Product and process modeling, information standardization, IT applications, cost analysis and control, construction productivity and energy efficiency.
Correspondence and Information
Florida International University
College of Engineering and Computing
10555 West Flagler Street, EC2430
Miami, Florida 33174-1630
Telephone:
305-348-1890
Fax:
305-348-6142
Email:
grad_eng@fiu.edu
