Graduate Programs/Handbook

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Download the CSM Graduate Handbook.

The Mission of the Department of Construction Science and Management is to offer a comprehensive program of education, service and research activities consistent with the Mission of Clemson University and Strategic Plan of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, for the purpose of improving the quality of the construction industry and thus the built environment.

To realize the mission, the department has the following major goals as it relates to its graduate master's degree and certificate programs:

1. Excel in the education of graduate Construction Science and Management majors through a vigorous program of academic learning designed to produce motivated, well-educated, responsible citizens with the management and technical skills requisite for advanced leadership positions in the construction industry.
2. Foster Clemson University's service mission by providing outreach activities for the construction industry and public both nationally and internationally.
3. Assist in attaining Clemson University's $100 million funded research goal by conducting and disseminating the results of research and development and/or conduct educational courses for the construction industry.

Many students pursue the MCSM degree and certificate at Clemson for a variety of reasons:

• Self-fulfillment
• Greater expertise in the construction industry
• Preparation to teach at a technical college or university
• Advancement within their company
• Earn an advanced construction degree to compliment a non-construction-related undergraduate degree
• Flexible curriculum
• Thesis or non-thesis option
• Distance-learning option
• Clemson University's reputation
• Strong relationship with the construction industry
• Excellent assistantship opportunities
• Excellent job opportunities and placement

The MCSM Program was started in 1986 when approval was received from the State of South Carolina to offer the state's only graduate program in construction education. All courses in both programs are taught live on the Clemson University campus and via distance learning technology. Clemson's distance-learning master's degree program, which began in 1992, is the only totally distance-learning construction master's degree program in the United States. It is one of four master's degree distance-learning programs that the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in Washington, DC recognizes and promotes to its members as a means to attain a graduate level degree and to teach in the discipline. In addition, the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) in Gainesville, FL has recognized Clemson's graduate programs as a step in their construction industry career path and has promoted it as a component of their Project Management Academy taught at Clemson University and other locations throughout the United States.