The UGA College of Environment and Design, College of Engineering and Terry College of Business unite to bring new interdisciplinary certificate program to UGA.
The College of Environment and Design is excited to introduce a new undergraduate certificate in construction management, open for Fall 2025 enrollment.
The certificate, designed to be completed in 17 credit hours, will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of construction management with a unique focus on landscape architecture, historic preservation, engineering, business, real estate and law. This interdisciplinary approach will be used to enhance and complement existing University of Georgia degree programs at the CED, College of Engineering and Terry College of Business.
“We are confident that the Construction Management Certificate will provide a robust, hands-on experience not only for our own BLA students, but for many other students on campus interested in construction management careers,” said Sonia Hirt, dean of the CED. “We’re proud to serve the UGA community with this program.”
An interdisciplinary approach united by alumni
Open to all majors, students in the Construction Management Certificate program can choose to take a mix of landscape architecture, engineering, real estate and management courses. Two new required classes were created for the certificate: Introduction to Construction Project Management and Construction Law and Risk Management.
CED alum Melanie Ford, the senior director of construction at the UGA Office of University Architects for Facilities Planning, will teach LAND 4500: Introduction to Construction Project Management. Ford is a graduate of the Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Historic Preservation programs and is the president of Athens Area Women in Construction.
Christopher Sirmans, another CED alum whose experience is in engineering, construction, manufacturing and design, will teach LAND 4510: Construction Law and Risk Management. Sirmans is a graduate of the Master of Urban Planning and Design program.
“The two classes filled a gap in our curriculum to create the construction management [certificate], but construction management fills a gap in our college by teaching how to implement site design projects,” said Alfie Vick, professor and director of CED’s Environmental Ethics Certificate Program. “Now we will have students that have that skill.”
The certificate was developed under the guidance of past and present CED faculty.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude to our Dean Emeritus Jack Crowley, who has long had a passion for developing this certificate and actively participated in drafting the proposal alongside Dr. Danny Sniff, former chief architect of UGA, and Professor Alfie Vick,” said Hirt. “As well as to our returning alumni instructors who will teach in the certificate program.”
Growing interest and rapid need
The certificate is the first of its kind at UGA, and across campus, the demand is high.
In a survey of recent undergraduate landscape architecture students, 60.6% of students expressed an interest in construction management. Similarly, in a survey of College of Engineering students, 68.75% of students expressed interest in a construction management program.
“We have had students go on and do construction management, but they learned it on the job,” said Vick. “That’s happening with civil engineering as well. A lot of their students are getting hired to go work at construction management firms, but they’re not really getting much direct training in construction management. They are learning engineering skills and then they learn on the job how to be on a job site.”
In the workforce, the need for construction management jobs is also growing. In 2023, the CED commissioned a study by Hanover Research that found that about 70% of 9,000 published construction management job postings were seeking candidates with a bachelor’s degree. The same study also found that construction management bachelor’s degree programs in Georgia grew conferrals at a rate of 21.9% per year.
“The certificate will greatly diversify our students’ skills and knowledge base and will make them more marketable in today’s competitive job environment,” said senior lecturer and undergraduate program coordinator Donnie Longenecker.
While there are construction management courses offered at other Georgia colleges and universities, the Undergraduate Certificate in Construction Management is one of the only programs to emphasize site development and construction.
“Most construction management programs are very much focused on architecture and buildings,” said Vick. “So we saw our niche and the need to focus more on site construction management– grading, drainage, storm water management, erosion control, and more.”
Applications for the Construction Management Certificate will be open year-round. For more information, visit the Certificate in Construction Management page or contact Donnie Longenecker at [email protected].
