The University of Wyoming Trustees have approved a new academic program in Construction Management. The program will offer a major and a minor, as well as a certificate for non-degree seeking students who want to enhance their construction management skills.
Tony Denzer, the department head for Civil and Architectural Engineering at UW, said the program will serve Wyoming and the surrounding states as the demand for construction managers has grown rapidly in recent years.
"The statistics in the Rocky Mountain region are really impressive; 170 percent growth in the last five years in terms of the jobs," said Denser. "And so that's a simple opportunity for us to serve students in a better way."
Colorado State University in Fort Collins has a construction management program, but there hasn't been a way for students in Wyoming to specialize in the field.
"We just see it as a real opportunity because the jobs in construction management are really booming and students in Wyoming have to go somewhere else if they want to pursue that career."
Denzer said what will set UW's program apart from others is a focus on both vertical and horizontal construction, so buildings as well as roads and infrastructure. The first graduating class is expected in spring of 2022.