Prospective Students

Cal Poly Grads in Demand

Alexis Cañas- Class of 2020

I came to Cal Poly as a transfer student from College of the Desert, but started off as a Civil Engineering major at University California, Irvine. Once I found out about Construction Management, I knew that this was the major for me. I was always fond of Cal Poly because of the "learn by doing" culture since I learn best by applying what I learn. When researching colleges that offer Construction Management as a major, I saw that Cal Poly was one of the top schools for that major. I applied to Cal Poly and Cal Poly only with the hopes I would be accepted. Going here was the best circumstance I could have asked for.

Cal Poly’s “learn by doing” culture has given me enough knowledge to be able to complete a project from start to finish. For my senior project, I designed a tiny home with hopes of it one day becoming a housing scholarship where first-generation, low-income students, like myself, can live for a year or two. With the knowledge I gained during my time at Cal Poly I was able to create a full set of plans and a 3D model for the design of this tiny home using computer programs such as Revit, P6, AutoCAD and others.

Cal Poly instills teamwork and leadership, which are just a few of the skills I have gained from my education here. I was not able to bring my senior project to life due to the pandemic, but I was able to create a team who will hopefully be able to do so in the future. The team consists of a few different majors including Construction Management, Architectural Engineering, Architecture, Electrical Engineering and Materials Engineering. This team was chosen to create the most efficient, sustainable, and structurally sound tiny home possible.

Students are encouraged to gain real-world experience through internships. I have completed two internships: my first being with Snyder Langston and my second being with Gilbane. Thanks to the knowledge I had prior to starting these internships, I was able to play a larger role on the projects I worked on. Being able to have real-world knowledge along with my college education, I feel incredibly prepared to start my career.

After graduation, Alexis will be working for Snyder Langston.

 

Message from the Department Head

Thank you for your interest in the Construction Management Department at Cal Poly. We are a department of more than 530 students and 17 faculty committed to providing the best possible undergraduate construction management education.

Students completing the Construction Management program receive a Bachelor of Science degree and will find a wide variety of career choices:

• Project engineer, field engineer, administrator, estimator or construction manager of utility, heavy, highway and building projects for the private sector and local, state, and federal agencies.
• Licensed contractor, company owner.
• Project engineer for specialty and subcontractors.
• Sales engineer for construction related equipment and products.
• Research and product development.
• Field supervisor and project manager.

Construction Management students are among the most aggressively recruited on campus with nearly 100% finding full-time employment prior to graduation. With a median starting salary of $72,712 per year, CM graduate's compensation ranks 7th overall compared with all other Cal Poly graduates as found in the Cal Poly Graduate Status Report for 2017-2018 Graduates. (Select Salary Data and look for "Construction Management" under Salary by Major 2017-2018)

Please select from the menu to the right to learn more about our history and how you can become a student in our department.

Jeong H. Woo, Ph.D.
CM Department Head
Construction Management Department