Construction Management

Construction management programmes teach how a building project is planned, priced, scheduled, staffed and delivered — reading and producing drawings, estimating cost, sequencing trades, managing contracts and safety, and keeping a site on programme and on budget. It sits between the design professions and the trades, and in Florida it is taught as an engineering technology rather than a business subject.

The degrees this program covers

⚠ Florida does not file this where you would expect. There is no Florida public institution awarding under the federal Construction Management code at all; the state teaches it as CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY — 16 public institutions and 521 credentials in the 2023 federal award year, weighted to the bachelor's degree (305) with a master's tier above it (79) and associate and certificate routes below (60 and 73). UF 128, FIU 120, Seminole State 71, UNF 58, Valencia 40. ⚠⚠ The degree is worth more than a credential here, because Florida counts it toward a LICENCE: under s. 489.111(2)(c), a baccalaureate in engineering, architecture or building construction plus ONE year of proven experience qualifies you to sit for contractor certification, where the trade route requires four years including one as a foreman. ⚠⚠⚠ So the degree is, in effect, worth three years of site experience toward becoming a licensed contractor — which is the single strongest financial argument for taking it.

Careers this program leads to

Each one sets out the courses along the way, the licence or certification at the end, and the sources behind it.

Carpenter

⚠⚠⚠ Florida carpenters earn a median $49,870, $10,710 below the national figure, and the gap grows to $29,960 at the 90th percentile. The way up in Florida is to become the contractor. ⚠⚠ Florida licenses contractors, not carpenters: the contractor exam needs four years of experience including one as foreman, and college credit can replace up to three of them. Florida trains only about 150 carpenters a year in programmes; most learn on the job or through apprenticeship.

Construction Manager

Construction managers plan, price, schedule and deliver building projects — coordinating trades, controlling cost, enforcing code and safety, and answering for the programme. ⚠ A median of $114,990 with 9% growth, on a route with no licence gate at entry — compare architecture at $99,280 after an accredited degree, 3,740 supervised hours and a six-division exam. ⚠⚠⚠ And the finding that matters most in Florida: a construction degree is worth THREE YEARS of site experience toward a contractor licence under s. 489.111. This page covers three related roles, and two routes that look alike and end in different places.

Real Estate Agent, Broker and Analyst

⚠⚠⚠ The licence to sell property in Florida is 63 classroom hours — about a week and a half — and employers report 52% accepting a high school diploma and 22% less than that. ⚠⚠ Meanwhile Florida's universities award 408 real estate credentials a year, 138 of them MASTER'S. Those two facts describe different jobs that share a word, and choosing between them is what this page is for.

Careers that name this program, but not as a route

Architect and Landscape Architect

⚠⚠ The honest alternative for someone who wants to make buildings happen rather than author them: 30 Florida institutions against architecture's 6, no accredited-degree statute, and a $114,990 median.

Interior Designer

⚠ Named because the seal boundary in s. 481.2131 is a coordination problem on every real fit-out, and because construction management is offered at 30 Florida institutions against interior design's 9.

Plumber, Pipefitter and Sprinkler Fitter

⚠ For a plumber heading toward running jobs or a contracting business.

Programs similar to this one

Neighbouring fields that share much of the same coursework, and often the same employers. ⚠ Read these before you commit to a major — which doors a neighbouring degree keeps open is the part no catalog tells you, and it is far cheaper to change now than later.

Civil Engineering 9 Florida schools

⚠ The design side of the same projects, and the comparison worth making before committing. Civil engineering is more mathematical, leads toward the PE licence, and designs what gets built; construction management delivers it. ⚠⚠ A civil engineering degree also satisfies Florida's contractor-licence education route under s. 489.111, so it keeps both doors open — at the cost of a harder degree.

Civil Engineering Technology 8 Florida schools

⚠ The closest sibling and often the same department. Civil engineering technology leans toward materials, testing and infrastructure; construction management leans toward cost, schedule and contracts. ⚠⚠ If you are unsure which, look at whether the programme's capstone is a design problem or a bid and schedule — that is the real difference.

Business Administration and Management 45 Florida schools

⚠ A genuine alternative route, because the federal handbook names business as an acceptable degree field for construction managers. ⚠⚠ But it does NOT satisfy Florida's contractor-licence education pathway, which names engineering, architecture and building construction specifically — so a business degree leaves you on the four-year experience route to a licence.

Carpentry and Building Construction Technology 25 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The college route that shortens the way to a contractor's licence. Florida lets college credit replace up to three of the four experience years for the certified contractor exam, and a building construction bachelor's leaves one year (s. 489.111). The step a carpenter takes to work for themselves.

Architecture and Landscape Architecture 15 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The closest neighbour and the honest alternative. Construction management is 30 Florida institutions against architecture's 6, needs no accredited-degree statute, and construction managers earn a $114,990 median — well ABOVE architects. ⚠ A student who wants to make buildings happen rather than to author them should look hard at this before committing to a five-to-eight-year licence route.

Interior Design 11 Florida schools

⚠⚠ Named because a registered interior designer's seal STOPS at a line the construction team has to cross: s. 481.2131 excludes structural, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, electrical and vertical-transport systems, and every life-safety element. ⚠ Knowing who signs for what is most of coordinating a fit-out, and construction management is 30 Florida institutions against interior design's 9.

Real Estate 8 Florida schools

⚠⚠ Where real estate development actually happens. The developer side of this industry needs to understand what a building costs and how long it takes, and construction management is where that is taught. ⚠ A genuine and underadvertised pairing for anyone interested in development rather than transactions.

Plumbing and Pipefitting Technology 22 Florida schools

⚠ Where a plumber who wants to run jobs rather than work them goes. Florida's contractor exam can also be reached with college credit plus a year as a foreman (s. 489.111).

Florida public institutions offering this program

30 institutions awarded a credential in this field in 2023, at these levels: Associate, Bachelor's, Certificate (1-2 years), Certificate (12 weeks-1 year), Certificate (2-4 years), Master's, Postbaccalaureate certificate. A school appears here if it awards anything in the field, however limited its offering — a technical college teaching only practical nursing has a nursing program. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.

Broward College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Chipola College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Daytona State College

Associate · Certificate (1-2 years)

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

Bachelor's

Florida Gulf Coast University

Bachelor's

Florida International University

Bachelor's · Master's · Postbaccalaureate certificate

Florida State College at Jacksonville

Associate

Immokalee Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Indian River State College

Associate

Lively Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Manatee Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Miami Dade College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Northwest Florida State College

Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Okaloosa Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Orange Technical College-West Campus

Certificate (1-2 years)

Osceola Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Palm Beach State College

Associate · Certificate (1-2 years) · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Pasco-Hernando State College

Certificate (2-4 years)

Pinellas Technical College-St. Petersburg

Certificate (1-2 years)

Ridge Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Santa Fe College

Associate

Seminole State College of Florida

Associate · Bachelor's · Certificate (1-2 years) · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Sheridan Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota

Associate

Suncoast Technical College

Certificate (1-2 years)

Tallahassee Community College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

University of Florida

Bachelor's · Certificate (1-2 years) · Master's · Postbaccalaureate certificate

University of North Florida

Bachelor's · Master's

University of West Florida

Bachelor's

Valencia College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Source: federal IPEDS completions data for 2023, first majors only — the most recent year published. ⚠ It records what was awarded, which is strong evidence of what is offered, but a program launched since 2023 will not appear here. Check the institution’s own catalog before applying.

Updated 21 September 2026. ⚠ Program pages describe a field of study, not one school’s degree — always read the catalog of the institution you are applying to.