Method for Planning Graduate Programs in Construction Management

Abstract

University programs in Western countries must be accredited, and although several detailed conceptual methods have aimed to design new programs, no specific quantitative tools are currently available. The purpose of this paper is to describe a method to plan, design, or improve graduate degree programs based on selected requirements and market demands. This method involves two metrics, which are later combined into a final index. The first metric is the completeness index that evaluates the extent to which certain programs cover a discipline, in this case, construction management, according to a model using two variables: infrastructure life cycle and organizational breakdown. The second metric is the adequacy index, which measures how a program addresses the previously identified market demands. The final indicator (summary index) relates both indexes in a plot chart. In this study, the applicability of the method is illustrated by a sample of 21 construction management programs from prestigious universities and a survey of the Spanish construction industry. It can be applied in practice, not only in the construction management field, but also in other fields with an appropriate theoretical model that maps each field of knowledge and exploratory data that highlight the demands of each specific market.