- Q. I am currently a contractor, but I’m thinking about going back to school to further my education. Where can I find a list of colleges with architecture, construction science, and construction research programs?
A.David Damery, chief undergraduate advisor for the Building Materials and Wood Technology program at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, responds: There are a variety of construction-related programs available, but the names of the degree programs are not standardized. Programs worth considering include construction management, construction science, construction technology, architecture engineering, and wood technology. The program in which I teach at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is called Building Materials and Wood Technology.
If you are interested in a graduate degree program, visit the website www.gradschools.com, which lists 34 U.S. construction management programs and 32 programs in architecture engineering and construction science.
The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) lists 123 schools in the U.S. and Canada offering professional degree programs in architecture. An additional 100 schools offer one or two year non-professional programs in architecture studies or technology. The ACSA website offers many tips for potential architecture students (www.acsaarch.org/studentinfo).
One of the more popular college search web sites is Peterson’s guide. Their online version (www.petersons.com) has extensive search tools. The guide includes listings for architecture, architectural engineering, architectural technologies, civil engineering technology, construction engineering, construction management, construction technologies, and wood sciences. The website allows you to provide filters to limit your search based on geography, the type of program (two or four year, public or private), and the selectivity of the school (a gauge of admissions criteria and probability of admission).
