Department of Construction Management • Cedar Falls, IA • Campus • $10,505/Year (In-State, incl. fees)
University of Northern Iowa offers one construction management program: the B.S. in Construction Management, with a construction management minor for students in other majors.
Program Pathways Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.S. | $42K in-state / $92.1K out-of-state | 4 years (8 semesters) | 120 |
Tuition estimates use UNI’s 2026-27 annual undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees.
- Why choose it: UNI’s B.S. requires 19 construction courses (57 credits), covering law, surveying, heavy construction, structures, scheduling, and company operations, and it charges new students from six neighboring states the Iowa resident rate.
- Trade-off: The program isn’t accredited yet; UNI says it is pursuing ABET accreditation, and it isn’t on ACCE’s bachelor’s list. The curriculum sheet also lists no required internship.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Credentials Offered | B.S. in Construction Management; construction management minor |
| Format | Campus |
| Campus Location | Cedar Falls |
| Credit Hours | 120 (57 in construction courses) |
| Internship | Not listed as required |
| Programmatic Accreditation | None yet; ABET accreditation in progress, per UNI |
| Math and Science | Trigonometry, statistics, General Physics I, and Chemical Technology |
| Transfer Pathway | Published guides for Kirkwood, DMACC, Hawkeye, and College of DuPage |
| Tuition | $9,054 tuition + $1,451 fees per year in-state; same rate for new students from six border states |
B.S. in Construction Management
The estimated tuition for the B.S. in Construction Management at University of Northern Iowa is approximately $42,020 (4 years at $10,505/year). The program can generally be completed in about 4 years (8 semesters).
The Construction Management B.S. combines a 57-credit construction core with math, science, and business coursework.
B.S. Curriculum
- Management and project controls: CONSTR 1025 CM Essentials and Professionalism, CONSTR 2050 Construction Law, CONSTR 2200 Construction Project Administration, CONSTR 3050 Construction Estimating, CONSTR 3150 Construction Project Planning, Scheduling and Control, CONSTR 3300 Pre-Construction Management, CONSTR 4350 Construction Company Operations and Management, and CONSTR 4500 CM Capstone Project (3 each)
- Technical and site: CONSTR 1000 Fundamentals of CM Materials and Methods, CONSTR 1050 Construction Safety, CONSTR 1100 Construction Documents, CONSTR 1600 Computer-Aided Design and Drafting, CONSTR 2000 Land, Route and Construction Surveying, CONSTR 2300 Building Services, CONSTR 2400 Construction Materials, and CONSTR 3000 Heavy Construction Operations and Equipment (3 each)
- Structures and sustainability: CONSTR 2800 CM Engineering Mechanics, CONSTR 4200 Structural Components of Construction, and CONSTR 1015 Introduction to Sustainability (3 each)
- Math and science (13 credits): MATH 1130 Trigonometry (2), STAT 1772 Introduction to Statistical Methods (3), PHYSICS 1511 General Physics I (4), and CHEM 1020 Chemical Technology (4)
- Business (12 credits): ACCT 2120 Principles of Financial Accounting, ECON 1031 Introduction to Business Economics, ENGLISH 3772 Technical Writing for Engineering Technologists, and PHIL 1560 Science, Technology and Ethics
- Electives: 23 university elective credits, which UNI suggests using for a minor such as General Business Concepts, Real Estate, or Entrepreneurship
Eight of the 19 construction courses are management or project controls courses, including a full course on construction law and one on running a construction company. The technical side covers heavy civil work as well as buildings, with surveying, heavy equipment, engineering mechanics, and structural components. Math tops out at trigonometry and statistics.
More curriculum details are available in UNI’s curriculum sheet.
You Should Know
- Physics, statistics, and trigonometry require minimum ALEKS math placement scores (45, 50, and 61).
- Some construction courses are offered only in fall or only in spring, so students who fall behind may wait a semester.
- The curriculum sheet isn’t dated, and UNI’s online catalog couldn’t be reviewed.
B.S. Internship and Field Experience
UNI’s curriculum sheet doesn’t list an internship or co-op requirement. The Construction Management Club runs job site tours and an annual career fair with Iowa and Midwest companies, and UNI reports nearly 100% career placement over the last eight years, with average starting salaries of $65,000 to $75,000.
B.S. Admissions
- Standard UNI undergraduate admission; no separate program application is listed
- Transfer students: UNI accepts a limited number of technical credits from Iowa community colleges and doesn’t accept 100-level two-year college courses toward the major
Tuition
UNI charges Iowa residents $9,054 in tuition and $1,451 in mandatory fees for 2026-27, for $10,505 per year. Nonresidents pay $21,578 in tuition plus the same fees, or $23,029. New undergraduates from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota pay the Iowa resident rate.
| Item | In-State and Border States | Other Nonresidents |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition and fees per year | $10,505 | $23,029 |
| B.S. (4 years) | $42,020 | $92,116 |
See UNI’s cost and aid page.
Be aware that:
- Housing and food add about $10,646 per year in a double room with a full meal plan.
- UNI charges supplemental tuition for some majors, such as nursing and upper-division business; the cost page doesn’t list one for construction management.
- Tuition is set by the Iowa Board of Regents and is subject to change each year.
In-state and border-state students pay about $42K for the degree, or about $84.6K with four years of campus housing. That is well below Dordt University’s $156,200 private B.A. before aid.
Why Choose This Construction Management Program?
Best suited for students in Iowa and neighboring states who want a public construction management bachelor’s with a broad core that includes construction law, heavy civil work, and company operations.
Border-state pricing: Because new students from six neighboring states pay the Iowa rate, the B.S. costs a Minnesota or Illinois student about $42K in tuition and fees instead of about $92K.
Transfer route: UNI publishes construction management transfer guides for several community colleges. Kirkwood Community College’s A.A.S. transfers 58 credits, leaving 62 to finish at UNI, and College of DuPage in Illinois also has a guide.
Accreditation and Credentials
The University of Northern Iowa is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), which supports credit transfer and federal financial aid eligibility.
The construction management program isn’t programmatically accredited yet. UNI says it is in the process of seeking ABET accreditation, and ACCE’s bachelor’s list (Rev. 2024.03.13) includes no Iowa programs.
UNI doesn’t name an embedded industry certification for the major. Iowa doesn’t license general contractors by exam; contractors earning at least $2,000 a year register with the state under the Iowa contractor registration program.