Purdue launching reimagined construction management program in Indy
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Purdue University is looking to fill what it says is a growing gap in leadership and management expertise in the construction industry in Indianapolis.
The university this fall will launch a reimagined construction management technology program in the Circle City, which Marcus Rogers, interim department head in the School of Construction Management Technology, was born out of the split of IUPUI.
“What we wanted to look at is, what could we do that would be kind of equivalent to what we have up here [in West Lafayette] but would also be unique to some of the challenges that the industry partners were having as far as getting skilled workers, things like that, and also played to the strengths of the very strong program that they already had down in Indy?” Rogers said.
The new program, being offered out of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, is designed to give students at Purdue in Indianapolis the skills to be leaders in the construction industry. It will also ultimately include a registered apprenticeship program.
The curriculum will include courses focusing on managing construction projects from conceptual budgets, to day-to-day operations to project turnover and completion, Purdue says. Students will get the chance to work with industry partners in Indianapolis as well.
Rogers said school officials were keen to not make the Indianapolis program a complete duplicate of the program in West Lafayette.
“We wanted to say, ‘Okay, we have an urban campus. That’s a unique opportunity. How can we take advantage of that?'” he said. “So in consultation with the faculty [in Indy], our industry partners, it was like, ‘Okay, what fits?’ And there’s always been this understanding that hands-on experiences is something that is really necessary, and our program is world renowned because we blend that theoretical with the hands-on.”
While there are plenty of registered apprenticeship programs for skilled trades, Rogers said there isn’t one for the management part of construction, which is where Purdue aims to innovate.
The university is working with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development to become the first registered apprenticeship in construction management. Students—both those in Indianapolis and those coming from West Lafayette—will have the chance to “earn and learn” by working with Indiana-based companies.
The apprenticeship will be open to students in the construction management technology program starting in their junior year.
However, Rogers said the apprenticeship component will be especially helpful to individuals already in the construction industry who are looking to make the jump to management.
“If they’re already employed, it’s not as simple as, ‘Okay, I’m going to take four years off of work and go into debt and do that,'” he said. “So how do we allow them to skill up? This is a perfect program for that, so they can still be working and do this.”
While the construction management technology program is relaunching this fall, the apprenticeship component is expected to begin in 2026.
Rogers said the reaction from industry partners to the new program and apprenticeship effort has been universal: “What took you so long?”
“Obviously, they would like to have this stood up tomorrow,” he said. “They’re more than willing, and now this is a partnership. Although Purdue will administer the apprenticeship, this is still done in partnership with our industry partners.”
The reimagined construction management technology program will first be open to students in the current program transitioning into the new one. The first full freshman class will start in the 2026-27 academic year.
Looking long-term, Rogers said the university aims to expand the program to more students around the country.
“Obviously, we want to focus on Indiana initially, but once we have that Department of Labor [approval], there’s nothing to prevent this from being a federal registered apprenticeship program where any company in the United States can come and draw on our students. That’s going to drive the demand up, and that’s going to drive the enrollment up.”