Course Overview

 

• Class: LM-26
• Degree programme: Master’s Degree
• Official name: Construction Management and Safety
• Language of instruction: English
• Governing body of the degree programme: Degree Programme Council (Teaching staff and faculty)
• Chair of the Degree Programme Council: Prof. Alessandro Di Graziano (Faculty profile)
• Reference department: Department of Civil-Industrial Engineering and Architecture (DICAR), University of Catania (Official website)
• Location: University Campus, Via Santa Sofia 64 Catania and Villa Zingali Tetto, Via Etnea 742 Catania

The Master's Degree in Construction Management and Safety trains engineers who can lead the entire life cycle of complex works and infrastructure: from planning and design to construction, and on to operation, monitoring and maintenance under safe conditions.

Taught entirely in English, the programme cuts across the traditional boundaries of civil and industrial engineering. It brings together public procurement law, project management, Building Information Modelling (BIM), construction site safety, structural monitoring and the management of transport, hydraulic and maritime infrastructure. Safety and environmental sustainability run through the entire programme.

A traineeship with partner companies and public bodies, together with a thesis that can also be carried out at a university or research centre abroad, completes the programme and brings students into direct contact with the professional world.

Download the programme presentation

Why choose Construction Management and Safety

• An international programme: all classes are taught in English, in an environment open to students from all over the world.
• A profile in real demand: construction companies and public administrations need engineers who can combine technical expertise, regulations, costs and safety.
• Skills you can use from day one: public procurement, BIM, project management, safety and the monitoring of structures and infrastructure.
• A foot in the professional world: a 12-ECTS traineeship (300 hours) with partner companies and public bodies.
• An experience abroad: your thesis can be carried out at a foreign university or research institution.
• Guidance when you need it: faculty tutors are available to provide information, advice and support.

Programme objectives

The programme provides the skills needed to tackle every stage in the delivery of major works and to manage them over time, ensuring their safety and functionality in service. On completion, graduates will be able to:

• plan, design and deliver complex works and infrastructure, coordinating every stage of the construction process;
• manage complex projects using project management and BIM tools;
• apply public procurement law and administrative procedures;
• ensure safety throughout the construction process and organise the construction site and its workforce;
• monitor and maintain existing structures and infrastructure, preventing collapses caused by the propagation of structural damage;
• support decision-making with multi-criteria analysis methods;
• manage transport, hydraulic and maritime infrastructure and plan land use;
• oversee the procurement of materials, services and technologies in both the public and private sectors.

The two-year programme

The first year covers public procurement law and procedures, project management, BIM, construction site safety and organisation, performance control of materials and structural members, and decision analysis.

The second year focuses on the management of transport, hydraulic and maritime infrastructure, damage monitoring, spatial planning and procurement management. Elective courses, the traineeship and the Master's thesis complete the programme.

The programme currently offers a single track; specialised curricula for specific fields of application may be introduced in the future.

What you will be able to do in your first years on the job

• manage public procurement procedures;
• manage safety in the construction process;
• manage projects digitally using BIM;
• apply project management methods and techniques;
• define technical specifications and costs of components and systems;
• control production processes;
• monitor and assess the safety conditions of structures and infrastructure;
• carry out measurements, tests and inspections;
• manage transport infrastructure and hydraulic and maritime works;
• plan infrastructure;
• manage procurement and supply.

Admission requirements

To enrol, applicants must have:

• a degree of at least three years' duration (at least 180 ECTS) in class L-7 (Civil and Environmental Engineering) or L-9 (Industrial Engineering), or another qualification, including one obtained abroad, deemed suitable by the Degree Programme Council;
• English language proficiency at B2 level or above of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Admission is also subject to an assessment of each applicant's academic preparation, described in the next section.

International students. Admission of foreign and international students is governed by the «Procedures for entry of international students to higher education courses in Italy», published at www.studiare-in-italia.it. For non-EU students living abroad, admission is regulated by the University's call «Public selection for the admission of non-EU students living abroad». Applicants with a foreign qualification can rely on the University of Catania's services for international students.

Admission procedure

Applicants' preparation is assessed by a committee of three faculty members through a review of their CV and an individual interview. The interview covers basic topics in the core disciplines of the programme and, at the same time, assesses English proficiency (minimum B2 level).

The interview also allows graduates whose previous studies do not fully match the entry requirements to be admitted. Procedures and deadlines are set out in the University's call for applications.

Career opportunities

Graduates in Construction Management and Safety coordinate the planning, design, construction and management of complex works, infrastructure and public services, and ensure their safety and functionality in service, including through monitoring and maintenance.

Professional roles

• construction site manager
• project manager
• works director (Direttore dei Lavori)
• service and infrastructure manager

Where graduates work

• construction companies;
• monitoring and maintenance service companies;
• technical departments of public administrations dealing with public procurement and major infrastructure.

ISTAT classification of occupations

• Civil, building and environmental engineers (2.2.1.6.1)
• Industrial and management engineers (2.2.1.7.0)
• Graduate researchers and technicians in civil engineering and architecture (2.6.2.3.1)
• Graduate researchers and technicians in industrial and information engineering (2.6.2.3.2).

Final examination

The final examination (12 ECTS) consists of the defence of a Master's thesis, which may be theoretical, experimental, design-based or a literature review, on a topic related to the programme of study.

The thesis is developed under the guidance of one or more supervisors, normally faculty members of the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, and can also be carried out at a foreign university or research institution: in this case, the supervisor may be a faculty member or researcher of the host institution.

To be admitted to the final examination, students must have passed all the exams in their study plan and earned the credits required by the programme. For details, see the Programme Regulations.