Auburn Bulletin 2023-2024

Building Construction — PhD

The PhD in Building Construction is a research-based degree focused on the generation of new knowledge through innovative exploration of theory, development of creative perspectives, and applications of new technologies. It emphasizes original interdisciplinary scholarship in key and emerging areas such as high performance buildings, n-D modeling and simulation of building construction processes, sustainability, integrated project delivery, and facilities maintenance and management.

The PhD in Building Construction requires 62 semester hours of graduate course work beyond the bachelor’s degree. Up to 21 credit hours from a Master's degree or previous graduate course work are transferable on the approval of the School's PhD committee. It also requires a Comprehensive Written and Oral Examination before dissertation research commencement, a Comprehensive Research Proposal Examination defined as the Proposal Defense, and a Final Oral Examination defined as the Dissertation Defense.

For a PhD in Building Construction, the specific semester hours’ requirements are as follows:


Number of credit hours transferable from a Master’s degree (6000 or higher level courses): Max.21 (Please refer to degree requirements in the program booklet for details)


Number of credit hours for Building Science (BSCI) graduate courses (6000 level or above): Min. 9

  • BSCI 8060: Advanced Research Methods in Building Science-1 (3)
  • BSCI 8070: Advanced Research Methods in Building Science-2 (3)
  • Other BSCI 6000 or higher level courses from the Course List

Number of credit hours for BSCI or other graduate courses (6000 level or above) directly related to the candidate’s area of research: Min. 18

CodeTitleHours
List of BSCI Graduate Courses
BSCI 6450Building Great Structures3
BSCI 6460Planning and Decision Making in Construction3
BSCI 6470Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Construction3
BSCI 6830Global Construction Management3
BSCI 6840Multi-Cultural Issues in Construction Labor3
BSCI 6960Special Problems in Construction3
BSCI 7010Construction Labor and Productivity3
BSCI 7020Integrated Building Processes I3
BSCI 7030Construction Information Management3
BSCI 7040Integrated Building Processes II3
BSCI 7050Executive Issues in Construction3
BSCI 7100Graduate Elective in Project Management: Project Management and Scheduling3
BSCI 7200Electives in Construction Labor3
BSCI 7300Electives in Information Technology and Innovation3
BSCI 7900Directed Reading in Const3

Dissertation Seminar Credit Hours: Min. 4

  • BSCI 8950: Dissertation Seminar (1)

Dissertation Credit Hours: Min. 10

  • BSCI 8990: Dissertation (1-10)

Total Credit Hours above Bachelor’s degree: Min. 62