The impact of graduate construction management education on professional life

In the paper, the authors discuss the impact of graduate construction management education on professional life in Turkey, and how such education can be improved so as to reveal greater competitive advantages for its graduates. The paper is based on a survey given to graduates from the relevant programme at the Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey, which seeks comments from graduates regarding the competitive advantage of having a MSc degree in construction management, as well as recommendations on how to improve the programme. Questionnaire findings have demonstrated that a construction management degree provides a competitive advantage in the Turkish construction sector where the magnitude of the advantage differs according to various factors such as the type of sub-sector, client organisation, etc. Moreover, the survey revealed that, despite its deficiencies, the programme achieved its primary mission. Recommendations on how to improve the programme are also discussed by the authors within the paper.