Construction Technology – Masonry Emphasis

Through lectures, demonstrations, shop exercises, and campus work projects, students are prepared for employment in the residential commercial masonry construction industry. Students are trained in the skills needed to be proficient masons in brick, block, and tile. Students are also given the opportunity, based on their personal interests, to learn the elements of other trowel trades, including stonework, concrete, glass block, stucco, and plaster. The goal of the program is to prepare students eventually to become leaders at many levels in the construction field. The study of masonry begins with the basics, such as the use of tools, the spreading of mortar, and safety; progresses to intermediate projects, such as building straight walls, arches, and chimneys; and continues with complex projects, such as fireplaces and decorative work. In addition to providing instruction in masonry skills, students also receive instruction in other areas of importance to a mason such as cost estimation, foremanship, site layout, and general contracting. The program covers the process and procedures required for carrying out construction projects from start to finish. Students in this program also take courses in the technical, business, logistical, and management aspects of the construction industry. In the senior year, students take either the advanced trade track or the construction management track, which leads to Certificates of Undergraduate Study (CUGS) in Construction Management and Project Management from Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. The ability of students to apply theory to hand skills is monitored through shop projects requiring skill levels of increasing difficulty and through serving the college on supervised building maintenance, renovation, and new construction assignments.