MS Facilities Management Curriculum

Program Requirements + Schedule


Courses meet on alternating week-ends on Friday evenings from 5:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. The alternating weekend format provides students the opportunity to conduct research, meet with student teams, and satisfy classroom objectives for the next class meeting. The program begins with a one-day orientation. Each entering class comprises approximately 24 students, who progress through the program as a cohort.

Each program meets for 3 alternating weekends except for the capstone, which meets 4 alternating weekends distributed throughout the entire program. 

 

 

This course explores the nature of the “triple bottom line”—the simultaneous delivery of financial, social, and environmental performance, teaching students to apply new strategic models, tools, and frameworks to incorporate social and environmental dimensions in a competitive manner. Course design will enable current and future business and facilities managers to provide guidance, leadership and support to organizations in the development and successful execution of initiatives in sustainable development. The course will include lectures, case studies, hands-on exercises, role-play simulations and active learning projects to illustrate issues related to sustainable development as well as modules on selected topics in environmental science to ground students in the science of sustainability and the related environmental challenges.

Credits: 3

 

Organizational issues lie at the core of operational effectiveness in facilities management. Management of individuals, teams and organizations requires a keen understanding of the principles of leadership, vision and motivation under sometimes stressful circumstances. This course provides extensive instruction in organizational behavior in the context of the modern business environment.

Credits: 3

 

This course covers in depth the principles of financial accounting and engineering economic analysis and includes such topics as accounting statements; assets and liabilities; corporate financial reporting; inven-tory valuation and cost procedures; investments (stocks, bonds, land, building, and equipment); evaluation of equipment, acquisition, and de-preciation; cash flow analysis; and budgetary control. Economic analysis techniques are used to evaluate alternatives for potential solutions to engineering problems. Measures such as present worth, annual worth, rate of return, and cost benefit are considered. Economic analysis as a decision-making tool will be examined.

Credits: 3

 

 

The course will explore energy for the 21st century by looking at the supply side first including conventional, alternative and renewable energy, distributed generation, the forward capacity market, and demand response programs. Then the course will explore the demand side of energy including energy strategies, the USGBC and the LEED phenomenon, carbon trading, carbon footprints, renewable energy credits and zero net energy buildings.

Credits: 3

 

 

The class will provide a comprehensive overview of the entire operations management (OPM) area, including specific application examples in the form of case studies (from text, instructor, and guest speakers). OPM topics include global operations; project management; forecasting; design of goods & services; managing quality, process, capacity, location, and layout strategies; HR & job design; supply-chain management; MRP & scheduling; and maintenance & reliability. A detailed module on probability and statistics will include applications to TQM, SPC, and inventory management. Real-time and video case studies (and the OPM project below) will directly explore the issues encountered by the facilities manager on topics ranging from product/process/service design to the implementation and control of ongoing operations in service and manufacturing facilities. An in-depth self-selected, OPM project provides the unique opportunity to apply OPM tools and skills to a specific facilities management topic.

Credits: 3

 

 

Project management involves conception, design, planning, implementation and evaluation of everything from cutting-edge capital intensive projects to implementation of new IT systems. The course will cover different methodologies that are commonly employed to effectively manage projects from project identification through project implementation and evaluation. The course also covers optimization techniques, system life cycles, needs analysis and critical paths and comparisons using specific software.

Credits: 3

 

 

The emphasis of the course is on providing facilities managers with the strategic knowledge and tactics to prepare for, manage, and recover from an emergency or disaster. The course will require participants to ultimately create an organization-wide comprehensive integrated emergency management plan for a hypothetical corporation, and through interactive table-top exercises, test their plan’s performance against internal and external threats and emergencies. Students will gain knowledge of the concepts of contingency planning, crisis management, risk assessment and mitigation, organizational continuity and incident command. They will better understand the principles and challenges of disaster planning and coordination from a business and regulatory perspective. These concepts will be of use to the students in develop-ing effective integrated emergency preparedness and recovery plans for their own organizations.

Credits: 3

 

 

The course provides a comprehensive review of law and the judicial process; the legal relationships among society and the business community; an analysis of the concept and legal consequences of contracts; business torts and crimes; consumer protection; and personal property. The course also covers environmental laws and regulations as they apply to industrial organizations. Students explore the relationships between technology, community development, and the long-term sustainability of natural resources. Special topics include ISO 14000 standards, the role of private industry in developing new technology and the responsibilities of both business and government in the economy.

Credits: 3

 

The course will be a detailed introduction to the critical human resource issues faced by facilities managers. It will examine and explore issues concerning organizational and personnel policies and practices in such areas as the human resource environment, employee relations, employment, development and performance systems, reward systems, and work systems. The course is intended to guide current and potential facilities managers in analyzing the HRM impact on both individual performance and organizational effectiveness.

Credits: 3

 

 

This capstone course develops an integrated understanding of generally accepted facilities management principles along with the underlying concepts of engineering systems. Emphasis is placed on current developments within the profession. The course explores current topics in organizational development and change, including the practical and ethical issues arising in the context of national and multinational organizations, and the conduct of international business. Guest speakers augment case study analyses, seminar discussions, and student presentations. The capstone course will be integrated across the overall program of instruction.

Credits: 4