Graduate Study In Public Works Engineering And Management At The University Of Florida

Public Works and Infrastructure is a pervasive part of every aspect of urbanized life, and increasingly impacts the human and nature. The scale of infrastructure systems in the United States continues to increase, along with the number of institutions involved in planning and management of the infrastructure. Understanding the societal needs, the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida has a separate graduate program, for almost a decade, in Public Works Engineering and Management, one of its kind in the State of Florida, to foster leading edge research in the field of Public Works and Infrastructure Management. The curriculum includes a flexible and wide range of subjects that relate to the facilities managed by Public Works agencies. They include streets, parks, public buildings, highways, water and wastewater management systems and virtually any other asset owned by a Governmental agency. Furthermore, this need extends beyond traditional topics to an examination of customer service, ethics, use of technology, environmental responsibilities, and legal requirements. The responsibilities of the public works manager are becoming increasingly diverse. This paper explores the role of Public Works as an integral part of the society in incorporating entrepreneur skills to graduate students. This paper also details the Graduate Public Works Division at the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida and various courses offered under the graduate program.