When looking at the major hotel, freeway, and flood control construction projects going on in Southern Nevada, it's easy to see the people operating the big equipment or working atop the scaffolding.

What's often not easy to see are the construction site managers, those critical but behind-the-scenes people charged with making the entire project work.

With the booming construction market in the Las Vegas Valley -- and throughout much of the Southwest -- those trained construction managers are in big demand, according to UNLV engineering professor John Gambatese.

UNLV has a plan to help meet that demand. Beginning this fall, students will be able to enroll in a master's degree program in construction management.

Gambatese, director of the new program, said it will be a companion program to the master's degree in engineering with an emphasis in construction, which is already available at UNLV.

"Where the original engineering construction degree is meant for students whose undergraduate degree is in engineering, this new master's program in construction management will be beneficial for students whose undergraduate major was construction management, architecture, or engineering," Gambatese said.

"The graduates of both programs will be well equipped to go into the job market seeking management positions for major construction projects."

The new three-semester, 32-credit construction management master's program will offer students the option of writing a thesis or doing a case study on some problem in the construction management field, Gambatese said. Students who already are in the work force might be able to take construction issues from their jobs and use them as a case studies, he said.

"Students who complete our program should find themselves in an excellent position when they enter the job market," Gambatese said. "About once a week I receive a phone call from one employer or another looking for qualified job applicants. These calls come not just from Southern Nevada, but from across the nation.

"We also get many calls from companies seeking students for internship positions -- so many, in fact, that unfortunately we often are not able to accommodate their requests," he said.

For additional information on the new master's program in construction management, call UNLV's department of civil and environmental engineering at (702) 895-3701 or check the department's website at http://www.unlv.edu/ceec.