Curriculum

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• Curriculum Requirements
• Program Structure
• Core Courses
• Elective Courses
• Weekend Intensives

Curriculum Requirements 

The EMDC hybrid program requires four quarters of enrollment: students begin in the fall academic quarter and graduate at the conclusion of the fall quarter the following year. There is no mandatory summer-quarter programming.

All courses within the program are assigned a value of 0.25, 0.5 or 1.0 units per course. Courses are designated between core (specific courses required for all students) and elective (courses chosen by the student in collaboration with the program director).

To graduate, students must satisfactorily complete 12.0 units of combined coursework (9.0 units of core courses plus 3.0 units of electives) and must maintain a 3.0 minimum GPA.

 

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Program Structure

Each quarter of study includes:

• 2.0 units of online courses delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning environments

• 1.0 unit of in-person course(s) delivered in a Weekend Intensive

• Individual project work, reports, and reaction and reflection papers

• Collaboration in work-study groups and engagement with accomplished industry leaders

See the Overall Curriculum Structured by quarter

• for the 2025/26 Cohort here

• for the 2026/27 Cohort here  

See a listing of courses for the current academic year (2025/26) here

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Core Courses

All students are required to take the core courses listed below and usually progress through this coursework together as a cohort. These courses are offered either on-line or within the in-person Weekend Intensives.

• Advanced Business Strategy
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Creating a Firm-Ambassador Culture
• Due Diligence Considerations for Engineering Firms
• Ethics in Construction and Engineering
• Finance and Accounting for Executives
• Human Resource Management
• Leadership and Organization
• Managing Innovation
• Strategy for Corporate Sustainability
• Systems Thinking for Sustainable Design

 

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Elective Courses

In addition to the core courses, students are required to take three units of elective courses and choose their electives under the advisement and consultation of program director Shelley Finnigan. Though some students may choose the same courses as others from the cohort, these electives are intended to allow EMDC students to customize their study to their individual experience and future career goals. Students often choose to further augment their studies by taking additional elective courses while enrolled in the program.

Subject to availability, one elective is typically offered by the EMDC program each quarter. A list of electives that have been offered includes the following: 

• Commercial Real Estate Investment and Development
  
• Construction Law and Risk Management
  
• Facilities Management
  
• Lean Construction
  
• Lessons in Land Use
  
• Public Works Administration

Elective courses can also be selected from other Northwestern Engineering programs and Northwestern Schools, including the Kellogg School of Management. Availability for non-EMDC electives is subject to approval and enrollment rules of the program and school to which they belong.

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Weekend Intensives 

Participation in four, in-person Weekend Intensives is required to graduate from the EMDC program. Weekend Intensives are held once per quarter (the fall, winter, spring and the second fall quarters) on the Northwestern Chicago and/or Evanston campuses.

Weekend Intensives serve the students through team building and management exercises, group work, industry site visits, social outings, and more. Students also take part in networking opportunities with the EMDC faculty, IAB members, industry professionals, and each other. Strong life-long connections are easily made during this time together as a cohort.

Weekend Intensives are three days long and typically run on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (depending upon scheduling for classroom and industry events). Students who travel from out of town often arrive on Wednesday and depart on Saturday night or Sunday morning. Every effort is made to schedule Weekend Intensive dates far in advance to aid students in securing their travel plans. 

WEEKEND INTENSIVE DATES (remaining) for the 2025/26 COHORT:

• Weekend Intensive IV: September 9 – 12, 2026

WEEKEND INTENSIVE DATES for the 2026/27 COHORT:

• Weekend Intensive I: September 8 – 13, 2026
  

• Weekend Intensive II: February 10 – 14, 2027
  

• Weekend Intensive III: May 5 – 9, 2027
  

• Weekend Intensive IV: September 7 – 12, 2027