Bridging the GAP: career pathways and education in mass timber construction

The National Science Foundation awarded Colorado State University-Pueblo $500,000 on October 1, 2025, under the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) program to develop industry-aligned career pathways and educational resources in mass timber construction.

The project will develop course modules aligned with mass timber industry skills, create a career pathway map, and design educational materials that expose engineering students to mass timber career opportunities and industry-aligned learning experiences. Colorado State University-Pueblo will conduct job market analysis to identify mass timber career opportunities, assess alignment between current academic curricula and industry requirements through surveys and interviews with students, academic units, and industry professionals, and develop, implement, and pilot-test educational resources with undergraduate students. Effectiveness will be measured through student feedback and learning outcome data. Project results will be disseminated through journal publications and conference presentations, with all educational resources made publicly available through open-access platforms to support broader adoption.

The award runs through September 30, 2028, with place of performance in Pueblo, Colorado. This is a Project Grant funded under STEM Education (CFDA 47.076), which supports the development and vitality of the nation's STEM education enterprise.

Abstract

This project serves the national interest in impacting workforce development for students in the school of engineering at colorado state university- pueblo. The proposal is uniquely tailored to support the growing mass timber sector?a timely initiative given the increasing job opportunities in this field. With support from the improving undergraduate stem education: hispanic-serving institutions (HSI) program, this implementation and evaluation project will strengthen the capacity of colorado state university-pueblo to address a critical GAP between current academic curricula and the evolving needs of the mass timber industry. The project will develop course modules aligned with industry-relevant skills, increase student awareness of mass timber career pathways, and expose students to industry-aligned learning experiences. The project aims to bridge the GAP between academia and industry by identifying workforce needs in mass timber construction and developing educational materials that equip students with relevant knowledge and skills. To achieve this, the project has three objectives: (1) identify career opportunities in the mass timber industry through job market analysis; (2) assess the alignment between academic curricula and industry requirements by collecting data from students, academic units, and industry professionals through surveys and interviews; and (3) develop, implement, and evaluate educational resources that will be pilot-tested with undergraduate students. Effectiveness will be assessed through student feedback and learning outcome data. Project results will be disseminated through journal publications and conference presentations, and all educational resources, including a career pathway map, will be made publicly available through open-access platforms to support broader adoption. This project is funded by the HSI program, which aims to enhance undergraduate stem education, broaden participation in stem, and increase capacity to engage in the development and implementation of innovations to improve stem teaching and learning at hsis. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are planned for this award.