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Master of Science

The Master of Science degree is awarded after the completion of 30 credit hours with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Specific requirements may vary depending on whether a student pursues the thesis or non-thesis option.

Students pursuing the M.S. thesis option must complete at least 24 credit hours of coursework beyond the bachelor's degree, with a minimum of 18 credits being 600-level or above. Students must also register for at least six credits of ENCE 799: Master's Thesis Research. 

A student's thesis should make a contribution to the advancement of civil and environmental engineering research. Work performed for the M.S. thesis should be of such quality and extent that it would be suitable for publication as at least a technical note in an archival journal.

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Students pursuing an M.S. without a thesis must complete at least 30 semester hours beyond the bachelor degree, with a. A minimum of 24 credits must being 600-level or above.

In addition to a comprehensive exam, students must complete a scholarly paper under the advisement of a faculty member. This can be done in conjunction with, or independent of, a course. Approved forms of work include a critical literature search, a piece of original research less extensive than a thesis, and a replication of published work for more in-depth understanding.

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Research Areas

CEE master's students specialize in one of the following research areas. Research areas may have specific course requirements, which are described below.

Note: The degree awarded through this program will be an M.S. in Civil Engineering, regardless of research area/specialization.

Students will take courses to address the following core areas:

  1. Resilience Fundamentals
  2. Hazard and Threat Assessment
  3. Risk Assessment and Modeling of Systems
  4. Data Analysis and Modeling
  5. Contexts for Resilience and Sustainability

Detailed descriptions of these areas, as well as course requirements and recommendations, can be found in The Graduate Guide.

M.S students in this program must complete at three out of the five courses listed below:

  1. ENCE 652 - Microbiological Principles of Environmental Engineering
  2. ENCE 650 - Process Dynamics in Environmental System
  3. ENCE 651 - Chemistry of Natural Waters
  4. ENCE 431 - Hydrologic Engineering
  5. ENCE 432 - Groundwater Hydrology

The M.S. students in this program must complete at least three out of the bundle of courses listed below. There is no limit on how many of the three required courses can be taken in each bundle.

Design

  1. ENCE 641 - Advanced Foundation Engineering
  2. ENCE 741 - Earth Retaining Structures
  3. ENCE 710 - Steel Design
  4. ENCE 713 - Concrete Design
  5. ENCE 688W - Timber Design
  6. ENCE 717- Bridge Design

Analysis

  1. ENCE 647 - Seepage and Slope Stability
  2. ENCE 640 - Advanced Soil Mechanics
  3. ENCE 610 - Structural Analysis
  4. ENCE 613 - Structural Dynamics

Simulation

  1. ENCE 611 -Finite Element Methods
  2. ENCE 644 - Nondestructive Testing and Characterization of Materials

M.S. students in this program must complete the following five core courses:

  1. ENCE 627 - Project Risk Management
  2. ENCE 661 - Project Cost Accounting & Finance
  3. ENCE 662 - Fundamentals of Project Management
  4. ENCE 664 - Legal Aspects of Engineering Design & Construction
  5. ENCE 665 - Managing Project Teams: Improving Individual and Team Performance

M.S. students in this program must complete the following five core courses:

  1. ENCE 670 - Highway Traffic Characteristics and Measurements
  2. ENCE 672 - Regional Transportation Planning
  3. ENCE 673 - Urban Transportation Planning
  4. ENCE 677 - OR Models for Transportation Systems Analysis

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