Resources
Main Office
The Civil Engineering Department’s Main Office, RUCH 338, is one of your primary resource centers. The administrative staff, and the department chair are all located in this office, and here to help you with your academic and research efforts.
Chi Epsilon Honor Society
The Chi Epsilon is an active organization and a great way to meet your fellow students and get involved in department activities. The society provides opportunities for professional development, social engagements, and volunteer experience. The society is affiliated with the national civil engineering honor society by the same name.
Program Offered
The Department of Civil Engineering offers Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE) which is a program of study that includes a research component and culminates in a thesis, project, or case study that represents a student’s contributions to knowledge in civil engineering.
The culminating activity is a key part of the MSCE degree program, and this is one of the significant ways a student demonstrates their ability to apply advanced knowledge in a specialized area of civil engineering. Civil engineering is a professional discipline; hence, the culminating activity should focus on the direct or indirect application of engineering principles and practices to real-world problems or contribute to the development of the civil engineering body of knowledge in a way that would help others address practical problems. This objective is interpreted broadly, so a wide range of topics is suitable.
MS with Thesis Option
Master’s theses are significantly more intensive and detailed than master’s projects, a difference reflected in the additional units the student receives and the additional time required to complete the thesis. The thesis documents original research carried out by the student who is characterized by a clearly stated proposition or hypothesis that is investigated using analysis and synthesis of data or other scholarly evidence; the thesis must include a discussion of the relevant literature and demonstrate the ability of the student to independently and successfully address a significant intellectual problem with concepts and methods that are accepted in the major field of study. Simply applying existing principles to a new project without generating any new insights is not sufficient. However, the expectations for advancing the state of knowledge are not as great as for a doctoral dissertation.
MS with Project Option
In general, master’s projects focus on applying broad skill sets in the current state of practice to a standard civil engineering problem. All Master’s projects must demonstrate a mastery of engineering principles and practices beyond that expected for undergraduates and beyond that required to implement standard analysis and/or design techniques, i.e., not the regular practice at the student’s workplace. As part of such projects, a written report demonstrating an advanced understanding of the principles used in their project will be generated. Master’s projects are not required to be of sufficient rigor to be publishable in refereed journals. However, outstanding projects may very well be published or presented in the appropriate venues.
MS with Portfolio Option
This option is for students who wish to build a portfolio showcasing the depth and breadth of a student’s educational growth since entering the graduate program. These portfolios will include published case studies/histories reworked/reanalyzed by students. Students will replicate the analyses or perform the designs associated with the case studies/histories. There must be sufficient technical content and rigor to fulfill a 3-credit requirement. Incorporating advanced analyses and design methodologies will demonstrate the student’s mastery of engineering principles and practices beyond the undergraduate level.
Focus Areas
MS program has different focus areas to choose from. The available focus areas are:
Geotechnical/Geoenvironmental Engineering
Field of study uses the principles of soil and rock mechanics to investigate the subsurface environment to characterize its physical and mechanical properties and analyze, design, and construct earthworks and substructures.
Environmental Engineering
Field of study in which chemistry, biology, and fluid mechanics principles are used together in assessing natural ecosystems and designing processes that maintain environmental quality. Specific areas of interest include air pollution control, industrial hygiene, radiation protection, hazardous waste management, toxic materials control, water supply, wastewater management, stormwater management, solid waste disposal, public health, sustainability, and land management.
Water Resources
It includes engineering for water supply and excess water management. This focus area covers the analysis and design of systems that control the quantity, timing, and distribution of water to meet the needs of our community. The topics that are covered in this focus area are the application of principles of pipe flow, open channel flow, water pumps, groundwater hydraulics, hydraulic structures, flood frequency analysis, reservoir characteristics and design, open channel flow applications, water project design, model studies, and pump and turbine hydraulics, among others.
Sustainable Infrastructure and Materials
Field of study seeks to provide a platform for future sustainable engineering of civil infrastructure systems, linking the material microstructural tailoring to the full-scale field performance of civil infrastructure. This program covers the development, application, characterization, recycling, remediation, disposal, modeling, and monitoring of engineering materials as part of infrastructure design, development, and management. It emphasizes a fundamental understanding of materials and property relationships, knowledge-guided microstructural development and its impact on long-term performance, durability, and sustainability of civil engineering materials, as well as rehabilitation, assessment, and repair of infrastructure.
Transportation Systems
The field of Transportation Systems deals with the forecasting of travel demand, planning and designing of transportation systems to meet the demand, and designing and monitoring efficient operation and management systems under a variety of conditions, including disruptive events due to natural or man-made causes.
M.S. Program Requirements
A total of 30 credits are required for completing the program. For the thesis option, 24 of the 30 credits are course work while the remaining 6 credits are thesis research credits. For the project and portfolio options, 27 out of the 30 credits are course work and the remaining 3 credits are either project or portfolio based on student choice. Specific requirements for each focus area are listed below.
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| Required Core Courses
These courses depend on the focus area. The course list for each focus area is presented in the table at the end of this handbook. |
9 to 12 |
| Elective Courses (Civil Engineering)
These courses depend on the focus area. The course list for each focus area is presented in the table at the end of this handbook. |
12-15 |
| Elective Courses (Non-Civil Engineering)
These courses depend on the focus area. The course list for each focus area is presented in the table at the end of this handbook. |
0-6 |
| Culminating Activity: Thesis (CE 593 Research)
Culminating Activity: Project (CE 592 Research) Culminating Activity: Portfolio of Case Studies/Histories (CE 591 Research) |
6
3 3 |
| Total | 30 |