Master of Science in Civil Engineering
The Master of Science in Civil Engineering program is oriented toward students who wish to develop more knowledge in the planning, programming, design, construction, and operations management of our built and natural environments and the civil infrastructure and systems that make society possible. Students must select one area of specialization: structural engineering or transportation and infrastructure systems engineering.
There are two degree options: coursework-based (no research or thesis required) and thesis-based (coursework coupled with research and thesis required).
Students with a variety of academic backgrounds are eligible to apply for the program, including those with undergraduate degrees in engineering disciplines (e.g., civil, chemical, electrical, industrial/systems, or mechanical engineering) and also non-engineering but related disciplines. All admitted students are expected to have completed undergraduate coursework or equivalent in mathematics through differential equations. Students in the structural engineering specialization are expected to have a foundation in undergraduate structural engineering coursework. Students in the transportation and infrastructure systems engineering specialization are expected to have a foundation in undergraduate civil, urban/infrastructure systems, and transportation engineering coursework. If students have not completed relevant undergraduate coursework, they may be required to take proficiency courses in their first year of study or in the summer before their first year of study. Each applicant will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis during the application review process to determine any proficiency course requirements.
Curriculum
Degree Options
The Master of Science in Civil Engineering program has two degree options:
- Coursework-based: For students who wish to prepare for professional practice in civil engineering, all credit hour requirements are fulfilled by coursework. No research or thesis is required.
- Thesis-based: For students who wish to prepare for professional practice and/or a research-based career in civil engineering, credit hour requirements are fulfilled by a combination of coursework and research and thesis credits (CAE 591) earned for conducting mentored research and completing a master's thesis and oral thesis defense.
For both degree options, up to 12 credit hours of 400-level courses can be applied to the program.
Degree Requirements
Students must select one area of specialization among:
- Structural Engineering
- Transportation and Infrastructure Systems Engineering
Structural Engineering
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | (12) | |
| CAE 503 | Advanced Structural Analysis | 3 |
| CAE 518 | Advanced Reinforced Concrete | 3 |
| CAE 525 | Advanced Steel Structures | 3 |
| CAE 529 | Dynamics of Structures | 3 |
| Major Electives | (9) | |
| Select a minimum of 9 credit hours from the following: 1 | 9 | |
| Bridge and Structural Design | 3 | |
| Introduction to Wind and Earthquake Engineering | 3 | |
| Structural Analysis II | 3 | |
| Bridge Evaluation and Management | 3 | |
| Experimental Analysis of Structures | 3 | |
| Design of Masonry and Timber Structures | 3 | |
| Homeland Security Concerns in Engineering Systems | 3 | |
| Building Envelope Rehabilitation | 3 | |
| Advanced Bridge Engineering | 3 | |
| Mathematical Methods for Structural Engineering | 3 | |
| Structural Forensic Engineering | 3 | |
| Structural Model Analysis | 4 | |
| Statistical Analysis of Engineering Data | 3 | |
| Finite Element Method of Analysis | 3 | |
| Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis | 3 | |
| Homeland Security Concerns in Building Designs | 3 | |
| Prestressed Concrete | 3 | |
| Structural Reliability and Probabilistic Bases of Design | 3 | |
| Seismic Design of Building and Bridge Structures | 3 | |
| Special Problems | 0-4 | |
| General Electives | (3) | |
| Select up to 3 credit hours of general electives 2 | 3 | |
| Additional Electives or Thesis Research Credits | (6) | |
| Select 6 credit hours from the following depending on degree option: | 6 | |
Coursework-based: | ||
Select additional 6 credit hours of major or general electives 2 | 6 | |
Thesis-based: | ||
| Research and Thesis for M.S. Degree | 6 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
- 1
Course substitutions can be made with advisor approval. Up to 12 credit hours of 400-level courses can be applied to the program.
- 2
General electives are 400- or 500-level courses from the major electives list or other courses in CAE, ARCH, EMGT, MATH, MMAE, or other disciplines with advisor approval
Transportation and Infrastructure Systems Engineering
The Transportation and Infrastructure Systems Engineering specialization has an optional concentration in Artificial Intelligence, described below.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | (9) | |
| Select a minimum of 9 credit hours from the following: | 9 | |
| Statistical Analysis of Engineering Data | 3 | |
or MATH 525 | Statistical Models and Methods | |
| Urban Transportation Planning | 3 | |
| Public Transportation Systems | 3 | |
| Transportation Systems Evaluation | 3 | |
| Transportation Asset Management | 3 | |
| Systems Analysis in Civil Engineering | 3 | |
| Intelligent Transportation Systems | 3 | |
| Algorithms in Transportation | 3 | |
| Major Electives | (15) | |
| Select a minimum of 15 credit hours from the required course list above or from the following course list: 1 | 15 | |
| Facility Design of Transportation Systems | 3 | |
| Railroad Engineering and Design | 3 | |
| Introduction to Transportation Engineering and Design | 3 | |
| Probability Concepts in Civil Engineering Design | 3 | |
| Homeland Security Concerns in Engineering Systems | 3 | |
| Introduction to Building Information Modeling | 3 | |
| Advanced Bridge Engineering | 3 | |
| Structural Forensic Engineering | 3 | |
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 3 | |
or CAE 439 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | |
| Demand Models for Urban Transportation | 3 | |
| Traffic Operations and Flow Theory | 3 | |
| Advanced Traffic Engineering | 3 | |
| Transportation Systems Management | 3 | |
| Transportation Economics, Development and Policy | 3 | |
| Construction Methods, Cost Estimating, and Project Budgeting | 3 | |
or CAE 470 | Construction Methods and Cost Estimating | |
| Legal Issues in Civil Engineering | 3 | |
| Construction Management with Building Information Modeling | 3 | |
| Economic Decision Analysis in Civil Engineering | 3 | |
| Stormwater Management | 3 | |
| Special Problems 2 | 0-4 | |
| Global Environmental Change and Sustainability Analysis | 3 | |
or ENVE 422 | Global Environmental Change and Sustainability Analysis | |
| Modeling of Environmental Systems | 3 | |
| Probability and Statistics | 3 | |
| Design and Analysis of Experiments | 3 | |
| Mathematical Modeling | 3 | |
| Stochastic Processes | 3 | |
| Mathematical Statistics | 3 | |
| Regression | 3 | |
| Monte Carlo Methods | 3 | |
| Advanced Design of Experiments | 3 | |
| Data Preparation and Analysis | 3 | |
| Bayesian Computational Statistics | 3 | |
| Concentration in Artificial Intelligence (Optional) | (0) | |
| Replace 9 of the required 15 credit hours of major electives with courses list below: | ||
| Data Mining | 3 | |
| Introduction to Algorithms | 3 | |
| Advanced Data Mining | 3 | |
| Combinatorial Optimization | 3 | |
| Game Theory: Algorithms and Applications | 3 | |
| Deep Learning | 3 | |
| Reinforcement Learning | 3 | |
| Topics in Machine Learning | 3 | |
| Machine Learning | 3 | |
| Artificial Intelligence and Edge Computing | 3 | |
| Machine and Deep Learning | 3 | |
| Object-Oriented Programming and Machine Learning | 3 | |
| Methods and Applications of Deep Learning | 3 | |
| Additional Electives or Thesis Research Credits | (6) | |
| Select 6 credit hours from the following depending on degree option: | 6 | |
Coursework-based: | ||
Select additional 6 credit hours of major electives | 6 | |
Thesis-based: | ||
| Research and Thesis for M.S. Degree | 6 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
- 1
Course substitutions can be made with advisor approval. Up to 12 credit hours of 400-level courses can be applied to the program.
- 2
CAE 597 cannot be applied toward the major elective requirements for the thesis option.
