The Master of Science (M.S) is viewed by some employers as the entry-level degree in civil and environmental engineering. The M.S. allows integration of advanced study and research within a variety of subdiscipline areas, including agricultural water management, environmental engineering, hydraulic engineering and environmental fluid mechanics, hydrolgic science and engineering, structural engineering and mechanics, water and international development, and water resources planning and management.
The M.S. degree, Plan A, is completed with a thesis requiring 30 graduate course credit hours.
Students interested in graduate work should refer to the Graduate and Professional Bulletin.
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion, students will be able to:
- Use concepts and frameworks to effectively design, analyze, and implement creative solutions to engineering and practical problems using relevant tools and techniques in their chosen focus area within civil and environmental engineering.
- Apply in-depth knowledge and creativity to advance solutions in their chosen focus area within civil and environmental engineering.
- Achieve a level of understanding that will allow them to contribute to the advancement of the civil and environmental engineering profession in their chosen focus area while demonstrating professional behavior and ethics.
- Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills to convey technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Apply technical and research competencies to successfully undertake further advanced study at the doctoral level in civil and environmental engineering or a related area.
Effective Spring 2025
Courses selected for the M.S. Plan A (thesis) option are intended to provide depth of study in a particular area of interest. Selection of courses must be approved by faculty advisor who is supervising the thesis to ensure courses taken complement the thesis. Some areas of focus have 2-4 required courses. Please reference your area of focus for any required courses. Background courses may be required depending on prior degree. Background courses do not count towards your graduate degree requirements.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select at least 12 credit hours in regular graduate-level Civil and Environmental Engineering courses from the following: 1 | 12 | |
| Fluid Mechanics | ||
| Structural Inspection, Management and Repair | ||
| Wind Effects on Structures | ||
| Transportation Engineering | ||
| Bridge Engineering | ||
| Applied Hydraulic System Design | ||
| Coastal Engineering | ||
| Irrigation Systems Design | ||
| Morphodynamic Modeling | ||
| Hydraulic Structures/Systems | ||
| Sprinkler and Trickle Irrigation Systems | ||
| Irrigation Water Management | ||
| Physical Hydrology | ||
| Hydrometry | ||
| Modeling Watershed Hydrology | ||
| Water Engineering International Development | ||
| Pollution, Exposure, and the Environment | ||
| Tools for Food-Energy-Water Systems Analysis | ||
| Assessing the Food, Energy, Water Nexus | ||
| Environmental Organic Chemistry | ||
| Environ Engr at the Water-Energy-Health Nexus | ||
| Groundwater Hydrology | ||
| Wells and Pumps | ||
| Biomolecular Tools for Engineers | ||
| Applied and Environmental Molecular Biology | ||
| Residuals Management | ||
| Aqueous Chemistry | ||
| Water and Wastewater Analysis | ||
| Advanced Biological Wastewater Processing | ||
| Physical Chemical Water Treatment Processes | ||
| Water Quality Modeling | ||
| Instrumental Environmental Analysis | ||
| Water Resources Planning and Management | ||
| Water Resource Systems Analysis | ||
| Statistics for Environmental Monitoring | ||
| Drainage and Wetland Engineering | ||
| Applications in Geotechnical Engineering | ||
| The Material Point Method | ||
| Mining Geotechnics | ||
| Slope Stability, Seepage, and Earth Dams | ||
| Containment Systems for Waste Disposal | ||
| Special Topics in Geotechnical Engineering | ||
| Advanced Mechanics of Materials | ||
| Advanced Steel Behavior and Design | ||
| Fundamentals of Vibrations | ||
| Principles of Structural Load Modeling | ||
| Finite Element Method | ||
| Intermediate Structural Analysis | ||
| Advanced Concrete Design | ||
| Design of Masonry and Wood Structures | ||
| Pipeline Engineering and Hydraulics | ||
| Analysis of Urban Water Systems | ||
| Urban Stormwater Management | ||
| Civil Engineering Project Management | ||
| Sustainable Water and Waste Management | ||
| Engineering Applications of GIS and GPS | ||
| GIS in Civil and Environmental Engineering | ||
| Infrastructure and Utility Management | ||
| Fluid Turbulence and Modeling | ||
| Computational Fluid Dynamics | ||
| Special Topics in Hydraulics | ||
| Open Channel Flow | ||
| River Restoration Design | ||
| Risk Analysis of Water/Environmental Systems | ||
| Quantitative Eco-Hydrology | ||
| Integrated Analysis of Coupled Water Issues | ||
| Computational Methods in Subsurface Systems | ||
| Groundwater Quality and Contaminant Transport | ||
| Computer-Aided Water Management and Control | ||
| Advanced Soil Mechanics | ||
| Oral Communication in Geo-Engineering | ||
| Remediation Systems - Subsurface Contamination | ||
| Advanced Topics in Geoengineering | ||
| Stochastic Methods in Structural Dynamics | ||
| Foundations of Solid Mechanics | ||
| Structural Stability | ||
| Mechanics of Fatigue and Fracture | ||
| Wind Engineering | ||
| Advanced Structural Analysis | ||
| Structural Reliability--Theory, Application | ||
| Special Topics in Fluid Mechanics | ||
| Stochastic Water and Environmental Systems | ||
| River Basin Morphology | ||
| Advanced Topics in Environmental Engineering | ||
| Soil Dynamics | ||
| Theory of Plates and Shells | ||
| Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering | ||
| Select 9 -15 3XX-7XX credits 2 | 9-15 | |
| Select 0-3 credits of independent study from the following: | 0-3 | |
| Independent Study: Fluid Mechanics and Wind Engineering | ||
| Independent Study: Hydraulics | ||
| Independent Study: Hydrologic Science and Engineering | ||
| Independent Study: Mechanics | ||
| Independent Study: Geotechnical Engineering | ||
| Independent Study: Structures | ||
| Independent Study: Environmental Engineering | ||
| Independent Study: Water Resource Planning and Management | ||
| Independent Study: Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering | ||
| Independent Study: Water and International Development | ||
| Independent Study: Construction Engineering and Management | ||
| Select 3-6 credits of thesis from the following: | 3-6 | |
| Thesis: Fluid Mechanics and Wind Engineering | ||
| Thesis: Hydraulics | ||
| Thesis: Hydrologic Science and Engineering | ||
| Thesis: Mechanics | ||
| Thesis: Geotechnical Engineering | ||
| Thesis: Structures | ||
| Thesis: Environmental Engineering | ||
| Thesis: Water Resource Planning and Management | ||
| Thesis: Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering | ||
| Thesis: Water and International Development | ||
| Program Total Credits: | 30 | |
A minimum of 30 credits are required to complete this program.
- 1
Regular graduate-level Civil and Environmental Engineering courses include courses with a CIVE prefix that are numbered 5XX, 6XX, or 7XX and with the last two digits ranging from 00 through 82 (e.g., CIVE 655).
- 2
Common course prefixes include CIVE, AREC, BZ, CBE, CHEM, CON, CS, DSCI, ECOL, ECE, ERHS, ESS, GEO, GRAD, MATH, MECH, MIP, NR, PBHL, SOCR, STAA, STAT, SYSE, WR.
For more information, please visit Requirements for All Graduate Degrees in the Graduate and Professional Bulletin.
Summary of Procedures for the Master's and Doctoral Degrees
NOTE: Each semester the Graduate School publishes a schedule of deadlines. Deadlines are available on the Graduate School website. Students should consult this schedule whenever they approach important steps in their careers.
Forms are available online.
| Step | Due Date |
|---|---|
| 1. Application for admission (online) | Six months before first registration |
| 2. Diagnostic examination when required | Before first registration |
| 3. Appointment of advisor | Before first registration |
| 4. Selection of graduate committee | Before the time of fourth regular semester registration |
| 5. Filing of program of study (GS Form 6) | Before the time of fourth regular semester registration |
| 6. Preliminary examination (Ph.D. and PD) | Two terms prior to final examination |
| 7. Report of preliminary examination (GS Form 16) - (Ph.D. and PD) | Within two working days after results are known |
| 8. Changes in committee (GS Form 9A) | When change is made |
| 9. Application for Graduation (GS Form 25) | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School Website |
| 9a. Reapplication for Graduation (online) | Failure to graduate requires Reapplication for Graduation (online) for the next time term for which you are applying |
| 10. Submit thesis or dissertation to committee | At least two weeks prior to the examination or at the discretion of the graduate committee |
| 11. Final examination | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School Website |
| 12. Report of final examination (GS Form 24) | Within two working days after results are known; refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School website |
| 13. Submit a signed Thesis/Dissertation Submission Form (GS Form 30) to the Graduate School and Submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates (Ph.D. only) prior to submitting the electronic thesis/dissertation | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School website. |
| 14. Submit the thesis/dissertation electronically | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School website |
| 15. Graduation | Ceremony information is available from the Graduate School website |