Degree Title: Master of Science

Program Name and Number: Civil Engineering - MS7252

Department/Unit: Civil Engineering

Delivery Mode: Athens Campus [MS7252].

Program Mission: The mission of the MSCE Program is to prepare graduates to successfully apply the principles of Civil Engineering.   The MS program is designed to prepare graduates for a higher level of professional ability through coursework and a research project or thesis (supported students are normally required to complete a thesis).  Graduates will be prepared to enter a Ph.D. program in Civil Engineering or enter professional practice in their recognized specialty. 

Program Learning Objectives: Successful graduates of the Master of Science in Civil Engineering have accomplished the following:

• Advanced their knowledge base beyond the undergraduate level, particularly in their chosen specialty;
• Developed leadership skills necessary to assume progressively more responsible roles in their profession;
• Exhibited effective communication skills necessary to interact in a diverse professional environment; and
• Employed modern engineering and computational tools.

Program Overview:  The Civil Engineering Department offers a Master of Science degree program with focus areas of construction engineering and management, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, and water resources engineering.

Concentrations: The Focus Areas in Civil Engineering include Construction and Engineering Management, Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Structural Engineering, Transportation Engineering, and Water Resources Engineering.

Opportunities for Graduates: Because of the broad nature of civil engineering, a wide range of career paths is available to graduates of the program.  For example, some graduates can work for private firms as structural or geotechnical engineers.  Some graduates may be hired by construction contractors as construction management professionals.  Others may find opportunities in government agencies to work as transportation or environmental engineers.  The program’s offering of advanced courses in various specialty areas of civil engineering and strong research track record assure that some graduates will be ready to pursue Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering related programs available throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Link to Program: http://www.ohio.edu/engineering/civil/academics/graduate/masters.cfm

Graduation Requirements:

 

Students may choose either the thesis or the non-thesis option.  Students who are supported by research funds are normally required to follow the thesis option.  Supplementary requirements will depend on preparation in the applicant’s major field of study.  Students must obtain a minimum of 32 credit hours of approved graduate work, as specified under “Course Requirements” below.  The thesis option requires 6 credit hours of Thesis (CE 6950) or Research (CE 6940).  The non-thesis option requires 3 credit hours of Special Investigation (CE 5900).  Other requirements for the degree include: 

• Students admitted with conditional status must obtain a 3.0 GPA after completing 10 semester hours, which should include a minimum of three civil engineering graduate courses.  Conditionally admitted students are not eligible for a graduate assistantship appointment until promoted to unconditional admission status.
• No grades less than a C (2.0) are acceptable in any course work used to satisfy any graduate requirement. 
• Before assignment of a major advisor, the student must state his/her area of interest.
• The student’s major advisor should be identified prior to the end of the first semester of enrollment.  Until a major advisor is identified, the Department Graduate Committee Chair will assist the student in course selection.  A change of major advisor may be made only by a formal agreement by the faculty involved and the Department Graduate Committee Chair.
• By the end of the first semester, the student should form an M.S. Committee with the assistance of his/her major advisor, which is then approved by the Department Graduate Committee Chair.  The student’s M.S. committee supervises the student’s studies and research and monitors progress to graduation.  The make-up of the committee will be determined according to College requirements, which stipulate that the committee will include at least four members, including the major advisor and a College Representative.  A change in the committee may be made only by formal agreement of the faculty involved in the current and proposed M.S. Committee and the Department Graduate Committee Chair.  The College’s ‘Committee Approval Form’ should be submitted after forming the M.S. Committee. 
• By the end of the first semester, the student must submit a completed Program of Study form to his or her M.S. Committee for approval.  This Program of Study should be developed in collaboration with the student’s major advisor.  The Department Graduate Committee Chair must also approve the Program of Study.  Changes in the Program of Study may be allowed, but only with the approval of the major advisor and the Department Graduate Committee Chair.
• At least 14 days before the date of the oral examination of the thesis or special investigation, the College’s Oral Examination Arrangement Form must be submitted.  In the thesis option, the oral examination is a defense of the thesis, while in the non-thesis option the oral examination covers the special investigation and the course work. 
• The student must first provide, at least 14 days before the scheduled oral examination, each member of the M.S. committee a copy of the thesis or special investigation. 
• The final oral examination on the thesis or special investigation must be taken and passed before a recommendation for the degree is made.  Three members of the committee must vote yes to pass the candidate.  A student who fails this examination will be given one more opportunity to pass within one month of the first attempt. 
• Following final approval of thesis or special investigation the signed Oral Thesis Defense or Special Investigation Examination Form’ must be submitted.
• No more than six years can be taken to complete the requirements of the master’s degree program.

Admission Requirements:   A B.S. in engineering or a related area is a basic requirement for entrance to the M.S. program.  An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher is required for unconditional admittance.   Students who are not native speakers of English must meet the university’s English proficiency requirement before starting the graduate program in Civil Engineering.  TOEFL score, transcripts from all previously attended universities, a resume, and at least three letters of reference must be submitted by the applicant for review by the Department Graduate Committee.  GRE results are desirable but not required.  A majority vote of the Department Graduate Committee will determine whether the applicant will be admitted unconditionally, admitted conditionally, or denied admission.  Supplementary work to remedy deficiencies of those without civil engineering degrees may be carried out in conjunction with the M.S. program.

Course Requirements:  The courses in the program are listed in groups below in numerical order as follows:  courses required of all students, courses required by each focus area, graduate courses offered by the Civil Engineering Department in this program.  Additional courses in the focus area and elective courses should be selected in consultation with the student’s major advisor.  A minimum of 32 credit hours is required, including at least 26 credit hours of courses in the thesis option and 29 credit hours of courses in the non-thesis option.  Up to 6 credit hours may be taken outside of civil engineering in addition to ET 6020. 

Courses required of all students:

• ET 6020 Technical Writing (1 hr)
• CE 6915 Civil Engineering Seminar (1 hr)
• CE 6000 Applied Statistics for Civil Engineers (3 hr)
• CE 6940 Research and/or CE 6950 Thesis (total ≥6 hr) (Thesis option) or CE 5900 Special Investigation (3 hr) (Non-thesis option)

Courses required in Construction Engineering and Management focus area (select Track 1 or Track 2): 

• Track 1:  
  • CE 6150 Heavy Construction Management (3 hr)
  • CE 6180 Project Risk Management (3 hr)
• Track 2:
  • CE 6160 Computer Aided Construction Management (3 hr)
  • CE 6170 Construction Productivity (3 hr)

Courses required in Environmental Engineering focus area: 

• CE 6550 Advanced Water Treatment (3 hr)
• CE 6560 Advanced Wastewater Treatment (3 hr)

Courses required in Geotechnical Engineering focus area: 

• CE 5200 Finite Element Methods (3 hr)
• CE 5720 Advanced Soil Mechanics (3 hr)

Courses required in Structural Engineering focus area: 

• CE 5200 Finite Element Methods (3 hr)
• CE 5350 Advanced Steel Design (3 hr)
• CE 5360 Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design (3 hr)
• CE 5380 Prestressed Concrete Design (3 hr) (unless taken as undergraduate)

Courses required in Transportation Engineering focus area: 

• CE 6620 Transportation Design I (3 hr)
• CE 5630 Introduction to Highway Safety (3 hr)
• CE 5680 Traffic Signal Systems (3 hr)

Courses required in Water Resources Engineering focus area: 

• CE 5410 Stochastic Hydrology (3 hr) or CE 7430 Stochastic Modeling (3 hr)
• CE 5430 Open Channel Hydraulics (3 hr)

Complete list of courses:

• CE 5100 Applied Boundary Surveying (2 hr)
• CE 5150 Geodetic Surveying (2 hr)
• CE 5160 Construction Estimates & Equipment (3 hr)
• CE 5170 Construction Planning & Scheduling (3 hr)
• CE 5190 Project Development, Construction, & Law (3 hr)
• CE 5200 Finite Element Methods in Engineering (3 hr)
• CE 5240 Strength of Materials II (3 hr)
• CE 5250 Advanced Strength of Materials (3 hr)
• CE 5260 Theory of Stability (3 hr)
• CE 5270 Experimental Stress Analysis (3 hr)
• CE 5280 Theory of Elasticity (3 hr)
• CE 5310 Experimental Methods in Structural Dynamics (3 hr)
• CE 5350 Advanced Steel Design (3 hr)
• CE 5360 Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design (3 hr)
• CE 5370 Timber Design (3 hr)
• CE 5380 Prestressed Concrete Design (3 hr)
• CE 5400 Water Resources (3 hr)
• CE 5410 Stochastic Hydrology (3 hr)
• CE 5430 Open Channel Hydraulics (3 hr)
• CE 5450 Design of Hydraulic Structures (3 hr)
• CE 5530 Solid/Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (3 hr)
• CE 5540 Sustainable Construction (3 hr)
• CE 5580 Water Quality Engineering (3 hr)
• CE 5630 Introduction to Highway Safety (3 hr)
• CE 5670 Traffic Engineering (3 hr)
• CE 5720 Advanced Soil Mechanics (3 hr)
• CE 5740 Soil Mechanics Laboratory (3 hr)
• CE 5750 Advanced Foundation Engineering (3 hr)
• CE 5760 Soil Stabilization (3 hr)
• CE 5770 Rock Mechanics and Design (3 hr)
• CE 5820 Bituminous Paving Materials and Mixes (3 hr)
• CE 5830 Principles of Pavement Design (3 hr)
• CE 5860 Plates and Shells (3 hr)
• CE 5880 Soil Dynamics (3 hr)
• CE 5900 Special Investigation (3 hr)
• CE 6000 Applied Statistics for Civil Engineers (3 hr)
• CE 6150 Heavy Construction Management (3 hr)
• CE 6160 Computer Aided Construction Management (3 hr)
• CE 6170 Construction Productivity (3 hr)
• CE 6180 Project Risk Management (3 hr)
• CE 6230 Continuum Mechanics I (3 hr)
• CE 6250 Finite Elements in Mechanics (3 hr)
• CE 6310 Structural Reliability (3 hr)
• CE 6320 Structural Dynamics (3 hr)
• CE 6330 Earthquake Engineering (3 hr)
• CE 6340 Bridge Engineering (3 hr)
• CE 6345 Bridge Design (3 hr)
• CE 6500 Chemical Fate and Transport (3 hr)
• CE 6520 Bioremediation (3 hr)
• CE 6530 Environmental Geotechnology I (3 hr)
• CE 6550 Advanced Water Treatment (3 hr)
• CE 6560 Advanced Wastewater Treatment (3 hr)
• CE 6590 Surface Water Quality Modeling (3 hr)
• CE 6610 Environmental Analysis of Transportation Systems (3 hr)
• CE 6620 Transportation System Design I (3 hr)
• CE 6630 Highway Safety and Risk Management (3 hr)
• CE 6640 Urban Transportation Planning (3 hr)
• CE 6650 Traffic Impacts (3 hr)
• CE 6670 Traffic Parameters (3 hr)
• CE 6700 Computational Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (3 hr)
• CE 6840 Constitutive Equations (3 hr)
• CE 6915 Civil Engineering Seminar (1 hr)
• CE 6940 Research (1-6 hr)
• CE 6950 Thesis (1-6 hr)