Civil Engineering - MS (Resident)

Degree Title and Name: Master of Science in Civil Engineering

Program Name and Number: Civil Engineering (Resident Program) – MS7252

Department/Unit: Civil Engineering

Delivery Mode: Athens Campus

Term(s) of Entry: Fall, Spring, Summer

Program Overview: The Civil Engineering Department offers a resident 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. The mission of the M.S. Program is to prepare graduates to successfully apply the principles of Civil Engineering. The M.S. 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. This is a full-time program. Normative time to completion is two academic years.

Program Learning Outcomes:

Advance their knowledge base beyond the undergraduate level, particularly in their chosen specialty
Design and conduct experiments and interpret experimental data in one or more areas of technical specialization
Design systems under various constraints for one or more areas of technical specialization
Develop leadership skills necessary to assume progressively more responsible roles in their profession
Exhibit effective communication skills necessary to interact in a diverse professional environment
Employ modern engineering and computational tools

Opportunities for Graduates: Because of the broad nature of civil engineering, a wide range of career paths is available to graduates of the resident M.S. 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: https://www.ohio.edu/engineering/civil/academics/graduate/masters.cfm

Graduation Requirements: Students in the resident M.S. program 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 complete a minimum of 32 credit hours of approved graduate work. The thesis option requires 6 credit hours of Thesis (CE 6950) and/or Research (CE 6940) and at least 26 credit hours of courses. The non-thesis option requires 3 credit hours of Special Investigation (CE 5900) and at least 29 credit hours of courses. Up to 6 credit hours may be taken outside of civil engineering in addition to ET 6020. Additional courses in the focus area and elective courses should be selected in consultation with the student’s major advisor.

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:

CE5160 - Construction Estimating and Equipment (3 hr)
CE5170 - Construction Planning and Scheduling (3 hr)
CE5190 - Project Development, Contracts and Law (3 hr)
CE6620 - Transportation Design I (3 hr)
CE6340 - Bridge Engineering (3 hr)

Courses required in Environmental Engineering focus area:

CE 6500 - Chemical Fate and Transport in the Environment (3 hr)
CE 6550 - Advanced Water Treatment (3 hr) or 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) or CE 5380 Prestressed Concrete Design (3 hr)

Courses required in Transportation Engineering focus area:

CE 5630 - Introduction to Highway Safety (3 hr)
CE 5640 - Transportation Planning (3 hr)
CE 6620 - Transportation Design I (3 hr)
CE 6670 - Traffic Parameters (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 5110 - Legal Principles in Boundary Location (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, Contracts, & 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 - Deterministic Approaches in Water Resources (3 hr)
CE 5410 - Stochastic Hydrology (3 hr)
CE 5420 - Applied Hydraulics & Hydrology (3 hr)
CE 5430 - Open Channel Hydraulics (3 hr)
CE 5450 - Design of Hydraulic Structures (3 hr)
CE 5510 - In-Situ Remediation (3 hr)
CE 5530 - Solid & Hazardous Waste Management (3 hr)
CE 5540 - Sustainable Construction (3 hr)
CE 5580 - Water Quality Engineering (3 hr)
CE 5630 - Introduction to Highway Safety (3 hr)
CE 5640 - Transportation Planning Fundamentals (3 hr)
CE 5670 - Traffic Engineering (3 hr)
CE 5680 - Traffic Signal Systems (3 hr)
CE 5700 - Geotechnical 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 6000 - Applied Statistics for Civil Engineers
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 in the Environment (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 6680 - Regulations, Control and Signal Design (3 hr)
CE 6700 - Computational Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (3 hr)
CE 6840 - Constitutive Equations (3 hr)
CE 6915 - Civil Engineering Seminar (1 hr)

Other requirements for the degree include:

No grades less than a C (2.0) are acceptable in any course 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 includes an examination of 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 the 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 M.S. degree program.

Culminating Experience: In the resident program, after completion of all coursework, a written thesis or project must be prepared and defended at an oral examination. In the thesis option, the oral examination is a defense of the thesis, while in the non-thesis option the oral examination includes an examination of the special investigation and the course work.

Admission Requirements: A B.S. in engineering or a related area is a basic requirement for entrance to the resident 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. GRE score, TOEFL score, transcripts from all previously attended universities, a resume, a letter of purpose, and at least three letters of reference must be submitted by the applicant for review by the Department Graduate Committee. GRE results are required. A majority vote of the Department Graduate Committee will determine whether the applicant will be admitted 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.

International Students: This program permits full-time enrollment in residence at Ohio University, and an I-20 may be issued based on admission to this program.