Civil Engineering MS and MEng

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► Graduate School Rules apply to these programs

Graduate

Degree Programs

UC Denver offers the master of science degree in civil engineering (MS) with emphases in the following areas: environmental engineering, geotechnical/geo-environmental engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, hydrology and water resources, geographical information systems (GIS), and transportation engineering. The Department of Civil Engineering also offers the master of engineering (MEng) degree with an emphasis in either geographical information systems (GIS) or transportation. For the convenience of working students, all graduate-level courses are scheduled in the evenings or on Saturdays.

Degree Requirements

Two MS degree programs are available. Plan I includes a master’s thesis, while Plan II includes a master’s report. Both plans require a minimum of 30 semester hours.

Plan I requires 24 or more semester hours of graduate-level courses plus at least 6 semester credits for a thesis. Plan II requires 27 or more semester hours of graduate-level courses plus at least 3 semester hours for a report.

The MEng degree requires 27 or more semester hours of graduate-level courses plus at least 3 semester hours for a master’s report. The MEng degree requires at least 15 semester hours of civil engineering courses, which can include the master’s report and up to 15 semester hours of graduate-level courses in other disciplines.

Both the MS and MEng degrees require satisfactory completion of a written comprehensive exam and an oral defense of the master’s thesis or master’s report to a committee of at least three graduate faculty. Every graduate student must also satisfy the degree requirements of the Graduate School on the Downtown Campus, specified in the Information for Graduate Students chapter of this catalog. Both the MS and the MEng degree programs must be completed within seven years of the date the student begins the degree program.

Courses for both the MS and MEng degree programs are selected by mutual agreement of the student and his/her graduate advisor after admission to the degree program. The advisor may also specify undergraduate courses that must be completed before starting graduate course work but will not count toward the semester hour requirements for the degree. The student’s thesis or report topic must also be approved by the graduate advisor.