Master of Science Engineering with a Concentration in Civil Engineering (MS)
Master's Degrees
In this rapidly changing technological world, graduate degrees are highly desirable and most often master’s degrees are required to hold professional civil and environmental engineering positions in the industry, and in federal, state and municipal government agencies. The department’s graduate programs are designed to educate the technological leaders of the future in civil and environmental engineering, and are structured to accommodate both full-time and part-time students. The specialty areas include coastal, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources engineering in civil engineering, and sub-fields in environmental engineering including water quality, water and wastewater treatment, hydrologic processes, water resources, environmental engineering microbiology, air quality, hazardous and solid waste, biofuels, nutrient cycling, and pollution prevention. Distance learning (on-line) master's degree programs in Coastal Engineering and Environmental Engineering are available with/without allowed transfer credits. For additional information, please request a departmental handbook from the graduate program director (CEGPD@odu.edu).
Admission Information
Civil and Environmental master's degree applicants must have a bachelor’s degree, preferably, in civil or environmental engineering with a strong background in mathematics and physical sciences. Each applicant must submit an essay of 500 words or less describing personal and academic goals, professional objectives, preparation for graduate study, and how the chosen program will help the applicant achieve these goals and objectives. Two letters of recommendation must be submitted from former or current professors, or employment supervisors. Regular admission to a master’s program generally requires an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Applicants with a lower undergraduate GPA may be considered for regular or provisional admission on the basis of successful engineering work experience or other credentials demonstrating potential for success in the graduate program. The submission of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required unless the applicant holds an ABET accredited engineering degree from an institution in the USA. TOEFL (or IELTS) is required for all applicants whose native language is not English unless their BS degrees are from USA institutions. Provisional admission may also be possible for applicants with a bachelor’s degree in a field other than the applicant’s intended graduate program. In such cases there will be prerequisite course requirements. Provisional admission may be given to those applicants who do not hold a bachelor’s degree in civil or environmental engineering; however, these students will be required to complete undergraduate course work in addition to the graduate program requirements. Potential prerequisite courses are listed below.
Curriculum Requirements
Potential Prerequisite Courses for M.S. Engineering - Civil Engineering (other than Transportation Engr. Emphasis)
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MATH 211 | Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 212 | Calculus II | 4 |
| MATH 307 | Ordinary Differential Equations | 3 |
| MATH 312 | Calculus III | 4 |
| PHYS 231N | University Physics I | 4 |
| PHYS 232N | University Physics II | 4 |
| CEE 204 | Statics | 3 |
| CEE 205 | Enginering Dynamics | 3 |
| CEE 220 | Mechanics of Deformable Bodies | 3 |
| CEE 305 | Civil and Environmental Computations | 4 |
| CEE 310 | Structures I | 3 |
| CEE 323 | Soil Mechanics | 3 |
| CEE 330 | Hydromechanics | 3 |
| CEE 340 | Hydraulics and Water Resources | 3 |
| CEE 410 | Concrete Design | 3 |
Potential Prerequisites Courses for M.S. Engineering - Civil Engineering (Transportation Engr. Emphasis)
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MATH 211 | Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 212 | Calculus II | 4 |
| MATH 312 | Calculus III | 4 |
| STAT 306 | Introductory Statistics | 3 |
| PHYS 231N | University Physics I | 4 |
| PHYS 232N | University Physics II | 4 |
| CEE 305 | Civil and Environmental Computations | 4 |
Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering Graduate Course Requirements (except Transportation Engineering Emphasis)
The graduate courses applicable towards a master’s degree in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are grouped into various categories listed below. The required number of the credit hours from these categories for the Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Civil Engineering (except for the transportation engineering concentration) and the Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Environmental Engineering are summarized in Table CEE-1 and CEE-2, respectively. Note that the M.S. Thesis option students must pass an oral thesis defense examination and submit a thesis, M.S. Project option students must pass an oral project defense examination, and M.S. Course option students must pass an oral (for civil engineering) or written (for environmental engineering) comprehensive examination at the end of all course work.
Category A – Upper level master degree courses in Civil Engineering
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CEE 710 | Structural Dynamics | 3 |
| CEE 711 | Finite Element Analysis | 3 |
| CEE 712 | Advanced Reinforced Concrete | 3 |
| CEE 713 | Prestressed Concrete | 3 |
| CEE 714 | Advanced Structural Analysis | 3 |
| CEE 715 | Engineering Optimization I * | 3 |
| CEE 717 | Bridge Structures Design | 3 |
| CEE 718 | Flood Resistant Structural Design | 3 |
| CEE 719 | Inelastic Structures | 3 |
| CEE 720 | Structural Stability | 3 |
| CEE 721 | Plates | 3 |
| CEE 722 | Cluster Parallel Computing | 3 |
| CEE 723 | Seismic Design of Steel Structures | 3 |
| CEE 724 | Retrofitting Methods for Bridges and Buildings | 3 |
| CEE 725 | Smart Structures | 3 |
| CEE 730 | Advanced Foundation Engineering | 3 |
| CEE 731 | Advanced Soil Mechanics | 3 |
| CEE 732 | Engineering Behavior of Soils | 3 |
| CEE 733 | Soil Dynamics | 3 |
| CEE 741 | Open Channel Flow * | 3 |
| CEE 747 | Groundwater Flow * | 3 |
| CEE 761 | Water Resources Processes and Analysis Methods * | 3 |
| CEE 770 | Transportation Safety | 3 |
| CEE 771 | Transportation Operations II | 3 |
| CEE 772 | Intelligent Transportation Systems | 3 |
| CEE 773 | Transportation Planning | 3 |
| CEE 774 | Transportation Network Flow Models | 3 |
| CEE 775 | Transportation Network Algorithms | 3 |
| CEE 776 | Simulation in Transportation Networks | 3 |
| CEE 777 | Econometric Modeling in Transportation | 3 |
| CEE 782 | Design of Coastal Structures | 3 |
| CEE 787 | Dredging and Beach Engineering | 3 |
| CEE 788 | Coastal Hydrodynamics and Sediment Processes * | 3 |
| CEE 789 | Computational Environmental Fluid Dynamics | 3 |
Category C – Lower level courses in Civil & Environmental Engineering
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CEE 514 | Masonry Structures Design | 3 |
| CEE 515 | Steel Structures Design | 3 |
| CEE 516 | Wood Structures Design | 3 |
| CEE 530 | Foundation Engineering | 3 |
| CEE 531 | Earth Structures Design with Geosynthetics | 3 |
| CEE 532 | Introduction to Earthquake Engineering | 3 |
| CEE 533 | Geomaterials Stabilization | 3 |
| CEE 540 | Hydraulic Engineering | 3 |
| CEE 546 | Urban Stormwater Hydrology | 3 |
| CEE 547 | Groundwater Hydraulics | 3 |
| CEE 550 | Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection System Design | 3 |
| CEE 552 | Air Quality | 3 |
| CEE 554 | Hazardous Waste Treatment | 3 |
| CEE 555 | Pollution Prevention and Green Engineering | 3 |
| CEE 558 | Sustainable Development | 3 |
| CEE 571 | Transportation Operations I | 3 |
| CEE 574 | Transportation Data Analytics | 3 |
| CEE 575 | Geometric Design of Highways | 3 |
| CEE 582 | Introduction to Coastal Engineering | 3 |
Category D – Other graduate courses
Graduate level courses offered from other departments. These courses must be related to the program of study and must be approved by the student's academic advisor.
MATH or STAT Category
CEE 700 Civil and Environmental Engineering Experimental Design
CEE 701 Applied Mathematics for Civil and Environmental Engineering
or a graduate level MATH or STAT course.
- *
Double listings in A and B categories.
Table CEE-1. Required Course Distributions for M.S. Engineering - Civil Engineering (except for Transportation Engineering Emphasis)
M.S. - Thesis Option
| Category | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| A | 12 |
| A,B,C, or D | 9 |
| MATH/STAT | 3 |
| Thesis | 6 |
| Total | 30* |
M. S. - Project Option
| Category | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| A | 15 |
| A, B, C, or D | 9 |
| MATH/STAT | 3 |
| Project | 3 |
| Total | 30* |
M. S. - Course Option
| Category | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| A | 18 |
| A,B,C, or D | 9 |
| MATH/STAT | 3 |
| Total | 30** |
- *
For Thesis & Project options, no more than 9 credit hours can be at the 500 level.
- **
For Course option, no more than 12 credit hours can be at the 500 level.
M.S. Engineering - Civil Engineering Course Requirements (in Transportation Engineering Emphasis)
The department offers a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Engineering with a concentration in Civil Engineering with emphasis in Transportation Engineering. Table CEE-3 summarizes the requirements for the Transportation Engineering emphasis. Note that the M.S. Thesis option students must pass an oral thesis defense examination and submit thesis, Project option students must pass an oral project defense examination, and Course option students must pass an oral comprehensive examination at the end of all course work.
Table CEE-3. Required Course Distributions for M.S. Engineering - Civil Engineering – Transportation Engineering Emphasis
M.S. - Thesis Option
| Category | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Upper-level Transportation Courses | 12 |
| CEE 700 or a Graduate Statistic Course | 3 |
| Electives from Upper-level Transportation Courses and other approved electives | 9 |
| Thesis | 6 |
| Total | 30* |
M.S. - Project Option
| Category | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Upper-level Transportation Courses | 12 |
| CEE 700 or a Graduate Statistic Course | 3 |
| Electives from Upper-level Transportation Courses and other approved electives | 12 |
| Project | 3 |
| Total | 30* |
M.S. - Course Option
| Category | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Upper-level Transportation Courses | 12 |
| CEE 700 or a Graduate Statistic Course | 3 |
| Electives from Upper-level Transportation Courses and other approved electives | 15 |
| Comprehensive examination | |
| Total | 30** |
- *
Note: For Thesis and Project options, no more than 9 credit hours can be at the 500 level.
- **
For Course Option, no more than 12 credits can be at the 500 level.
Master's Level Courses in Transportation Engineering Emphasis
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Upper-level Transportation Courses | ||
| Transportation Safety | ||
| Transportation Operations II | ||
| Intelligent Transportation Systems | ||
| Transportation Planning | ||
| Transportation Network Flow Models | ||
| Transportation Network Algorithms | ||
| Simulation in Transportation Networks | ||
| Econometric Modeling in Transportation | ||
| Required Statistics Course | ||
| Civil and Environmental Engineering Experimental Design | ||
or Graduate STAT Course | ||
| Other Approved Elective Courses | ||
See Table Below | ||
| Thesis/Project | ||
| Thesis | ||
| Master’s Project | ||
Other Approved Electives in Transportation Engineering Emphasis
(Note: In addition to these electives, other graduate-level courses approved by your advisor may also count towards the elective requirements.)
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CEE 571 | Transportation Operations I | 3 |
| CEE 574 | Transportation Data Analytics | 3 |
| CEE 575 | Geometric Design of Highways | 3 |
| CEE 552 | Air Quality | 3 |
| CEE 558 | Sustainable Development | 3 |
| CEE 715 | Engineering Optimization I | 3 |
| ENMA 600 | Cost Estimating and Financial Analysis | 3 |
| ENMA 603 | Operations Research | 3 |
| ENMA 717 | Cost Engineering | 3 |
| ENMA 724 | Risk Analysis | 3 |
| MSIM 601 | Introduction to Modeling and Simulation | 3 |
| MSIM 751 | Advanced Analysis for Modeling and Simulation | 3 |
| PADM 634 | Regional Planning | 3 |
| PADM 721 | Transportation Policy | 3 |
| PORT 611 | International Maritime Transport | 3 |
| PORT 612 | Port Operations and Management | 3 |
| PORT 614 | Port Planning and Economics | 3 |
| PSYC 870 | Human Factors Psychology | 3 |
| STAT 531 | Theory of Statistics | 3 |
| STAT 532 | Sampling Theory | 3 |
| STAT 535 | Design and Analysis of Experiments | 3 |
| STAT 537 | Applied Regression and Time Series Analysis | 3 |
| STAT 549 | Nonparametric Statistics | 3 |