Civil Engineering Graduate Degrees

he Master of Science (MS) degree in civil engineering is intended primarily for full-time graduate students.  It requires a thesis or a final project. The MS Design Option provides a path for completion of the MS degree in two semesters.

Students pursuing the MS degree in civil engineering can specialize in any of the following areas of civil engineering:

• Construction engineering and management
• Environmental Engineering
• Geotechnical engineering and Materials 
• Structural engineering
• Transportation engineering
• Water Resources

Students may start their graduate studies in the fall, spring or summer semester (except for students in the MS Design Option, who must start in the fall or spring semester). A bachelor’s degree in a field of engineering is required for admission to the M.S. degree program in civil engineering. 

Candidates for the MS degree in civil engineering have 2 options. Option A requires 30 credit-hours including a thesis of 6 hours and a final oral examination including defense of the thesis. Option B requires 30 hours including a 3- or 4-hour special problem investigation in the specialization and a final examination. It does not require a thesis.

The MS degree in civil engineering requires a minimum of 9 hours of graduate-level courses in one of the following areas:

• Construction engineering and management
• Engineering mechanics
• Environmental and water resources engineering
• Geotechnical engineering and Materials
• Structural engineering
• Transportation engineering

A minimum of 3.0 GPA is required for admission into any of the graduate degree programs listed above.

In addition, a minimum of 6 total hours of graduate-level work is required in any 1 or more of the remaining 6 departmental areas.

Courses to be applied toward the MS degree must be listed on a Plan of Study form approved by the student’s major professor and examining committee and the departmental graduate advisor. All graduate students must have an approved Plan of Study on file by the beginning of their second semester of study. Graduate courses offered by the CEAE department are identified by the prefixes CE, ARCE and CMGT and are numbered 700 and above.  No more than 9 hours of courses from other departments or more than 6 hours of courses numbered below 700 (of which only 3 hours may be within the department) may be applied toward the degree without approval of the department’s graduate advisor. No more than 4 hours of special-problem credit may be applied toward the degree without approval of the department’s graduate advisor.

The MS Design Option provides the opportunity for you to earn a master’s degree in civil engineering, with an emphasis in design, in one academic year. The degree requires 30 credit-hours of graduate work, and the overall degree requirements are identical to those offered under MS Option B.

Students in the MS Design Option take four regular academic courses in the fall and spring semesters, plus CE 895 Design Special Problems for three credit-hours in the fall semester and two credit-hours in the spring semester, combined with a one credit-hour seminar.

Students in the Design Special Problems section of CE 895 operate as a consulting group. The consulting group is tasked with the design of a major civil engineering project – for example, a large bridge or industrial site. The scope of the work is focused on the enrolled students’ areas of specialization, which may include structural, geotechnical, construction, transportation, environmental and water resources engineering.  Practicing engineers help plan the project, provide guidance and review, and critique the students’ work. Students complete design documents and make oral presentations over the course of two semesters. Each student in the MSCE Design Option is advised by a professor in his or her area of technical interest.  Academic advisors are selected based on an individual’s area of technical interest.

The MS Design Option is directed by professors David Darwin (daved@ku.edu) and Bob Lyon (blyon@ku.edu). They will be happy to discuss the program with you and answer any questions.

The Master of Civil Engineering (MCE) degree is a coursework-only master’s degree in civil engineering for both full-time and evening-only students.  Students pursuing the MCE degree can specialize in any of the following areas of civil engineering:

• Construction engineering and management
• Environmental engineering
• Geotechnical engineering and materials
• Structural engineering
• Transportation engineering
• Water resources engineering
• Power systems engineering

As a full-time student, you can earn the MCE degree in two semesters, starting in either fall or spring! 

A bachelor’s degree in a field of engineering is required for admission to the MCE degree program. 

Evening-only students specializing in structural engineering can complete all coursework for the Master of Civil Engineering degree at KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park.

The Master of Civil Engineering degree requires 30 semester hours of graduate courses, with a minimum of 9 hours of graduate-level courses in one of the following areas:

• Construction engineering and management
• Engineering mechanics
• Environmental engineering
• Geotechnical engineering
• Structural engineering
• Transportation engineering
• Water resources engineering

A minimum of 3.0 GPA is required for admission into any of the graduate degree programs listed above.

In addition, a minimum of 6 hours of graduate-level work is required in any of the other above departmental areas.  Graduate courses offered by the CEAE Department are identified by the prefixes ARCE, CE, and CMGT and are numbered 700 and above.  No more than 9 hours of courses from other departments and no more than 6 hours of courses numbered below 700 ( of which only 3 hours may be within the department) may be applied toward the MCE degree without approval of the departmental graduate studies committee. No more than 4 hours of special problem credit may be applied toward the MCE degree without approval of the department's graduate advisor.

Courses to be applied toward the MCE degree must be listed on a Plan of Study form approved by the student's graduate advisor, the student's graduate committee, and departmental graduate advisor. All graduate students must have an approved Plan of Study on file by the beginning of their second semester of study.

Students pursuing the PhD degree in civil engineering can specialize in any of the following areas of civil engineering:

• Construction engineering and management
• Geotechnical engineering
• Structural engineering
• Transportation engineering
• Water resources engineering
• Building mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems

Students may start their graduate studies in the fall, spring or summer semester. A bachelor’s degree in a field of engineering is required for admission to the PhD degree program in civil engineering.

Exceptionally well-qualified baccalaureate degree holders may be accepted directly into the fast-track PhD degree program without prior completion of a master’s degree.  Students in the fast-track PhD program are not required to write a master’s thesis or complete the MS degree en route to the PhD.

A minimum of 3.0 GPA is required for admission into the Civil Engineering doctoral degree program.

Doctoral graduate students must satisfy the university’s requirements that apply to all doctoral degrees.  These requirements are stated in the "Doctoral Degree Requirements" section of the Academic Catalog. The student also must complete additional requirements of the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering.

1.   The student must pass a qualifying exam to the satisfaction of a faculty advisory committee. This committee shall consist of the proposed dissertation advisor and at least two other members of the graduate faculty. At least two of the committee members must be CEAE faculty members holding regular graduate faculty status. A student with a master's degree must take the qualifying exam after completion of 12 credit-hours toward the doctoral degree. Students admitted to the doctoral degree program directly from the bachelor's degree must take the qualifying exam after completion of 30 credit-hours toward the doctoral degree. The final examination for a master's degree granted by the KU CEAE Department may also serve as the qualifying exam for the doctoral degree. In this case, the examining committee would make two separate pass/fail decisions: one for the master's exam and another for the doctoral qualifying exam.

2.   The student must submit a completed Plan of Study form before the end the first semester of study. The Plan of Study must be approved by the advisory committee identified in Item 1 above and must list the following:

(a)  The course work to be completed.  The amount of course work required for the doctoral degree depends on the student’s needs and level of preparation.  The student’s advisory committee will decide how many credit-hours of course work are needed and may require specific courses.  The course-work requirement may not be less than 24 credit-hours beyond the master’s degree, or 48 credit-hours beyond the bachelor’s degree for students without a master’s degree.   

(b) One proposed foreign language or research skill.  Any course work taken to satisfy the foreign language or research skill requirement shall be in addition to the course work required in item 2(a).

(c) The student's dissertation topic or the general area proposed for the dissertation.

3.   A minimum of 18 hours of research credit (CE 991 and CE 999 combined) are required. The student should enroll in CE 991 before passage of the comprehensive exam and CE 999 thereafter. The student’s enrollment in research hours should reflect the demand on the research advisor’s time.

(Approved by CEAE faculty on 3/03/15)