Areas of Study Civil Engineering Materials; Environmental and Water Resources Engineering; Geotechnical Engineering; Structural Mechanics; Structural/Earthquake Engineering; Structures and Civil Engineering Materials. Course Requirements There are two plans of study that lead to the M.S. degree, the capstone plan (comprehensive examination) and thesis plans. For both plans, at least nine courses are required, a majority of which must be in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. Capstone Plan: Comprehensive Examination In addition to the course requirements, a comprehensive examination is administered that covers the subject matter contained in the program of study. The comprehensive exam may be offered in one of the following formats: (1) a portion of the doctoral written preliminary examination, (2) examination questions offered separately on final examinations of common department courses to be selected by the committee, or (3) a written and/or oral examination administered by the comprehensive examination committee. The examination is administered by a comprehensive examination committee consisting of at least three faculty members.In case of failure, the examination may be repeated once with the consent of the graduate adviser. Thesis Plan Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research. In addition to the course requirements, under the thesis plan students are required to write a thesis on a research topic in civil and environmental engineering supervised by the thesis advisor. A thesis committee reviews and approves the thesis. No oral examination is required. Time to Degree The normative duration for full-time students in the M.S. program is three quarters. The maximum time allowed for completing the M.S. degree is three years from the time of admission to the M.S. program in the School. Each quarter students must maintain satisfactory academic progress toward their degree. Quarters taken on an approved Leave of Absence do not count toward the three year time limit.

Civil engineers are employed by various organizations, including consulting/design firms, construction firms, local, state or federal government, laboratories or research/development firms, law firms, insurance firms and colleges/universities.