CEE Graduate Admission Requirements

The Master of Science (M.S.) in Civil Engineering provides students with education in advanced civil engineering topics as well as research experience. The CEE department admissions requirements for the M.S. degree program are as follows:

1. Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, environmental engineering, or a closely related engineering or science discipline from an accredited college or university.
2. Good academic standing at the academic institution last attended.
3. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on all coursework attempted as an upper division student (beyond 60 semester credit hours).
4. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) recommended minimum percentile ranks of 25% on the verbal reasoning section and 65% on the quantitative section (for tests taken after 2015, the corresponding scaled scores are 145 verbal and 158 quantitative). However, the decision to admit will be based on a prospective student’s entire application package.
5. Three signed letters of recommendation on official letterheads, from academics or professionals attesting to the M.S. study potential of the applicant.
6. Statement of purpose describing reasons for pursuing the Master of Science degree and career goals.
7. International students whose native language is not English will be required to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and demonstrate proficiency in English prior to admission per university guidelines. The minimum TOEFL score is 80 (internet-based). International English Language Testing System (Academic IELTS) score of 6.5 is also accepted. This requirement may be waived for students who have obtained a prior degree from a U.S. institution.

The CEE department has two tracks for the Ph.D. program. One track is the M.S. – Ph.D. track where the applicants already have an M.S. degree. An alternative is the B.S. – Ph.D. track where exceptionally-qualified applicants who are well prepared may enter the Ph.D. program with only a B.S. degree. Admissions requirements for the Ph.D. program are as follows:

1. M.S. – Ph.D. Track: Master’s degree in civil engineering, environmental engineering, or a closely related engineering or science discipline from an accredited college or university.
2. B.S. – Ph.D. Track: Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, environmental engineering, or a closely related engineering or science discipline from an accredited college or university.
3. Good academic standing at the academic institution last attended.
4. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on all coursework attempted as an upper division student (beyond 60 semester credit hours).
5. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) recommended minimum percentile ranks of 35% on the verbal reasoning section and 70% on the quantitative section (for tests taken after 2015, the corresponding scaled scores are 148 verbal and 159 quantitative). However, the decision to admit will be based on a prospective student’s entire application package.
6. Three signed letters of recommendation on official letterheads, from academics or professionals attesting to the Ph.D. study potential of the applicant.
7. Statement of purpose describing reasons for pursuing the Ph.D. degree and career goals.
8. International students whose native language is not English will be required to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and demonstrate proficiency in English prior to admission per university guidelines. The minimum TOEFL score is 80 (internet-based). International English Language Testing System (Academic IELTS) score of 6.5 is also accepted. This requirement may be waived for students who have obtained a prior degree from a U.S. institution.