
	Description

	Degrees Offered

	Admission

	Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.)

		Structural and Geotechnical Engineering Track

		Transportation Systems Engineering Track

		Water Resources Engineering Track

	Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.)

	Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering

	Contact Info

Description

Graduate work and research in civil engineering reflects the very broad nature of the field, which encompasses the design, construction, and enhancement of the infrastructure of society. The educational program includes course work in structural analysis and design, geotechnical engineering and foundations, transportation planning and operations, traffic engineering and water resources engineering.

Faculty research interests include geotechnical studies of subsurface conditions, soil testing "superpave" mix design, intelligent transportation systems, traffic safety, structural dynamics, nonlinear structural analysis and software development, reinforced concrete, hydraulic modeling, coastal ocean modeling, stormwater management, and watershed management. Students completing the program find positions in consulting firms, construction and construction-related industries, in city, county, state, and federal government agencies, and academic institutions.

Degrees Offered

Structural and Geotechnical Engineering Track
Transportation Systems Engineering Track
Water Resources Engineering Track

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.)

Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering

Admission

For information on general UCF graduate admissions requirements that apply to all prospective students, please visit the Admissions and Registration section of the Graduate Catalog. Applicants must apply online. Please be sure to submit all requested material by the established deadline(s).

In addition to the general admission requirements, applicants to the Master's program must provide:

Official competetive scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
GPA of 3.0 or greater in the last 60 attempted semester hours of undergraduate studies, and
Bachelor of Science degree in an appropriate discipline

Applicants to the Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering must provide:

Master’s degree in Civil Engineering or a closely related discipline and a competitively high score (verbal plus quantitative) on the GRE, or, alternatively,
Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering in a closely related discipline, with an outstanding GPA, and an exceptional score (verbal plus quantitative) on the GRE
Resume
Research interests and goals statement
Three letters of recommendation
For applicants from countries where English is not the official language, or for an applicant whose bachelor’s degree is not from an accredited U.S. institution, an official score of at least 220 (computer-based test; or equivalent score on the paper-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required.

Additional Notes on Admissions

The M.S.C.E. degree is designed for students who have an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering or another closely related engineering degree, and the M.S. degrees in specialized tracks are designed for students with appropriate baccalaureate backgrounds. Applicants who are applying to the programs without a directly related undergraduate degree should closely check the prerequisites. Additional undergraduate courses may be required.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science requires that you fill out a pre-application form (www.graduate.cecs.ucf.edu) before you complete the application for graduate admission. The deadlines for the pre-application form can be found on the Prospective Student Page on the College of Engineering and Computer Science website.

Application Due Dates

All students applying for fellowships must apply by the Fall Priority deadline date.

U.S. Applicants

Program(s) Fall Priority Fall Spring Summer

Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering Jan 15 Jul 15 Dec 1 Apr 15

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.) Jan 15 Jul 15 Dec 1 Apr 15

Structural and Geotechnical Engineering Track Jan 15 Jul 15 Dec 1 Apr 15

Transportation Systems Engineering Track Jan 15 Jul 15 Dec 1 Apr 15

Water Resources Engineering Track Jan 15 Jul 15 Dec 1 Apr 15

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.) Jan 15 Jul 15 Dec 1 Apr 15

International Applicants

Program(s) Fall Priority Fall Spring Summer

Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering Jan 15 Jan 15 Jul 1 Nov 1

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.) Jan 15 Jan 15 Jul 1 Nov 1

Structural and Geotechnical Engineering Track Jan 15 Jan 15 Jul 1 Nov 1

Transportation Systems Engineering Track Jan 15 Jan 15 Jul 1 Nov 1

Water Resources Engineering Track Jan 15 Jan 15 Jul 1 Nov 1

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.) Jan 15 Jan 15 Jul 1 Nov 1

International Transfer Applicants

Program(s) Fall Priority Fall Spring Summer

Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering Jan 15 Mar 1 Sep 1 Dec 15

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.) Jan 15 Mar 1 Sep 1 Dec 15

Structural and Geotechnical Engineering Track Jan 15 Mar 1 Sep 1 Dec 15

Transportation Systems Engineering Track Jan 15 Mar 1 Sep 1 Dec 15

Water Resources Engineering Track Jan 15 Mar 1 Sep 1 Dec 15

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.) Jan 15 Mar 1 Sep 1 Dec 15

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.)

The Master of Science in General Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.) degree is designed for students who have an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering or another closely related engineering degree. As such, math through differential equations and all prerequisite classes for graduate courses are required. The degree requires 30 credit hours of acceptable graduate work and includes a thesis (6 credit hours), or 30 credit hours of acceptable graduate work with a comprehensive final examination (The nonthesis option is recommended only for part-time students). The student must develop an individual program of study with a faculty adviser by the second semester of study. At least one-half of the required credits must be taken at the 6000 level.

Research studies are required in one or more courses. The research study and report will focus on reviewing and analyzing contemporary research in a student’s particular specialization within the profession in order to help students acquire knowledge and skills pertaining to research-based best practices in that specialization area. In addition, students may engage in directed independent studies, directed research or a research report during their studies. Nonthesis students must demonstrate their abilities in an oral and/or written exam.

General College Requirements

M.S.C.E.—Thesis Option

Minimum Hours Required for M.S.C.E.—30 Credit Hours—24 credit hours of courses and 6 hours of thesis

Required Courses—12 Credit Hours

Take one course from each of the following four groups.

Geotechnical Engineering: Any CEG course at the 5000 or 6000 level (CEG 5015, CEG 5700, CEG 6115, CEG 6065, etc.)
Structural Engineering: Any CES course at the 5000 or 6000 level (CES 5325, CES 5606, CES 5706, CES 6715, CES 6840, etc.)
Transportation Engineering: Any TTE course at the 5000 or 6000 level (TTE 5204, TTE 5805, TTE 6270, TTE 6315, etc.)
Water Resources Engineering: Any CWR course at the 5000 or 6000 level (CWR 5205, CWR 5545, CWR 5125, CWR 6102, CWR 6126, CWR 6235, CWR 6236, CWR 6532, CWR 6535, CWR 6539, etc.)

Elective Courses—12 Credit Hours

Take four more courses (12 credit hours) of approved electives (see your adviser for approval) plus complete a thesis (6 credit hours).

M.S.C.E.—Nonthesis Option

Minimum Hours Required for M.S.C.E—30 Credit Hours—30 credit hours of courses

Required Courses—24 Credit Hours

Take two courses from each of the following four groups.

Geotechnical Engineering: Any CEG course at the 5000 or 6000 level (CEG 5015, CEG 5700, CEG 6115, CEG 6065, etc.)
Structural Engineering: Any CES course at the 5000 or 6000 level (CES 5325, CES 5606, CES 5706, CES 6715, CES 6840, etc.)
Transportation Engineering: Any TTE course at the 5000 or 6000 level (TTE 5204, TTE 5805, TTE 6270, TTE 6315, etc.)
Water Resources Engineering: Any CWR course at the 5000 or 6000 level (CWR 5205, CWR 5545, CWR 5125, CWR 6102, CWR 6126, CWR 6235, CWR 6236, CWR 6532, CWR 6535, CWR 6539, etc.)

Elective Courses—6 Credit Hours

Take two more courses (6 credit hours) of approved electives (see your adviser for approval) plus pass a comprehensive final exam.

Master of Science - Civil Engineering (M.S.)

The M.S. degree requires 30 credit hours of acceptable graduate work and includes a thesis (6 credit hours), or 30 credit hours of acceptable graduate work with a comprehensive final examination. Three defined tracks are available for this degree: Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, Transportation Systems Engineering, and Water Resources Engineering. The student must develop an individual program of study with a faculty adviser by the second semester of study. At least one-half of the required credits must be taken at the 6000 level.

General College Requirements

Structural and Geotechnical Engineering Track

The department offers a Master of Science (M.S.) track in Structural and Geotechnical Engineering to students with appropriate science or engineering baccalaureate backgrounds. The degree requires 24 credit hours of acceptable graduate course work and a thesis (6 credit hours), or 30 credit hours of acceptable graduate course work with a comprehensive final examination. The student must develop an individual program of study with a faculty adviser and must have background or articulation course work as described below.

Prerequisites

CEG 4101C Geotechnical Engineering I (3 credit hours)
CES 4101 Structural Analysis II (3 credit hours)
CES 4605 Steel Structures (3 credit hours) OR
CES 4702 Reinforced Concrete Structures (3 credit hours)
EGN 3310 Engineering Analysis—Statics (3 credit hours)
EGN 3321 Engineering Analysis—Dynamics (3 credit hours)
EGN 3331 Mechanics of Materials (3 credit hours)

Required Courses—12 Credit Hours

Take four courses (12 hours), two courses from each of the following two groups.

Geotechnical Engineering

CEG 5015 Geotechnical Engineering II (3 credit hours)
CEG 5700 Geo-Environmental Engineering (3 credit hours)
CEG 6065 Soil Dynamics (3 credit hours)
CEG 6115 Foundation Engineering (3 credit hours)
CEG 6317 Advanced Geotechnical Engineering (3 credit hours)
CES 6170 Boundary Element Methods in Civil Engineering (3 credit hours)
TTE 5835 Pavement Design (3 credit hours)

Structural Engineering

CES 5325 Bridge Engineering (3 credit hours)
CES 5606 Advanced Steel Structures (3 credit hours)
CES 5706 Advanced Reinforced Concrete (3 credit hours)
CES 5821 Masonry and Timber Design (3 credit hours)
CES 6116 Finite Element Structural Analysis (3 credit hours)
CES 6209 Dynamics of Structures (3 credit hours)
CES 6220 Wind and Earthquake Engineering (3 credit hours)
CES 6230 Advanced Structural Mechanics (3 credit hours)
CES 6715 Prestressed Concrete Structures (3 credit hours)
CES 6840 Composite Steel Concrete Structures (3 credit hours)
CES 6910 Research in Structural Engineering (3 credit hours)

Elective Courses (Choose one option)

Thesis Option: Take four more courses (12 credit hours) of approved electives (primarily from the above listing) plus complete a thesis (6 credit hours).

Nonthesis Option: Take six more courses (18 credit hours) of approved electives (primarily from the above listing) plus pass a comprehensive final exam.

Transportation Systems Engineering Track

Prerequisites

STA 3032 Probability and Statistics for Engineers (3 credit hours)
TTE 4004 Transportation Engineering (3 credit hours)

I. Thesis Option:

Course work—24 Credit Hours (8 courses), Thesis—6 Credit Hours

Required Courses—(5 Courses for 15 Credit Hours)

Students make take five of the following courses:

TTE 5204 Traffic Engineering (3 credit hours)
TTE 5205 Highway Capacity and Traffic Flow Analysis (3 credit hours)
TTE 5805 Geometric Design of Transportation Systems (3 credit hours)
TTE 5835 Pavement Design (3 credit hours)
TTE 6256 Traffic Operations (3 credit hours)
TTE 6270 Intelligent Transportation Systems (3 credit hours)
TTE 6315 Traffic Safety Analysis (3 credit hours)
TTE 6526 Planning and Design of Airports (3 credit hours)
CGN 6655 Regional Planning, Design and Development (3 credit hours)
ENV 5071 Environmental Analysis of Transportation Systems (3 credit hours)
STA 5156 Probability and Statistics for Engineers (3 credit hours)

Elective Courses (Choose one option)

Students must take three more course which must be approved by their adviser.

II. Non-Thesis Option:

Course work—30 Credit Hours (10 courses), Comprehensive Exam

Required Courses—(5 Courses for 15 Credit Hours)

Students make take five of the following courses:

TTE 5204 Traffic Engineering (3 credit hours)
TTE 5205 Highway Capacity and Traffic Flow Analysis (3 credit hours)
TTE 5805 Geometric Design of Transportation Systems (3 credit hours)
TTE 5835 Pavement Design (3 credit hours)
TTE 6256 Traffic Operations (3 credit hours)
TTE 6270 Intelligent Transportation Systems (3 credit hours)
TTE 6315 Traffic Safety Analysis (3 credit hours)
TTE 6526 Planning and Design of Airports (3 credit hours)
CGN 6655 Regional Planning, Design and Development (3 credit hours)
ENV 5071 Environmental Analysis of Transportation Systems (3 credit hours)
STA 5156 Probability and Statistics for Engineers (3 credit hours)

Elective Courses (5 Courses for 15 Credit Hours)

Students must take five additional courses. The electives should come preferably from the above list, but may include other courses with advisers consent.

Water Resources Engineering Track

The department offers a Master of Science (M.S.) track in Water Resources Engineering to students with appropriate science or engineering baccalaureate backgrounds. The degree requires 30 credit hours of acceptable graduate course work, which includes a thesis (6 credit hours), or 30 credit hours of acceptable graduate course work with a comprehensive final examination. Each student must have an individual program of study approved by his/her faculty committee and have completed all required articulation course work as described below.

Prerequisites

CEG 4101C Geotechnical Engineering I (3 credit hours)
CWR 4101C Hydrology (3 credit hours)
CWR 4203C Hydraulics (3 credit hours)
EGN 3613 Engineering Economic Analysis (2 credit hours)
STA 3032 Probability and Statistics for Engineers (3 credit hours)

Required Courses (any five CWR courses)—15 Credit Hours

CWR 5205 Hydraulic Engineering (3 credit hours)
CWR 5545 Water Resources Engineering (3 credit hours)
CWR 5125 Groundwater Hydrology (3 credit hours)
CWR 6235 Open Channel Hydraulics (3 credit hours)
CWR 6236 River Engineering and Sediment Transport (3 credit hours)
CWR 6535 Modeling Water Resources Systems (3 credit hours)
CWR 6102 Advanced Hydrology (3 credit hours)
CWR 6126 Groundwater Modeling (3 credit hours)
CWR 6539 Finite Differences/Elements in Surface Water Modeling (3 credit hours)
CWR 6532 Modeling of Subsurface Reactive Chemical Transport (3 credit hours)

Elective Courses (Choose one option)

Thesis Option: Take three more courses (9 credit hours) of approved electives plus complete a thesis (6 credit hours).

Nonthesis Option: Take five more courses (15 credit hours) of approved electives plus pass a comprehensive final exam.

Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree requires a student to have completed a master’s degree in Civil Engineering or a closely related discipline. The Ph.D. program in Civil Engineering is intended to allow a student in-depth study with emphasis on research in a specific area, structural analysis and design, geotechnical engineering and foundations, transportation planning and operations, or water resources engineering.

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 36 to 42 credit hours beyond the master’s degree (or 66 to 72 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree), 18 of which will be dissertation credits, and a minimum of 6 credits of which must be from courses taken outside the student’s program while at UCF. A minimum of 12 credit hours of formal classroom work is required while at UCF. A program of study must be developed with an advisory committee and meet with departmental approval at the beginning of the Ph.D. program, at which time transfer credit will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis.

General College Requirements

Hours that must be taken in formal courses at UCF—12 credit hours

Hours taken at the discretion of the adviser—6 credit hours or 12 credit hours*

Dissertation—18 credit hours

Minimum Hours Required for Ph.D.—36-42 credit hours beyond the master’s degree

* The student must take 12 credit hours if the student completed a M.A. thesis with no additional course work past the minimum. Hours taken at the discretion of the adviser include research hours, special topics, directed studies, as well as additional formal courses.

Examinations

The student must pass three examinations. The first is the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination in one of the departmental disciplines. This examination must be taken within the first year of study beyond the master’s degree. In addition to the Qualifying Examination, the student must pass a Candidacy Examination and a Dissertation Defense Examination. The Candidacy Examination is normally taken near the end of the course work and consists of a written portion and an oral presentation of a research proposal. A copy of the written examination will be kept as part of the student’s official record. The Dissertation Defense Examination is an oral examination taken as defense of the written dissertation.

Financial Support

Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see Financing Grad School, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.

Key points about financial support:

If you are interested in financial assistance, you are strongly encouraged to apply for admission early. A complete application for admission, including all supporting documents, must be received by the priority date listed for your program under "Admissions."
You must be admitted to a graduate program before the university can consider awarding financial assistance to you.
If you want to be considered for loans and other need-based financial assistance, review the UCF Student Financial Assistance website at http://finaid.ucf.edu and complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form, which is available online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. Apply early and allow up to six weeks for the FAFSA form to be processed.
UCF Graduate Studies awards university graduate fellowships, with most decisions based on nominations from the colleges and programs. To be eligible for a fellowship, students must be accepted as a graduate student in a degree program and be enrolled full-time. University graduate fellowships are awarded based on academic merit and therefore are not affected by FAFSA determination of need.
Please note that select fellowships do require students to fill out a fellowship application (either a university fellowship application, an external fellowship application, or a college or school fellowship application). For university fellowship applications, see Financing Grad School.
For information on assistantships (including teaching, research, and general graduate assistantships) or tuition support, contact the graduate program director of your major.