Civil Engineering

Civil engineers play a critical role in human safety and security, from the design and construction of buildings, bridges, and roads to safeguarding water and other natural resources through sustainable design. Civil engineering students and faculty at Johns Hopkins are using their expertise to tackle – and solve – the world’s most pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges.

Why Hopkins?

At Johns Hopkins, civil engineering students—from freshmen year forward—have unparalleled opportunities to contribute to world-class scholarship and have access to new materials, facilities, systems, and modeling tools that simply aren’t available at other universities. One-on-one mentoring from faculty members who are the defining experts in their fields means close personal attention to academic and career goals. The Department of Civil Engineering is a small, supportive, and intellectually stimulating community ensconced within one of the nation’s top research universities—an ideal setting for your undergraduate or graduate studies.

After admission to the M.S.E. program, students must successfully complete one of two requirements in order to obtain the M.S.E. degree: either the 10 courses (course-only) option, or the 8 courses and a final M.S.E. Essay and Defense option.  All courses must be 300-level or above, with a maximum of two (2) courses at the 300-level. With approval from the academic advisor, one of the 10 courses required for the M.S.E. degree may be a course at the 300-level or above from the Center for Leadership Education. Academic advisors, in consultation with the faculty in the Civil Engineering Department, will determine whether the 8 or 10 courses leading to this degree are appropriate and if they have been completed satisfactorily. No more than one course with a grade lower than a B- may be counted toward the course requirement. Typically the M.S.E. degree requires one to two years to complete, if the student is making steady progress. In some cases, the degree may take longer.

The M.S.E. Essay must be approved by the student’s faculty advisor and one reader, who will typically be a full-time Johns Hopkins Civil Engineering faculty member. Any external reader must be approved by the Chair of the Civil Engineering Department.  M.S.E. students are expected to give a presentation to the department regarding their thesis research.  This requirement can be waived in extraordinary circumstances with approval of the Department Chair.

• Letters of Recommendation (3),
• GRE,
• TOEFL/IELTS,
• Statement of Purpose,
• Transcripts

Scholarships

A limited amount of financial assistance is available to Civil Engineering graduate students is available in the form of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and partial or complete tuition fellowships, including fellowships from the Joseph Meyerhoff Scholarship Fund, the Richard D. Hickman Endowment, and the Hoomes Rich Graduate Fellowship.  Fellowships and Assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis and continued support is subject to the student’s performance and future availability of research or teaching assistantship funds.