Civil Engineering

The field of Civil Engineering has long been known for its breadth and ability to adapt to the new technological needs of society. The traditional areas of public works, such as highways, bridges, water supply, building design, and wastewater treatment, remain very important. In addition, the modern area of managing the environment has been included in the Civil Engineering domain. Graduates of the programs are prepared for careers with public agencies or private industry and firms involved in planning, design, research and development, or regulation.

The Department has a high bay structures laboratory, which includes an MTS 250 kip testing machine. There are also well-equipped environmental, soils, pavement and hydraulics laboratories. These laboratories include equipment such as an ion chromatograph, atomic absorption spectrometer, environmental chamber, constant rate of stress consolidometer, triaxial units and superpave testing equipment.

The M.C.E. degree provides a student with the opportunity to earn the advanced degree by coursework only. This degrees is recommended for part-time students who find it difficult to do thesis research because of their work commitment or for those who wish to complete degree requirements quickly. Many of the department's graduate courses are offered online or on weekday evenings, which permits working students the opportunity to seek a graduate degree.

The minimum coursework requirement is 30 credit hours for students with an undergraduate e ngineering degree. Students without an engineering bachelor’s degree will be required to complete undergraduate engineering pre-requisite courses as determined by the Department. 

Pre-requisites – 12 hours
All students must complete the following pre-requisites or equivalent courses:

• EGN 3311        (3)              Statics
• EGN 3343        (3)              Thermodynamics I
• EGN 3353        (3)              Basic Fluid Mechanics
• EGN 3615        (3)              Engineering Economics

Most entering students will have taken these courses (or equivalent versions) prior to admission to the M.C.E. program.  Students who have not taken these courses prior to beginning the M.C.E. degree program are encouraged to do so as quickly as possible, as these may be pre-requisites for a number of graduate-level courses in the program.

Total Minimum Hours - 30 hours 
The minimum coursework requirement is 30 credit hours for students with an undergraduate engineering degree.  For students pursuing a Concentration area (as detailed below), the 30 credit hours will include at least 15 credit hours of Concentration Requirements, with remaining credit hours to consist of technical electives as approved by the Department.  For students pursuing no Concentration area, the 30 credit hours will consist wholly of technical electives as approved by the Department, but with a minimum of 18 credit hours taken within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Students without an engineering bachelor’s degree will be required to complete undergraduate engineering pre-requisite courses as determined by the Department.  Please contact the Graduate Program Director for more information.

Concentration Requirements - 15 hours
The Department supports M.C.E. concentration areas in Geotechnical Engineering (GTL), Materials Engineering and Science (MTL), Structures Engineering (STR), Transportation Engineering  (TPT), and Water Resources (WRS).  
Students may select from one of these Concentrations, or may select no concentration.

Geotechnical Engineering (GTL)

• CEG 5115         (3)      Foundation Engineering
• CES 6118         (3)      Applied Finite Elements

9      A dditional credit hours of coursework in Geotechnical engineering or closely related areas.

Materials Engineering and Science (MTL)
At least 2 courses (6 credit hours) from the following list:

• CGN 6933      (3)      Advanced Construction Materials
• CGN 6720        (3)      Electrochemical Diagnostic Techniques
• CGN 6933        (3)      Structural Life Prediction
• EMA 5326       (3)      Corrosion Control
• EMA 6510       (3)      Characterization of Materials 

9      Additional credit hours of coursework in Materials Engineering and Science or closely related areas.

Structures Engineering (STR)
At least 1 course (3 credit hours) from the following list of design courses:

• CES 6706         (3)      Advanced Concrete
• CES 6835        (3)      Design of Masonry Structures
• CES 5715C       (3)     Pre-stressed Concrete

At least 1 course (3 credit hours) from the following list of analysis courses:

• CES 6118                 (3)              Applied Finite element
• CGN 6933        (3)      Advanced Structural Analysis
• CGN 6933        (3)      Advanced Structural Mechanics
• CES 5209                 (3)              Structural Dynamics               

9      Additional credit hours of coursework in Structures Engineering or closely related areas.

Transportation Engineering (TPT)

• TTE 5205                 (3)      Traffic Systems Engineering
• TTE 5501                 (3)      Transportation Planning and Economics
• TTE 6507                 (3)      Travel Demand Modeling

6      Additional credit hours of coursework in Transportation Engineering or closely related areas.

Water Resources (WRS)

4 courses (12 credit hours) from the following list:

• CWR 6235       (3)      Free Surface Flow
• CWR 6239       (3)      Waves and Beach Protection
• CWR 6305       (3)      U rban Hydrology
• CWR 6534       (3)      Coastal and Estuary Modeling
• CWR 6535       (3)      Hydrologic Models
• CGN 6933        (1-4)   Vadose Zone Hydrology
• CGN 6933        (1-4)   Groundwater Hydraulics
• CGN 6933        (1-4)   Advanced Computational Fluid Mechanics
• GLY 6836         (3)      Numerical Modeling of Hydro geologic Systems
• GLY 6827C       (4)      Advanced Hydrogeology
• CWR 6820       (3)      Coastal Waves and Structures
• CWR 6538       (3)      Advanced Hydrologic Model

3      Additional credit hours in Water Resources engineering or closely related areas.

Portfolio / Comprehensive Exam 
Portfolio and oral interview are used in lieu of a comprehensive exam.  The purpose of the portfolio and interview is for students to demonstrate that they have achieved a minimum level of proficiency in stipulated competencies.  Specifically, by the time they graduate, students will demonstrate

• an ability to plan, compose, and integrate verbal, written, virtual, and graphical communication of a project to technical and non-technical audiences, and
• an ability to formulate and solve complex problems in Civil Engineering using relevant data and techniques.

Additional details regarding portfolio requirements will be provided to students by the Department.

Other requirements

• A maximum of 12 credits taken outside the CEE department may be applied to meet the degree requirements. 
• A maximum of 6 credits of independent study may be applied to meet the degree requirements. 

• Undergraduate GPA greater than 3.0 preferred.
• GRE with preferred minimum scores of V 145 (25th percentile ), Q 155 (60th percentile ), AW 3.0 (15th percentile ); or valid fundamentals of engineering (FE) certificate . Verification of FE certification should be obtained from the professional engineering (PE) board where the FE certification was obtained. See the CEE department website for more information: http://www2.eng.usf.edu/cee/graduate/apply.htm.
• TOEFL (International applicants only) 79 (550 paper based exam) or IELTS 6.5 (IELTS).
• Two (2) Letters of Reference provided at the time of application.
• Statement of Purpose provided at the time of application
• Resume provided at the time of application.

Scholarships

• Graduate Assistantships