CIVIL ENGINEERING, MSCE
Civil, Construction and Environmental
Admission Requirements
In addition to the UAB Graduate School admission requirements, admission to the Master's of Science in Civil Engineering degree include the following five criteria:
- An undergraduate engineering degree from an ABET accredited engineering program or applied science program. Applicants who have an outstanding academic record in an unaccredited engineering or applied science degree program may be admitted at program discretion. Students admitted from this category may be required to complete a sequence of undergraduate courses in addition to the normal requirements of the MSCE degree. This set of extra requirements will be specified in writing at the time of admission to the program.
- GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale in all undergraduate degree major courses attempted;
- Three letters of recommendation concerning the applicant's previous academic and professional work;
- Original transcripts from all colleges and universities attended since high school must be sent directly to the UAB Graduate School (detailed instructions are included during the online application process)
- International applicants must submit English proficiency scores in accordance with UAB Graduate School requirement. Click here for details
- Verification of registration by examination as a Professional Engineer (PE) will satisfy criteria 4 above.
Program Requirements
The following minimum requirements apply to the plan of study for a student who has earned a baccalaureate degree in civil engineering. A student with an undergraduate degree in another field may also be accepted into the civil engineering program but will normally have to take additional preparatory coursework as part of an expanded plan of study. Continuous enrollment for at least 3 credit hours per term is required. Students receiving a research assistantship are required to be enrolled as full-time students. A full-time student is one who is enrolled in at least 9 credit hours per semester.
Special Topics (590/690/790) courses and Independent Study (591/691/791) courses are reviewed for degree applicability for each program in the School of Engineering. No more than 6 combined hours of Special Topics and/or Independent Study courses will be applied to the MSBME without appeal to and approval from the Program Director.
The School of Engineering offers similar courses at the 400/500 and 600/700 levels. While the higher numbered course has more advanced content, there is a significant overlap in topics. Therefore, students are not allowed to take a 500-level or 700-elevel course for credit if they have previously taken the related 400-level or 600 level course, respectively.
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Plan I (Thesis Option)
1. In addition to the general Graduate School requirements, the student must successfully complete at least 33 semester hours of graduate credit, including:
a) A minimum of 18 semester hours in civil engineering;
b) Up to 6 semester hours in disciplines outside civil engineering, such as other engineering disciplines, mathematics, biology, earth science, physics, urban affairs, or public health.
c) A minimum of 9 hours of CE 699-Masters Thesis Research.
2. All Plan I Master's students are required to complete online modules covering the 9 topic areas of RCR research integrity. The modules can be accessed online at https://www.citiprogram.org.
Plan II (Non-Thesis Option):
The student must successfully complete at least 33 semester hours of graduate credit including:
- A minimum of 24 semester hours in civil engineering;
- Up to 6 semester hours in disciplines outside civil engineering, such as: other engineering disciplines, mathematics, biology, earth sciences, physics, chemistry, or public health; and
- A minimum of 3 hours of CE 698 – Non-Thesis Research under the direction of the graduate study committee chair, resulting in a committee approved written report.
Areas of Specialization
The department offers specialization programs in the fields of structural engineering/structural mechanics, environmental engineering, transportation engineering, and construction engineering management. Supporting courses are offered in geotechnical engineering, optimization, engineering law and other areas. If a student chooses to declare a concentration, the student must choose from the courses listed below the appropriate concentration to fulfill the required 18 hours (Plan 1) or 24 hours (Plan 2) within civil engineering.
Concentration in Structural Engineering
| Requirements | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Select 18 hours for Plan I or 24 hours for Plan II | ||
| CE 516 | Mechanical Vibrations | 3 |
| CE 520 | Advanced Mechanics | 3 |
| CE 526 | Foundation Engineering | 3 |
| CE 544 | Civil Engineering Analysis II | 3 |
| CE 553 | Design of Wood Structures | 3 |
| CE 554 | Design of Masonry Structures | 3 |
| CE 556 | Prestressed Concrete Design | 3 |
| CE 557 | Concrete Technology | 3 |
| CE 560 | Structural Mechanics | 3 |
| CE 561 | Introduction to the Finite Element Method | 3 |
| CE 562 | Advanced Structural Analysis | 3 |
| CE 564 | Structural Dynamics | 3 |
| CE 590 | Special Topics in Civil Engineering 1 | 3 |
| CE 612 | Theory of Elasticity | 3 |
| CE 617 | Theory of Plates and Shells | 3 |
| CE 641 | Civil Engineering Seminar 2 | 0 |
| CE 650 | Advanced Structural Steel | 3 |
| CE 655 | Advanced Reinforced Concrete | 3 |
| CE 690 | Special Topics in (Area) 1 | 1-3 |
| CE 691 | Individual Study in (Area) 1 | 1-4 |
| 1 |
or any CE 590/690 IITS course offerings from UAH, USA, and UA campuses with Program Director approval |
| 2 |
requirement of the Department for all graduate students to take at least once prior to graduation |
Concentration in Environmental Engineering
| Requirements | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Select 18 hours for Plan I or 24 hours for Plan II | ||
| CE 530 | Water Supply/Drainage Design | 3 |
| CE 531 | Energy Resources | 3 |
| CE 533 | Solid and Hazardous Wastes Management | 3 |
| CE 534 | Air Quality Modeling and Monitoring | 3 |
| CE 537 | Environmental Experimental Design and Field Sampling | 3 |
| CE 580 | Introduction to Water and Wastewater Treatment | 3 |
| CE 585 | Engineering Hydrology | 3 |
| CE 590 | Special Topics in Civil Engineering 1 | 3 |
| CE 600 | Sustainable Construction | 3 |
| CE 608 | Green Building Design | 3 |
| CE 610 | The Engineered Environment | 3 |
| CE 636 | Stormwater Pollution Management | 3 |
| CE 640 | Wastewater Treatment Engineering | 3 |
| CE 641 | Civil Engineering Seminar 2 | 0 |
| CE 690 | Special Topics in (Area) 1 | 1-3 |
| CE 691 | Individual Study in (Area) 1 | 1-4 |
| 1 |
or any CE 590/690 IITS course offerings from UAH, USA, and UA campuses with Program Director approval |
| 2 |
requirement of the Department for all graduate students to take at least once prior to graduation |
Concentration in Transportation Engineering
| Requirements | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Select 18 hours for Plan I or 24 hours for Plan II | ||
| CE 543 | Pavement Design & Construction | 3 |
| CE 590 | Special Topics in Civil Engineering 1 | 3 |
| CE 621 | Transportation Engineering Seminar | 1 |
| CE 622 | Traffic Flow Theory | 3 |
| CE 624 | Simulation Models for Transportation Applications | 3 |
| CE 625 | Intelligent Transportation Systems | 3 |
| CE 646 | Traffic Engineering Operations | 3 |
| CE 641 | Civil Engineering Seminar 2 | 0 |
| CE 648 | Urban and Transportation Planning | 3 |
| CE 690 | Special Topics in (Area) 1 | 1-3 |
| CE 691 | Individual Study in (Area) 1 | 1-4 |
| 1 |
or any CE 590/690 IITS course offerings from UAH, USA, and UA campuses with Program Director approval |
| 2 |
requirement of the Department for all graduate students to take at least once prior to graduation |
The Department offers a variety of courses due to the focus areas under the Master of Science in Civil Engineering, which makes it difficult to designate all the courses in which students may enroll. Therefore, the lists above are not all-inclusive.
