Master of Science in Civil Engineering

Admission Requirements

1. Minimum general admission requirements in the Admission section of the graduate catalog.

2. A baccalaureate degree in civil engineering or related field(s).

3. Graduate Record Examination scores on the General Test will be optional.

4. A cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.75 for all undergraduate work or a GPA of at least 3.0 for the junior and senior years of undergraduate work (based on A = 4.00).

5. Satisfy the School of Graduate Studies' English Language Proficiency requirements as published in the graduate catalog

Degree Requirements

Students seeking the Master of Science degree at the University of North Dakota must satisfy all general requirements set forth by the School of Graduate Studies as well as particular requirements set forth by the Civil Engineering Department.

Degree requirements will be those listed by the School of Graduate Studies for the M.S. degree, both for the thesis option and the non-thesis option. There are no specific departmental degree requirements beyond those listed in the graduate catalog for the M.S. degree.

Thesis Option:

  1. A minimum of 30-semester credits in a major field, including the credits granted for the thesis and the research leading to the thesis.
  2. At least one-half of the credits must be at or above the 500-level.
  3. A minimum of 15-credit hours of coursework.
  4. A maximum of one-fourth (usually 8-9 semester credits) of the credit hours required for the degree may be transferred from another institution.
  5. The program may include just the major, the major and a minor, or the major and a cognate area. The major must include 20 credits from the major department, and a minor or cognate area must include at least nine credits.
  6. Preparation of a written thesis approved by the faculty advisory committee (CE 998 Thesis, 4-9 credits).
  7. A student must register in Graduate Seminar (CE 562, 1-3 cr.hrs.) and present at least once to graduate.

Non-Thesis Option:

  1. Thirty-two (32) credits including credits required for the major.
  2. At least one-half of the credits must be at or above the 500-level.
  3. A minimum of 15-credit hours of coursework.
  4. A maximum of one-fourth (usually 8-9 semester credits) of the credit hours required for the degree may be transferred from another institution.
  5. Preparation of a written independent study report approved by the faculty advisor (CE 997 Independent Study, 2 credits).

Course offerings vary by semester based on student demand and instructor loads.

Combined Degree Program (BS/MS)

To encourage undergraduate engineering students to extend their studies to include a graduate degree, the civil engineering department has a combined program that permits students to earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. This program allows students to designate two three-credit graduate courses to count for both degrees. The selected courses must have graduate course standing and be designated when a student requests admission to the program.

Students may be admitted to the Civil Engineering Combined Degree program after the completion of 60 credit hours toward the bachelor’s degree with a GPA of at least 3.3 and before completion of the bachelor’s degree.