Return to: School of Graduate Engineering and Applied Science: Degree Programs
MASTER OF ENGINEERING PROGRAM: Civil Engineering
MASTER OF ENGINEERING PROGRAM: CIVIL ENGINEERING
Overview
The Master of Engineering (M.E.) degree is a coursework-based graduate professional degree for those wishing to pursue careers in industry, consulting, or government. Our program is designed to provide a blend of fundamental knowledge and professional skills needed by practicing engineers. The M.E. program is an intensive, non-thesis program that may be completed on Grounds as a full-time student or online as a student in the Virginia Engineering Online (VEO) program.
The M.E. degree program in CEE is built of two components:
- Core courses, supplying the fundamentals of systems engineering.
- Elective courses, focusing on techniques of analysis and application of fundamentals to a problem area.
Faculty Advisor
Upon admission to the M.E. program, the student is assigned to the M.E. program faculty advisor. On-Grounds M.E. students are required to meet with the faculty advisor before the start of each semester to plan their course selection and career objectives. Online M.E. students are required to meet with the faculty advisor at least once a year to plan their course selection and their graduation timeline.
Program Requirements
A candidate for the M.E. degree must fulfill the general requirements of the Engineering School and complete 30 credits of graded graduate coursework. The M.E. degree does not require a thesis; however, students may pursue a research-based project or a paid/unpaid professional internship for course credit as CE 6995.
Students in an on-grounds degree program only have permission to enroll in in-person course actions. With an approved exception from Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, in-person students may register for online course sections.
VEO students should refer to VEO program website for information regarding the program requirements.
Students in the M.E. degree program in CEE may wish to plan their study around one of the following five areas of optional specialization:
- Construction Engineering and Management
- Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
- Infrastructure Systems Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Transportation Engineering
On-Grounds M.E. students are required to prepare a plan of study under the guidance of the M.E. program faculty advisor prior to or at the beginning of the first semester. Online M.E. students are recommended to prepare a plan of study under the guidance of the M.E. program faculty advisor at the beginning of the first semester. The plan of study may be revised, if necessary, at any time.
Seminar: CEE Seminar Series is a weekly event during the academic year that brings together CEE faculty and students to learn about new research and practices in different areas of civil and environmental engineering. Research presentations are given by Distinguished Speakers from within the university community as well as nationally and internationally recognized researchers and engineers in academia and industry. The weekly seminars also include talks and presentations from CEE graduate students as well as presentations geared towards professional development.
M.E. students are encouraged to attend the weekly CEE seminars, however, attending the seminars is not a requirement for the M.E. program.
Outcome Assessment Forms: In the semester that M.E. students are planning to graduate and before the examination period begins, students must work with the M.E. program faculty advisor and the CEE Student Services Coordinator to complete and submit three Outcome Assessment Forms: Engineering Analysis Assessment, Engineering Design Assessment, and Engineering Technical Writing Assessment.
All the necessary forms are available from the Engineering School’s website: https://engineering.virginia.edu/graduate-study/current-graduate-students/academic-planning/forms-graduate-students
First Destination Survey: After successful completion of the program assessment forms, all M.E. students must complete the First Destination survey informing the school whether employed, continuing education, military service, volunteering, or still seeking employment.
Special Circumstances
Students pursuing a B.S. in Engineering at UVA may begin taking courses in the M.E. program during their fourth year, with appropriate guidance from their academic advisor and approval from course instructors (as necessary). As 4000-level classes may not be used toward the M.E. degree, students are encouraged to take 5000- or 6000-level classes. Undergraduate student enrollment in 6000-level courses requires instructor, advisor, and Office of Undergraduate Programs approval.
Students without a B.S. in Engineering may apply for admission to the M.E. in Civil Engineering program; however, depending on their background, they might be required to complete certain prerequisite or co-requisite courses. If accepted, the student will work with their academic advisor to map out an appropriate sequence of courses toward the degree.
Additional information about the program and administrative forms can found on the Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering and the Virginia Engineering Online webpages.
Students should consult “Transfer Credit” and “Time Limit” in the School of Engineering and Applied Science—Academic Rules section of the Record for policies that govern transferring credits and limits on the time that may be taken to earn a degree.
