Master of Science in Civil Engineering

The MS in Civil Engineering, is designed to provide part-time and full-time students with the opportunity to develop a greater technical competency in several major areas of practice in civil engineering. Students will be motivated to grow intellectually through the continued search for and use of knowledge, and will be provided the catalyst to become active, articulate, socially aware individuals, and key contributors to the civil engineering profession.

Students may choose to complete a research (thesis or research project) or non-research (coursework only) option.

Degree Requirements
For graduation, a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate-level coursework is required; a minimum of 18 graduate-level semester hours (approximately 6 courses) must be in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. All graduate students enrolled in the MS in Civil Engineering program must select a graduate advisor after completing 9 graduate semester hours or by the end of the first semester in which they joined the program, whichever comes first. The advisor should be a full-time faculty member in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. A plan of study must be developed and approved by each graduate student and his/her advisor, after completing 9 graduate semester hours or after the first semester, whichever comes first.

Students pursuing the thesis option must complete 24 semester hours of graduate-level coursework and complete 6 semester hours of thesis.  Students completing the project option must complete 27 semester hours of graduate-level coursework and 3 semester hours of a research project.  Students pursuing the non-research option must complete 30 semester hours of graduate-level coursework.

Admission Requirements

In addition to submitting an application with the required supporting material, other admission requirements include:

• At least a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) undergraduate GPA  
• A minimum score of 450 verbal, 650 quantitative, and 4.5 analytical on the GRE
• For applicants whose native language is not English - a minimum score of 213 on the computer-based test, 550 on the paper-based test, and 79 on the internet-based test on the TOEFL, or a 6.5 on the academic version of the IELTS. 

As a minimum requirement, students accepted into the program must have a background similar to that of students with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from an ABET-accredited or eqivalent institution. Students who do not have the required background must take the necessary courses to compensate for the deficiency. These additional courses will be designated by the Graduate Director of the Department, based on the student’s academic background.

Admission procedures will be guided by the standard requirements for admission for graduate programs in the College of Engineering and the general requirements of the Graduate School of Temple University.  A certain minimum competency in engineering subject matter and competency in the biological and physical sciences will be expected from candidates.

For more information, please contact the College of Engineering's Office of Graduate Studies at 215-204-7800 or gradengr@temple.edu.