Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
Graduate Information
Guidelines for Master of Science Degree
Admission:
Admission to the Mississippi State University Civil Engineering graduate program is open to individuals with an academic background in civil engineering or closely related fields. Applicants are encouraged to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, but students who have superior academic records and strong letters of recommendation may be admitted without GRE scores.
The minimum GPA for acceptance with good standing into the Civil Engineering graduate program is 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. A student accepted with a GPA less that 3.0 is admitted with probationary status. In such case, the student must achieve a minimum 3.0 GPA for his/her first nine hours of graduate course work. Graduates of a non-ABET program in Civil Engineering must achieve a minimum GRE score (sum of verbal and quantitative) of 1200 and an undergraduate record acceptable to the civil engineering faculty. Applicants who have earned a Bachelor's degree in disciplines other than Civil Engineering will be evaluated to determine the extent of remedial course work necessary to prepare for the graduate program. International students must also have a minimum Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 550 (213 for the computer-based version).
Students are expected to attain the academic standards enumerated in The Graduate Studies Bulletin. A student will be placed on probation when his/her GPA falls below 3.00. To remove this probationary status the students will be required to achieve a 3.2 GPA in the subsequent semester. Failure to remove the deficiency will result in dismissal from the graduate program.
In addition, students are expected to maintain a satisfactory academic record to maintain assistantships. Academic probation can be the basis for withdrawing an assistantship. Furthermore, a student must exhibit satisfactory progress on research or other duties assigned as part of an assistantship. The student's advisor or research director evaluates acceptability of progress or work performed as part of the assistantship.
Students seeking admission to the Civil Engineering graduate program must submit an application for admission, associated documentation, and three letters of recommendation. Students with interest in one of the departmental areas of research will be considered for graduate research assistance. Currently, the department offers numerous research opportunities that are awarded competitively. Inquiries regarding application and potential research opportunities should be directed to the Civil Engineering Graduate Coordinator (grad-coordinator@civil.msstate.edu).
The Major Advisor and Supervisory Committee:
Students are to select a major advisor and form a committee prior to completing nine hours of course work. The student's major advisor normally serves as the student's research director. The student graduate committee is established by submitting an approved Committee Approval Form to the Office of Graduate Studies. The significance of these requirements is that the Civil Engineering Department may not accept more than six (6) hours of course work taken prior to meeting these requirements.
The graduate committee should include a minimum of three members of the graduate faculty with the major advisor selected from the Civil Engineering faculty. Students, enrolled through the Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station (CEWES) cooperative graduate program, must select a committee chair who is a member of the on-campus Civil Engineering faculty.
Program of Study:
Both thesis and non-thesis options are available for the Master of Science degree.
Thesis Option: Successful completion of a minimum of 24 hours of graduate course work, along with submission and defense of a research thesis, is required for the thesis option. A minimum of one-half of the course work must be at the graduate (8000) level. The program of study, developed by the student and his/her graduate committee, may include courses from engineering, mathematics, the physical sciences, and business administration subject to the following requirements:
Minimum 15 hours of course work must be in engineering
Minimum 12 hours of course work in Civil Engineering (9 hours at the graduate level)
Maximum 9 hours of course work in technical, non-engineering courses (computer science, mathematics, statistics, and physical sciences)
Maximum 6 hours of course work in business management
Maximum 9 hours of graduate credit can be transferred from other institutions
Minimum of 6 hours of CE 8000 (Thesis Research). CE 8000 cannot be used to satisfy course work requirements.
Non-Thesis Option: Successful completion of a minimum of 33 credit hours of graduate course work is required for the non-thesis option. After completing his/her program of study, students selecting the non-thesis option must pass a comprehensive examination. A minimum of one-half of the course work must be at the graduate (8000) level. The program of study, developed by the student and his/her graduate committee, may include courses from engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, computer science and business administration, subject to the following requirements:
Minimum 18 hours of course work in Civil Engineering (12 hours at the upper graduate level)
Maximum 12 hours of course work in technical, non-engineering courses (computer science, mathematics, statistics, and physical sciences)
Maximum 6 hours of course work in business management
Maximum 9 hours of graduate credit can be transferred from other institutions
Completion of the comprehensive examination
A student's program of study is customized for individual student needs and interests. Specific course requirements are developed in collaboration with the student's graduate committee.
All degree requirements must be completed within six years from the initial enrollment in the program. Any deviations from the published requirements must be justified and will not be granted routinely. All deviations must be requested in writing to the Graduate Coordinator. Requests approved by the Graduate Coordinator and the student's graduate committee will be forwarded to the Dean of the College of Engineering for final approval.
A preliminary program of study should be submitted to the departmental Graduate Coordinator at the completion of the first nine hours of course work taken at MSU. The student should submit a final Program of Study Form as early as possible in his/her studies.
Research and Thesis:
Students choosing the research option must develop a research proposal, conduct the research, report the results in an acceptable thesis document, and defend the research to his/her graduate committee.
The student begins his/her research by developing a thesis proposal that is submitted or presented to his/her graduate committee. The proposal should include appropriate background material including a review of relevant research, a clear statement of the student's thesis and research goals, and a description of the intended procedures for conducting the research.
Upon completion of the research, the student presents a draft of the thesis document to the committee members for review. The draft should be presented at least two weeks before the scheduled date of the thesis presentation and defense. After the presentation, the student will make final changes to the document. Once the graduate committee is satisfied with the document, the student will submit the document to the Office of Graduate Studies for final format approval.
Final Examination:
The time and place of the final examination and thesis defense is publicly announced. The student begins the examination with presentation of his/her research. At the end of the presentation, the examination is open to general questions concerning the research. The session is then closed to only the student and committee members for completion of the oral examination covering both the thesis research and academic studies.
Students pursuing the non-thesis option must complete a written examination covering, but not limited to, course work within his/her program of study. At the discretion of the graduate committee, an oral component may be included as part of the final examination. This examination will be coordinated and administered by the student's graduate committee. All members of the student's graduate committee should participate in the testing process for either on-campus or off-campus students.
