Master of Science in Civil Engineering

Advance Your Career as a Civil Engineer

Build your professional skills and competence to advance to the next level. With The University of Texas at Tyler’s Master of Science in civil engineering, you’ll be mentored by experienced industry professionals who coordinate research projects to improve infrastructure and reduce environmental impact right here in East Texas.

Three program tracks let you customize your education to fit your career goals, whether you want to deepen your knowledge in an engineering subdiscipline, work toward professional licensure or acquire management and leadership skills.

Why Earn a Master’s in Civil Engineering at UT Tyler?

You’re a builder and a visionary. You know that careful and precise planning leads to systems that work and structures that help improve our quality of life. You’re at a point in your career where you’re ready to build on your knowledge and experience to increase your expertise and move into positions of increasing responsibility.

As an engineer, you know it all starts with the right foundation. That’s why our Master of Science in civil engineering program prepares you as a professional to move forward with confidence.

Here’s what you’ll find at UT Tyler:

• Professors Who Are Experts in the Field: Learn from faculty who are practitioners and researchers with organizations including the Texas Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Southwest Institute of Forensic Science, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.
• Real-World Impact: Work with faculty on research projects like designing an efficient bike network for the city of Tyler, use industrial and agricultural waste in sustainable pavements materials, or investigating the environmental benefits of recycling concrete. Get experience solving real problems in the real world.
• Mentored Growth: Get individualized attention and support to grow as a professional. Our low student-to-faculty ratio means you’ll develop relationships with faculty who act as guides and mentors during your studies and beyond.
• Accredited Program: Have confidence in your training with a program certified by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.
• Outstanding Facilities: Get access to state-of-the-art workstations and laboratory facilities to power your learning.
• Career Fast-Track: Don’t hesitate in obtaining your master’s. For civil engineering undergraduate students at UT Tyler, our Bachelor’s to Master’s (4+1) BSCE/MSCE program lets you graduate with both degrees in just five years.
• Affordability: Build your professional skills without building a burden of debt. We offset our already low tuition with graduate assistantships, scholarships and other forms of financial support.

Curriculum

Based on the latest edition of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ text, “Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century,” the curriculum for the MS in civil engineering is a 30-credit-hour course of study you can complete in two years. Subject areas and knowledge build off your undergraduate work and career experience to equip you for the next stage of professional growth.

You have three program tracks to choose from:

• Research: Acquire deep expertise in a particular area while honing your research skills. You’ll prepare and defend a thesis based on your original research, giving you preparation for further studies or advanced practice in the field.
• Professional Practice: Advance as an engineering professional and prepare to pass the Fundamentals of Engineering examination, a key initial step toward gaining licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE).
• Technical and Management Development: You’ve moved up to a point in your field — so, now, look toward a position of leadership. You’ll take courses in business management and enrich your knowledge of design to prepare to plan and oversee complex projects.

No matter which option you choose, you’ll learn to:

• Apply fundamental knowledge of specialized civil engineering concepts and modern engineering tools to solve engineering problems.
• Engage in independent learning and research to solve complex engineering problems.
• Embrace professional ethics, including the responsibility to consider the societal and environmental impacts of engineering and to pursue lifelong learning.
• Effectively communicate about engineering in an accessible way with different kinds of project stakeholders.

See All MSCE Degree Requirements

What Can You Do With an MS in Civil Engineering?

You’re ready to take the next step forward in your career. Maybe that means applying your advanced training in a specific area of civil engineering:

• Pavement Engineer: Help the modern world by designing, analyzing and overseeing the construction and maintenance of roads and pavement systems to ensure their durability, safety, and functionality.
• Structural Engineer: Ensure significant public and industrial buildings and other structures are designed for safety, efficiency and longevity.
• City Engineer: Empower healthy growth and help design urban areas that enhance human flourishing.
• Water Resources Engineer: Design the systems to provide an adequate and healthy water supply for an area’s inhabitants while minimizing environmental impacts.

Or make a move into leadership and increased responsibility as an engineering manager. You’ll help plan and direct larger projects and grow your skill set as a project manager.

Consider training tomorrow’s engineering professionals through a career in teaching. The research track of the MSCE program prepares you for doctoral studies and a position in higher education.