General information
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) offers two graduate programs leading to the ME degree:
- Thesis program
- Non-thesis program
The thesis program prepares students through course work and provides them with significant research experience in their selected area of concentration. All graduate students must satisfy either the thesis or the non-thesis program requirements. The program will be indicated on the student’s transcript.
Admission requirements
To be eligible for admission to the graduate program a student must hold a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or a related field. Students with a bachelor degree in majors other than civil engineering must fulfill the prerequisite course requirements as set by the department. Students must also satisfy the requirements of the university and the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture for admission to graduate study, as specified in the relevant sections of this catalogue.
Bachelor of engineering holders from a 5-year equivalent engineering program may obtain a waiver for 9 credits of relevant graduate level courses from their BE degree as long as they maintain a minimum grade of 80 or its equivalent in each of these courses.
Bachelor of science holders must complete an additional 18 credits of engineering courses prior to enrollment in the master's program and must achieve an average of at least 80 percent in these courses. No credit toward the graduate degree is given for these courses.
A minimum of one calendar year of residence is required for graduation. The student must also satisfy all relevant MSFEA and AUB requirements.
Thesis program requirements
In order to fulfill the graduation requirements in the CE thesis program, a student must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours of graduate courses and a thesis based on independent research, equivalent to at least six credit hours. The required course work is distributed as follows:
- A minimum of four graduate courses (12 credit hours) in the field of concentration
- A maximum of two graduate courses (6 credit hours) in a relevant CEE field
- A maximum of one graduate course (3 credit hours) of relevant electives in a related field in engineering or science (math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, economics)
- Experimental Design and Statistical Methods course (3 credit hours) (CIVE 602)
- Seminar course (CIVE 600A)
The courses that fall in the elective category must be pre-approved by the department. Up to two senior level civil engineering courses (CIVE 600 series), taken at the undergraduate level, can be counted towards the master's degree.
Non-thesis program requirements
In order to fulfill the graduation requirements in the non-thesis program, a student must complete a minimum of 33 credit hours of graduate courses. The required course work is distributed as follows:
- A minimum of five graduate courses (15 credit hours) in the field of concentration
- A maximum of three graduate courses (9 credit hours) in a relevant CEE field
- A maximum of three graduate courses (9 credit hours) of relevant electives in a related field in engineering or science (math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, economics)
- Seminar course (CIVE 600A)
The courses that fall in the elective category must be pre-approved by the department. Up to three senior level civil engineering courses (CIVE 600 series), taken at the undergraduate level, can be counted towards the master's degree.