Master of Engineering - Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Master of Engineering

Program Overview

Whether you are a practicing engineer with years in the industry or a recent graduate with your bachelor’s degree, the Master of Engineering will allow you to hone your existing knowledge in a more specialized field within civil and environmental engineering.

With no research or thesis requirement, the coursework-only program provides an opportunity to enhance your knowledge in one of seven tracks within civil and environmental engineering.

Each track has unique coursework requirements and elective options, but all tracks provide flexibility for pursuing your greatest interests.

Civil Infrastructure Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Geoengineering
Irrigation Engineering
Structural Engineering
Water and International Development
Water Resources Engineering

We also offer a 100% online Master of Engineering in the area of Water Resources Engineering.

Curriculum Requirements

30 credits

A total of 30 credits of approved graduate work must be completed, meeting the following requirements:

At least 24 credits must be earned at Colorado State University, of which 21 credits must be earned after admission to CSU Graduate School (see transfer requirements)
At least 24 credits must be regular graduate level courses (500-level and above)
- Of which, at least 15 credits must be regular graduate-level civil and environmental engineering courses (courses with a CIVE prefix and are 500-level and above with the last two digits 00-82, e.g. CIVE 655)
At most 6 credits of undergraduate 300-400 level coursework may be taken
- Of which, at most 3 credit hours of required undergraduate 300-400 level CIVE courses may count toward the master’s degree if not required to satisfy background coursework
No lower-division credits (100-200 level) may be used to satisfy the graduate program requirements, but may be required as background courses
No non-regular courses will count toward degree requirements, such as independent study, thesis, and/or seminar courses
No credits used for one master’s degree may be used toward a second master’s degree
No thesis, defense, or engineering report is required for the Master of Engineering degree.
A tenure-track CEE faculty member will serve as the student’s advisor and provide guidance on academic coursework.

Degree Tracks

Civil Infrastructure Engineering Track

Core Courses (9 semester hours):
- CIVE 577 – GIS in Civil & Environmental Engineering
- CIVE 578 – Infrastructure Engineering & Management
- CON 560 – Applied Project Management
Designated Electives (minimum 12 semester hours):
- CIVE 440 – Nonpoint Source Pollution
- CIVE 514 – Hydraulic Structures
- CIVE 525 – Water Engineering for International Development
- CIVE 544 – Water Resources Planning & Management
- CIVE 546 – Water Resources Systems Analysis
- CIVE 549 – Drainage & Wetlands Engineering
- CIVE 550 – Foundation Engineering
- CIVE 558 – Containment Systems for Waste Disposal
- CIVE 560 – Advanced Mechanics of Materials
- CIVE 565 – Finite Element Method
- CIVE 571 – Pipe System Engineering and Hydraulics
- CIVE 572 – Analysis of Urban Water Systems
- CIVE 573 – Urban Stormwater Management
- CIVE 574 – Civil Engineering Project Management
- CIVE 575 – Sustainable Water & Waste Management
- CIVE 622 – Risk Analysis of Water/Environmental Systems
- CIVE 658 – Remediation Systems – Surface Contamination
- CON 511 – Project Procurement and Preconstruction
- CON 569 – Regulatory Impact on Construction
- CON 571 – Facility Planning and Management
Open Electives (9 semester hours):
- Any courses approved by the Track Coordinator

Environmental Engineering Track

Recommended Core Courses (9 semester hours):

CIVE 540 – Fundamentals of Environmental Biotechnology
CIVE 541 – Physical Chemical Water Treatment Process
CIVE 538 – Aqueous Chemistry

Elective Courses by topic:

Water, Wastewater Treatment, and Residuals Management

CHEM 471 – Physical Chemistry
CIVE 537 – Residuals Management
CIVE 539 – Water & Wastewater Analysis
CIVE 541 – Physical Chemical Water Treatment Process
CIVE 543 – Industrial Wastes Management
MIP 300 – General Microbiology
SOCR 467 – Soil and Environmental Chemistry

Groundwater & Geoenvironmental

CBE 524 – Environmental Biotechnology
CIVE 531 – Groundwater Hydrology
CIVE 558 – Containment Systems for Waste Disposal
CIVE 633 – Groundwater Contamination
CIVE 658 – Remediation Systems – Surface Contamination
CIVE 680 – Quantitative Eco-Hydrology
CIVE 733 – Flow in Porous Media

Hydraulics & Wind Engineering

CIVE 413 – Environmental River Mechanics
CIVE 504 – Wind Engineering
CIVE 604 – Turbulent Transport & Diffusion
CIVE 610 – Design of Stream Rehabilitation Features
CIVE 612 – Open Channel Hydraulics
CIVE 716 – Erosion & Sedimentation

Atmospheric Science

ATS 555 – Air Pollution
ATS 556 – Air Pollution Measurements
ATS 716 – Air Quality Characterization

Water Resources & Hydrologic Science

CIVE 440 – Nonpoint Source Pollution
CIVE 520 – Physical Hydrology
CIVE 521 – Hydrometry
CIVE 522 – Engineering Hydrology
CIVE 524/ER 524 – Modeling Watershed Hydrology
CIVE 545 – Management & Monitoring Water Quality
CIVE 546 – Water Resources Systems Analysis
CIVE 547 – Statistics for Environmental Monitoring
CIVE 573 – Urban Stormwater Management
CIVE 622 – Risk Analysis of Water/Environmental Systems
CIVE 623 – Water Quality Hydrology
CIVE 624 – Control of Floods and Droughts
STAT 420 – Probability & Mathematical Statistics I
STAT 430 – Probability & Mathematical Statistics II
STAR 511 – Design and Data Analysis for Researchers I
STAR 512 – Design and Data Analysis for Researchers II
WR 516 – Cumulative Effects & Watershed Analysis

Ecology

BZ 471 – Stream Biology & Ecology
BZ 472 – Stream Biology & Ecology Lab
BZ 474 – Limnology

Geoengineering Track

Core Courses:

CIVE 655 – Advanced Soil Mechanics
CIVE 657 – Oral Communication in Geotechnical Engineering

Designated Electives (minimum 15 semester hours):

CIVE 455 – Applications in Geotechnical Engineering
CIVE 458 – Introduction to Geoenvironmental Engineering
CIVE 531 – Groundwater Hydrology
CIVE 550 – Foundation Engineering
CIVE 555 – Tailings Geotechnics
CIVE 556 – Slope Stability & Seepage
CIVE 558 – Containment Systems for Waste Disposal
CIVE 559 – Special Topics in Geotechnical Engineering
CIVE 560 – Advanced Mechanics of Materials
CIVE 631 – Solutions to Groundwater Problems
CIVE 638 – Groundwater Quality and Contaminant Transport
CIVE 659 – Advanced Special Topics in Geotechnical Engineering
ENGR 550 – Numerical Methods in Science & Engineering

Open Electives (9 semester hours):

Any courses approved by the Track Coordinator

Irrigation Engineering Track

Core Courses (chose two for minimum of 6 semester hours):

CIVE 512 – Irrigation Systems Design
CIVE 519 – Irrigation Water Management
CIVE 549 – Drainage & Wetlands Engineering
CIVE 612 – Open-Channel Flow

Designated Electives (minimum 18 semester hours):

CIVE 520 – Physical Hydrology
CIVE 521 – Hydrometry
CIVE 522 – Engineering Hydrology
CIVE 525 – Water Engineering for International Development
CIVE 531 – Groundwater Engineering
CIVE 532 – Wells & Pumps
CIVE 544 – Water Resources Planning & Management
CIVE 546 – Water Resources Systems Analysis
CIVE 547 – Statistics for Environmental Monitoring
CIVE 571 – Pipe System Engineering and Hydraulics
CIVE 576 – Engineering Applications of GIS/GPS
CIVE 577 – GIS in Civil and Environmental Engineering
CIVE 625 – Quantitative Eco-Hydrology
CIVE 631 – Solutions to Groundwater Problems
CIVE 681A1 – Systems for Developing Groundwater Resources
AGRI 500 – Advanced Issues in Agriculture
ENGR 520 – Engineering Decision Support/Expert Systems
NSCI 696 – Group Study: The Habitable Planet: A Systems Approach to Environmental Science
SOCR 470 – Soil Physics
SOCR 471 – Soil Physics Lab
SOCR 490 – Hydrus-1D Workshop
SOCR 520 – Plant Canopy Meteorology

Open Electives (maximum 6 semester hours):

Any courses approved by the Track Coordinator

Structural Engineering Track

Core Courses:

CIVE 560 – Advanced Mechanics of Materials
CIVE 562 – Fundamentals of Vibration
CIVE 565 – Finite Element Method
CIVE 566 – Intermediate Structural Analysis

Design Courses (choose 2):

CIVE 664 – Mechanics of Fatigue and Fracture
CIVE 507 – Transportation Engineering
CIVE 508 – Bridge Engineering
CIVE 550 – Foundation Engineering
CIVE 561 – Advanced Steel Behavior and Design
CIVE 564 – Principles of Load Modeling for Structural Design
CIVE 567 – Advanced Concrete Design
CIVE 568 – Design of Masonry and Wood Structures

Open Electives (12 semester hours):

Any courses approved by the Track Coordinator

Water and International Development Track

Core Courses:

CIVE 525 – Water Engineering: International Development
IE/ANTH 679 – Applications of International Development

Supporting Civil and Environmental Engineering Classes:

International Engineering
- CIVE 421 – Global Water Challenges
Hydrology
- CIVE 531 – Groundwater Hydrology
- CIVE 542 – Water Quality Modeling
Measurement/Analysis Methods
- CIVE 521 – Hydrometry
- CIVE 577 – GIS in Civil and Environmental Engineering
- CIVE 547 – Statistics for Environmental Monitoring
Water and Wastewater Treatment
- CIVE 539 – Water and Wastewater Analysis
- CIVE 541 – Physical Chemical Water Treatment Processes
- CIVE 540 – Advanced Biological Wastewater Processing
- CIVE 575* – Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management
Conveyance Systems
- CIVE 514 – Hydraulic Structures/Systems
- CIVE 571 – Pipeline Engineering and Hydraulics
- CIVE 572 – Analysis of Urban Water Systems
- CIVE 573 – Urban Stormwater Management
Irrigation and Drainage
- CIVE 512* – Irrigation Systems Design
- CIVE 549 – Drainage and Wetland Engineering
Utility Management
- CIVE 544* – Water Resources Planning and Management
- CIVE 578* – Infrastructure and Utility Management

*Approved as an International Development Studies graduate certificate supporting course

Supporting Non-Engineering Classes:

Anthropology
- ANTH 505 – Resilience, Well-Being, and Social Justice
- ANTH 520 – Women, Health, and Culture
- ANTH 540 – Medical Anthropology
- ANTH 571 – Anthropology and Global Heath
Agriculture and Resource Economics
- AREC 460 – Ag and Resource Based Economic Development
Economics
- ECON 460 – Economic Development
- ECON 760 – Theories of Economic Development
International Education
- IE/PSY 517 – Perspectives in Global Health
Language
- L*** – Upper Division Foreign Language
Political Science
- POLS 433 – International Organization
- POLS 444 – Comparative African Politics
- POLS 445 – Comparative Asian Politics
- POLS 446 – Politics of South America
- POLS 447 – Politics in Mexico, Central America, Caribbean
- POLS 541 – Political Economy of Change and Development
- POLS 670 – Politics of Environment and Sustainability
- POLS 739 – International Environmental Politics
- POLS 749 – Comparative Environmental Politics
Sociology
- SOC 660 – Theories of Development and Social Change
- SOC 669 – Global Inequality and Change
Communication Studies
- SPCM 634 – Communication and Cultural Diversity
Watershed Science
- WR 510 – Watershed Management in Developing Countries