College of Engineering and Architecture
Master's Degree in Civil Engineering
Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering
The Department of Civil Engineering and Construction offers graduate programs leading to either a Master of Science degree in civil engineering or a Master of Science degree in environmental engineering. Also the College of Engineering and Architecture offers a program leading to a Ph.D. degree in engineering in which civil engineering is a possible area of specialization.
Specialty areas in the M.S. degree in civil engineering include environmental, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources engeineering. Other related areas are also accommodated. The academic and research foci are tailored to individual needs and interests.
The graduate curriculum in environmental engineering offers courses designed to prepare the student with engineering fundamentals as applied to the natural and man altered environment. To complement the major area of study, additional courses are often selected from other disciplines. Students without a B.S. degree in civil engineering will take undergraduate courses to gain appropriate background in civil engineering.
To complement the major area of study, additional courses are often selected from other disciplines. The program is designed to advance the technical knowledge, competence, and interdisciplinary understanding of the students and to prepare them for entering or advancing within the civil engeineering profession.
The Master of Science degree requires a minimum of 30 semester credits beyond the B.S. degree. An overall GPA of 3.0 or better must be maintained. All students must pass a final oral examination covering both course work and the thesis or paper.
There are two options within the Master of Science in civil engineering degree; a thesis option and a comprehensive study option. For the thesis option, 6 hours of the 30 must be assigned to the thesis. The thesis option emphasizes research and the ability to analyze data and to prepare a scholarly thesis. The comprehensive study option requires a maximum of 3 credits to be assigned to a paper. The comprehensive study option emphasizes a broader understanding of a more general field.9/1/05n and develop a program of study together.
The Master of Science in environmental engineering degree requires a thesis. This is a scholarly document prepared by the student which is based on research performed. The research topic is chosen by the student in consultation with his or her advisor. The thesis can count for 6 to 10 credits of the 30 required for the degree. A student entering the environmental engineering Master of Science degree program without an undergraduate engineering degree will be required to satisfy the undergraduate requirements for mathematics, basic science, and engineering sciences in addition to the Master of Science requirements.
To be admitted to the graduate Master of Science program in civil engineering or environmental engineering the applicant must:
1. Hold a baccalaureate degree from an educational institution of recognized standing.
2. Have adequate preparation in engineering or a basic science area and show potential to undertake advanced study and research as evidenced by academic performance and experience.
3. At the baccalaureate level, have earned a cumulative grade point average (GPA) in all courses of at least 3.0 or equivalent.
Applications should be submitted directly to the Graduate School before April 1 of the upcoming academic year. However, applications will be considered at any time they are submitted.
Official transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate records must be received by the Graduate School before the application is complete. When a transcript is submitted in advance of completion of undergraduate or graduate 9/1/059/1/05istration at North Dakota State University.
Three letters of recommendation are generally required before action is taken on any application. Personal reference report forms are available from the Graduate School.
The TOEFL and Graduate Record Examination scores are required of international applicants. A minimum TOEFL score of 525 (paper test) or 193 (computer test) is required for admission and 600 (paper test) or 247 (computer test) is required for teaching assistantship.
Research and/or teaching assistantships may be available. Appicants are considered on the basis of scholarship and their potential to undertake advanced study and research, as well as financial need. To be considered for an assistantship, a completed Graduate School application, official transcripts, and three letters of reference, and TOEFL and GRE results (for international applicants) must be submitted to the Graduate School.
The laboratories of the Civil Engineering and Construction department are well equipped for graduate students to pursue experimental work in their research. Recently, several pieces of equipment have been added to these labs.
The Advanced Materials laboratory is a dedicated research laboratory for conducting research in the area of characterization and modeling of advanced materials. The laboratory has good facilities for sample preparation including a high precision isomet saw, a ceramic sample cutter, a high precision grinder, optical microscope with goose neck light source, controlled humidity chambers and associated instrumentation.
The Environmental Engineering Laboratory in the Department of Civil Engineering is set up for both undergraduate teaching and graduate research activities. The lab has all the necessary equipment and apparatus to run wet chemistry water and wastewater analyses, ranging from conventional BOD, COD and hardness to the analysis of different species of phosphorus and nitrogen compounds. Major instruments in the lab include a GC/MS and two spectrophotometers. The GC/MS can be used for identification and quantification of volatile organic contaminants in water and wastewater samples. The spectrophotometers can be used to analyze a variety of organic and inorganic water pollutants. The lab also has a pilot scale reverse osmoses unit for membrane testing, and a respirometer for biological kinetic studies.
The Fluids laboratory is well equipped for demonstrating and verifying fundamental principles of fluid flow. It also has a long and a short tilting flume and flow-measuring devices both for pipe and channel flows. The long flume is essentially used for graduate research as and when needed. Graduate students basically fabricate their own experimental set-up for hydraulic modeling and other studies. The help of the University Machine Tool facility is often used for fabricating models for research.
The Geotechnical laboratory has excellent capabilities for conducting all major geotechnical tests including moisture content, grain size analysis, hydrometer, compaction tests, specific gravity, Atterberg limits, permeability, direct shear and consolidation. A triaxial test system composed of a computer controlled load frame from SATEC (Model 22EMF) integrated with a Soiltest triaxial cell (2.8 inch and 4 inch diameter) and an 8 channel high speed data acquisition system is available. In addition, the laboratory has a 1.4-inch diameter custom triaxial cell with ports for in-cell instrumentation and a high confining pressure (1000psi) triaxial cell. The cell is connected to a three-channel master control panel to allow for application of backpressure/water pressure gradient within the sample. Other associated instrumentation includes three pore water pressure transducers, a submersible load cell, axial transducer and a digital volume change transducer. The system also includes a de-airing cell for producing de-aired water, a dedicated air compressor and a vacuum pump. The laboratory also has four controlled uniaxial swelling cells designed and fabricated at NDSU for swelling clay research.
The structures laboratory has a large load frame and a pump unit, a 250 kip compression testing machine, a 22 kip compression/tension load frame, a 300 kip compression testing machine, and an environmental chamber and dewar. The load frame and pump unit are used to statically test moderate sized decks/slab systems and small to medium sized steel and concrete beams. The pressure transducer provides an RS232 interface for computer download. Hydraulic rams are used with the pump unit to produce the necessary static loads. Two models are currently available for use with the frame; 18 kip and 50 kip Enerpacs. The 250 kip compression machine is a Satec 250QC Prism with the Datcom III software package. This machine is used primarily for strength testing of standard concrete cylinders. It can also be used for flexural testing of smaller samples in three or four point bend mode. An extensiometer module has recently been purchased for this machine to enhance its capabilities. The Datcom III software provides the means of individual programming for specific tests and data collecting. The 22-kip compression/tension machine is a mechanical (screw type) load frame that is fully computer controlled, fully programmable, and has a built-in data acquisition system. Because of the lower capacity of this test frame, this machine is ideally suited for testing of wood, plastics, and certain composite materials. The 300 kip compression-testing machine is used primarily for testing of concrete and masonry. The environmental chamber is capable of maintaining temperatures from -200F to +600F. The chamber utilizes liquid nitrogen for cooling and heated coils for heating. The chamber is programmable and provides an interface for data download. The unit can be used as stand-alone or can be placed within a load frame to cool or heat specimens while under load.
The Transportation Engineering group has access to Workstations with Unix Operating System, PC Desktops with Windows operating systems, EPSON plotters and printers, line-scan, digital, high-speed and infra-red imaging systems, and total stations. Advanced software for Geometric Design, Pavement Design, Airport Design and Simulation of Traffic Engineering. Finite Element Simulation software is also available. The Advanced Traffic Analysis Center (ATAC) located on the NDSU campus is part of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI). The UGPTI is recognized nationally for its contributions to rural, small urban, freight transportation, and logistics. The ATAC as a top class research facility provides state-of-the-art computer hardware, and traffic analysis software, which are readily available for graduate and undergraduate students of the department.
We have two computer clusters that are dedicated to the civil engineering and construction department. Computers in these clusters are connected to the NDSU backbone and students are able to access information over the network throughout campus. Discipline-specific software is installed on these computers. Graduate students are also provided with desktop computers to meet their special computational and modeling needs.
