Prospective Students - Graduate

Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering

Producing engineers capable of identifying, preventing, and solving building, construction, and environmental problems is the department’s objective. In addition to the well-established graduate programs in environmental, water resource, and geotechnical engineering, students in the department may also choose to study in the emerging field of geoenvironmental engineering. Campus facilities, including a National Science Foundation-funded earthquake simulator, permit a case-study approach, which exposes students to real-world problems and allows experimentation, testing, and analysis.

Areas of Study and Research

Areas of study within the civil engineering department are: building systems engineering, construction engineering and management, environmental engineering, geoenvironmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, civil systems engineering, engineering science, structural engineering, and hydrology, water resources and environmental fluid mechanics. Applicants interested in urban planning or transportation should contact the University of Colorado at Denver.

Degrees Offered

MS
Requirements for this master's degree can be fulfilled in two ways. Under plan I, the candidate presents 30 semester hours of course work including thesis, and under plan II, 30 credit hours of course work are required.

PhD
This degree requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate-level work (5000 level or above), the last 15 of which must be taken at this university. The doctoral dissertation likewise requires 30 semester hours. The applicant for this degree normally has completed a master's degree in civil engineering or a closely related field and must demonstrate the capability for both rigorous academic accomplishments and independent research.

Admission

Graduate School Minimum Admissions Standards
Individual graduate departments may have additional or more restrictive standards by which they evaluate graduate applicants. However, the Graduate School at CU-Boulder has established minimum standards for graduate admission. Applicants must:

1. Hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, or have done work equivalent to that required for such a degree.
   
2. Show promise of ability to pursue advanced study and research, as judged by the student’s scholastic record.
   
3. Have adequate preparation to enter graduate study in the chosen field.
   
4. Have at least a 3.00 undergraduate grade point average. Note: Applicants who cannot meet this undergraduate standard may still secure regular admission if they have completed 9 semester hours of relevant graduate course work with at least a 3.25 average.
   
5. Provide four letters of recommendation.
   

Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Admission Requirements
See department web page for requirements of the individual areas of study.

Financial Support Available
Financial support is available for qualified students in the form of teaching assistantships or research assistantships. All incoming students are considered for teaching assistantships. Research assistantships are arranged directly between a student and a professor, usually after a student has been enrolled in the department for one or more semesters.

All incoming students are considered for available departmental or university fellowships.

Application Information and Deadlines   Fall admission Yes Application deadline March 1 International application deadline December 1 Financial assistance application deadline January 15   Spring admission Yes Application deadline October 31 International application deadline October 1 Financial assistance application deadline None   Summer admission No

Contact Information

University of Colorado at Boulder
Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering
Engineering Center
Office Tower 449
428 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0428
Phone: 303-492-7316
Fax: 303-492-7317
E-mail: cvengrad@colorado.edu
Website: civil.colorado.edu