MS in Sustainable Engineering Degree Requirements

The Professional MS in Sustainable Engineering degree is a highly immersive, 10-month program that begins the first week of July and ends with the students graduating the following May. Each degree requires a total of 30 credit hours.  

  • In the summer, students will enroll in up to three credit hours of specialized, intensive course work to ensure students have the requisite skills to successfully perform in the interdisciplinary, integrated program coursework. All students will be required to take a one-credit course in communications skills. Students may also be required to take up to two, one-credit courses in programming languages (Python) and statistics, depending on their skill levels. Leeds and CEAS will create an assessment for each of these courses to determine whether students have the skill level required for success in the program. 
  • In the fall semester, students will transition into the integrated core curriculum, a collaborative and interdisciplinary learning experience developed by the three-partner school/colleges. Each partner (the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Engineering & Applied Science, and the Leeds School of Business) will offer two, 2.5 credit hour courses (totaling 15 credit hours), spread across two, seven-week terms during the 14-week semester. This integrated core will include integration days providing experiential learning projects, industry panels, and policy discussions tying together the more theoretical course content with practical applications. 
  • In the spring semester, students will take 12 credit hours of discipline-specific sustainability courses as well as a 3-credit capstone experience. The capstone will bring both business and engineering students together to apply and integrate the skills they have developed throughout the program in a real-world or project-based setting.  

Course Details

While pursuing the professional MS degree in Sustainable Engineering, you must complete a total of 30 credits of graduate-level coursework with the following requirements: 

  • Specialized Intensive Coursework (up to 3 credit hours) 
  • Communication Skills (1 credit hour) 
  • Programming Languages (Python) and Statistics (2 credit hours) 
  • Integrated Core Curriculum (15 credit hour) 
  • Discipline-Specific Sustainability Courses  (12 credit hours) 
  • Capstone Experience (3 credit hours) 

Program Structure 

In this intensive nine-month program, you’ll complete an integrated 15-credit core in the fall with students from CU Boulder’s MS in Sustainable Business. In the spring, you’ll select engineering-focused electives that align with your goals and collaborate with business students on a capstone project with real-world partners in industry or government. 

Fall Semester — 15 credits 

  • Integrated core 
  • Integrated courses with students from CU Boulder’s MS in Sustainable Business. 

Term A 

  • Sustainability Systems and Natural Processes 
  • Measurement & Accounting for Sustainable Systems 
  • Sustainability Data Inference, Visualization & Storytelling 

Term B 

  • Design & Implementation of Sustainability Policy & Regulation 
  • Managing Sustainable Process & Technology Transitions 
  • Principles for the Design of Sustainable Technologies 

Spring Semester — 12 Credits

Specialized engineering electives 

Examples 

  • Sustainable Engineering Design 
  • Sustainability Principles for Engineering Managers 
  • Embodied Carbon in Buildings 
  • Sustainable Building Design 
  • Hazards, Resilience & Sustainability for the Natural & Built Environment 
  • Global Development for Engineers 
  • Water, Sanitation & Hygiene 
  • Household Energy Systems 
  • Sustainable Energy Systems 

Spring — 3 credits

  • Capstone 
  • Team-based project with real-world partners in industry or government. 

Transfer Credit 

In some cases, a limited number of graduate level course credits can be transferred from another regionally accredited institution and applied toward a master’s degree. These credits must be approved by your faculty advisor and the Graduate School. Students who have completed their first semester in the master’s program are eligible to seek transfer credit. 

Students seeking a degree from the University of Colorado Boulder must complete the majority of their coursework while enrolled in a graduate program as a degree-seeking student. Generally speaking, graduate level courses that have not been used toward a bachelor’s or another master’s degree, and in which grades of B or better are earned, are eligible for transfer into the MS programs. Credits from a completed master’s program cannot be transferred into a current master’s program. A maximum of 9 credits can be transferred to the MS program. 

Plan of Study 

All academic advising is done in conjunction with Sustainable Engineering faculty members. You should work with your faculty academic advisor to define your course schedule. A temporary advisor is assigned upon admission to the graduate program, but you are highly encouraged to meet with faculty to identify a permanent advisor. 

The MS Sustainable Engineering degree is a professional MS degree, which is a course-based degree. As such, it does not offer the option to do an MS thesis or independent study research. 

The Graduate School requires that to receive a master’sprofessional Master's degree a student must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 in all courses taken as a graduate student. 

Advising 

Your faculty advisor serves as your academic advisor throughout a student’s academic program. Students consult with their advisor to plan their course of study. 

Grades 

The Graduate School requires that to receive a master's degree, a student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 in all courses taken as a graduate student. No grade lower than a C can be counted towards the master's degree and must receive faculty advisor approval to count toward degree requirements.  

Time Limit 

All requirements for the course-based professional MS degree must be completed within four years of the start of course work. 

Academic Standards 

Minimum Grades & GPA Requirements 

Students must complete a total of 30 credit hours of approved graduate level coursework with a grade of C or better and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00. 

Any student, who fails to maintain a 3.00 grade point average or to make adequate progress toward completing a degree, as assessed by the student’s academic/research advisor, will be subject to suspension or dismissal from the Graduate School upon consultation with the major department. The final decision on suspension or dismissal will be made by the Dean of the Graduate School. See the  Graduate School Rules for additional information. 

Contact Us 

For questions, please email us:  MS-Sustainable Engineering Program