Civil Engineering, M.S.C.E. (Thesis)

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Degree Requirements: 30 Credit Hours

Total Hours: 24 hours of coursework with 6 hours Master’s Thesis

Admission Requirements

Regular Admission

Completed requirements for the Bachelor’s degree at a college or university accredited by the proper regional accrediting association.
An undergraduate degree or the equivalent in Civil Engineering, or a closely related field of study.
A 3.0 (4.0 scale) cumulative grade point average or higher on courses in undergraduate work, or equivalent.
International students must meet College of Graduate Studies English Proficiency requirements.

Provisional Admission

A student may be granted provisional admission based upon the recommendation of the Master of Science in Civil Engineering Graduate Coordinator or department chair.

Non-Degree Admission

Non-degree students are accepted on an individual basis as space is available.

A minimum of 50% of courses for the Master of Science in Civil Engineering degree must be taken at or above the 6000 level.

Specializations

The Master of Science in Civil Engineering degree program provides specializations in Construction Engineering, Environmental/Water Resources Engineering, Transportation-Pavement/Geotechnical Engineering, Structural Engineering and Surveying-Geomatics.

Program of Study

A minimum of 30 semester hours of course work, none of which was used to satisfy requirements for a previous degree, are required. The student’s faculty advisor, the Civil Engineering & Construction Department Chair and the Associate Dean for Students, Curriculum & Advisement must approve the program of study. Certain specialization groups within the department have specific course requirements, so students are advised to speak with their advisor to ensure degree requirements are satisfied.

Students writing a thesis must take at least 12 hours of coursework in their major field. The major field is defined as the student’s area of specialization.

Thesis Track Credit Hours: 30

Core Requirements Credit Hours: 9

Restricted Electives Credit Hours: 21

Select 21 credit hours of approved Electives at or above the 5000G level

Other Thesis Track Requirements

Comprehensive Exam

Total Credit Hours: 30

Thesis

Each candidate for the Master of Science in Civil Engineering Thesis Track degree must complete a thesis on a subject approved by the graduate thesis committee. The major professor supervises the research, directs the writing of the thesis, and approves the thesis in its final form. Prior to the final approval, the thesis is read by the thesis committee. One member, termed the second reader, has responsibility for an intensive and rigorous criticism of the thesis and a third member of the thesis committee has the responsibility of an “editorial reader.” Both second and third readers must report all comments to the major professor. The thesis must be defended in an oral examination before the graduate committee prior to final approval and sign-off.

The style and format for the completed thesis shall follow that prescribed by the Director for the Master of Science in Civil Engineering degree. Procedural steps in the preparation of the thesis are as follows:

The prospectus for the thesis shall be submitted to the major professor and thesis committee for approval.
The student must prepare the thesis for electronic submission following the latest version of the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD): Student Guide to Preparation and Processing manual.
The thesis must be electronically submitted to the ETD site for format check by the final thesis submission deadline as stated in the University Calendar.
The final corrected thesis must be electronically submitted to the ETD site by the ETD format check submission deadline as stated in the University Calendar. The final document must be electronically approved by the Thesis Committee.

See the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD): Student Guide to Preparation and Processing (latest version at the COGS Electronic Theses and Dissertation website).

Advisement

Graduate students are advised by their program. Graduate students should reach out to their graduate program director for information regarding the structures in place to facilitate advisement. For more information visit Graduate Academic Advisement .

Graduate students can also contact the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies for more information about their program director.
Phone: 912-478-COGS (2647)
Email: gradschool@georgiasouthern.edu