Degree Requirements

M.S.C.E. and M.S.E. Degree Requirements

  • A minimum of 30 approved graduate credit hours including electives and thesis/research project is required for graduation.
  • At least 15 of the required 30 semester hours must be in courses at the 6000-level or above.
  • Only the grades of A, B or C are accepted toward a graduate degree. A grade of U in any graduate course will terminate the student’s enrollment, subject to readmission as prescribed in the University Catalog. Similarly, an accumulation of three C grades will result in termination of the student’s enrollment, subject to readmission to a program. A student in any graduate program is required to maintain satisfactory progress toward a degree. Continued enrollment is at all times subject to review on the basis of academic record and of actions with regard to observance of University rules and regulations.
  • To qualify for a degree, the student must have a grade point average of at least 3.0 based upon all courses acceptable for graduate credit for which he or she received a grade from the University.
  • The Department accepts the transfer of up to six hours of courses taken from another institution or UNC Charlotte prior to admission to the master’s program in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
  • Upon completion of a substantial amount of graduate work, and in no case later than two weeks prior to the beginning of the semester in which the student expects to complete all requirements for the degree, the student shall apply for graduation through Banner Self Service.
  • All work offered for the master’s degrees must be completed within a six-year period.

Ph.D. Degree Requirements

Requirements for Doctoral Students with a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering
(Pursuing the Ph.D. Degree with Advanced Standing)

Under the Advanced Standing option, students must complete 42 credit hours of civil engineering courses, including only 18 credit hours of dissertation research. The remaining 24 credit hours under this option are determined by the student’s concentration. With the approval of the doctoral research advisor and Graduate Program Director, a maximum of three doctoral-level courses (outside CEGR or within CEGR) related to the dissertation topic or the student’s area of concentration may be incorporated into the credit hour requirement. Note that each doctoral student with Advanced Standing is limited to one individual study class within the 42-credit hour requirement. All doctoral students must also complete GRAD 8302 and GRAD 8990 as a Graduate School requirement.

Requirements for Doctoral Students with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering
(Pursuing the Ph.D. Degree)

Under this option, students must complete 72 credit hours of civil engineering courses, including only 18 credit hours of dissertation research. The remaining 54 credit hours under this option are determined by the student’s concentration. At least 39 credit hours of these remaining requirements must be in courses numbered 8000 or above. With the approval of the doctoral research advisor and Graduate Program Director, a maximum of three doctoral-level courses (outside CEGR or within CEGR) related to the dissertation topic or the student’s area of concentration may be incorporated into the credit hour requirement. Note that each doctoral student is limited to two individual study classes within the 72-credit hour requirement. All doctoral students must also complete GRAD 8302 (Responsible Conduct of Research) and GRAD 8990 (Academic Integrity) as a Graduate School requirement.