Civil Engineering (MS/Ph.D)

The Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Akron (UA) offers master of science (MS) doctorate (PhD) degrees in six disciplines: computational mechanics, environmental engineering, hydraulic engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, and transportation engineering. All programs enable students to work closely with experienced, knowledgeable faculty members and require rigorous research.

Admission Requirements

General requirements include a bachelor's degree from a program that is ABET accredited at the time of graduation, or provide satisfactory evidence of an equivalent academic background to the Dean of the College of Engineering. General requirements also include official undergraduate transcripts, undergraduate GPA, at least two letters of recommendation, and official results of the GRE. Personal statements or descriptions of post-baccalaureate experience that provide a rationale for the proposed graduate study may also be submitted. Applicants with a bachelor's degree in a discipline other than engineering must have completed undergraduate course work in calculus, differential equations, and have one year of classical physics. These students may be required to take additional bridge-up courses. Additional requirements for the Master's Program applicants include a bachelor's degree with a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or better or 3.00 for the last two years (64 semester credits or equivalent). Additional requirements for the PhD Program applicants include a bachelor's with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0/4.0. Applicants with a master's degree must have a cumulative graduate GPA of at least 3.5/4.0 and must provide satisfactory evidence of an equivalent engineering baccalaureate background to the Dean of the College of Engineering.

Akron Advantage

Research laboratory facilities include Advanced Composite Materials and Structures Lab, Asphalt Lab, Concrete Lab, Environmental Lab, Soils Lab, Geotechnical Lab, Grout Research Lab, Hydraulics and Environmental Lab, Infrastructure Lab, Smart Structures Lab, Transportation Lab, and Materials Lab. Computer laboratories provide student access to the latest PC and workstations and technical software such as FEA, ABAQUS, ANSYS, ALGOR, PATRAN, AutoCAD, Mathematica, MathLab, etc.

Additional Information

Master's students are encouraged to select an area of specialization for concentration of graduate study. Two options are available for organization of the master's program. The thesis option of the MS program is the preferred choice and consists of at least 15 credit hours of civil engineering courses at or above the 500 level, 3 credit hours of an approved mathematics or science elective, 6 credits of approved electives and 6 credits for the thesis.

A non-thesis option does exist, and is used primarily for part-time students. Requirements include 15 credits of civil engineering courses at or above the 500 level, 3 credits of an approved science or mathematics elective, 12 credits of approved technical electives and a 2 credit engineering report.