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Civil Engineering Program — Admission Requirements

Unconditional admission to the M.S.C.E. program:

  • A B.S.C.E. degree, or the equivalent, from an ABET accredited (or similar) program. Students with degrees in fields related to Civil Engineering may be admitted with certain prerequisite courses specified.
  • A grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0/4.0 (B-Average grade) on the last 60 hours attempted.
  • GRE is optional.
  • A score of at least 550 on the paper-based and 79 on the internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a score of a 6.5 on the IELTS, for international students without U.S. degrees. Students must meet minimum English scores per admissions policies for graduate and professional programs. Admission to Graduate and Professional Studies and Eligibility for Competitive Fellowships
  • Approval of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Cullen College of Engineering.
  • Conditional admission may be granted to domestic applicants if the applicant meets a minimum GPA of 2.7 and an acceptable GRE score. Students who are admitted conditionally must achieve a B-average (3.0 GPA) or better in their first four graduate courses (or 12 hours).
  • Deadline for admission into all Civil graduate programs for the Fall semester is May 15th; Spring deadline is October 15th.
  • Fall priority deadline is March 15th. For the full list of admissions contacts and department deadlines, please click here. 
  • All applications to the Civil Engineering Graduate program must be submitted through the graduate school; please click on “APPLICATION FORMS” in the right side bar for further instructions.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) admission requirements:

  • The applicant must have B.S. and M.S. (with thesis generally) degrees in Civil Engineering from an accredited college or university. Students with degrees in fields closely related to Civil Engineering may be admitted with certain prerequisite courses specified to make their backgrounds equivalent, in general, to the Civil Engineering graduates. All prerequisite courses should be completed prior to starting the Ph.D. program.
  • The applicant must have a minimum GPA of 3.5/4.0 on all graduate work attempted and a satisfactory undergraduate record (at least 3.0/4.0 over the last 60 hours attempted).
  • GRE is optional.
  • A score of at least 550 on the paper-based and 79 on the internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a score of 6.5 on the IELTS for international students without U.S. degrees. Students must meet minimum English scores per admissions policies for graduate and professional programs. Admission to Graduate and Professional Studies and Eligibility for Competitive Fellowships
  • Favorable recommendation for admission to the Ph.D. program is required from the student's M.S. thesis advisor and two of his/her graduate professors. The consent of a Civil Engineering Faculty member to act as the student's Ph.D. Major Advisor is recommended.
  • Deadline for admission into all Civil graduate programs for the Fall semester is May 15th; Spring deadline is October 15th.
  • Fall priority deadline is March 15th. For the full list of admissions contacts and department deadlines, please click here.
  • All applications to the Civil Engineering Graduate program must be submitted through the graduate school; please click on “APPLICATION FORMS” in the right side bar for further instructions.

Admission to the Ph.D. program is highly selective. Satisfying the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission. All applicants must be approved by the Civil Engineering Admissions Committee and the Associate Dean of Engineering for Graduate Programs. Since a research dissertation is required of all Ph.D. candidates, it is highly recommended that a prospective Ph.D. students contact individual faculty members whose research programs are of interest and a match to the student's skill sets to discuss the possibilities of performing research under their guidance.