Graduate Degree Program Requirements

The requirements for the graduate degrees in civil engineering and in geoengineering are listed in the Graduate School Catalog. After you have read the pertinent sections in that Catalog, the following text will provide you with additional information concerning the various degree programs and how to satisfy all degree requirements.

The Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering offers several forms of the Master's degree in civil engineering and geoengineering and also a PhD in civil engineering. 

If a minor is declared, the student must obtain approval and select courses in consultation with the DGS of the minor field, as well as with his/her CEGE faculty adviser. The “related fields” arrangement is more flexible. Courses are chosen from other departments in consultation only with the CEGE faculty adviser. Courses offered in other departments may also be included in the major program if approved for that purpose by the faculty adviser and the DGS.

To receive credit toward graduate degree requirements, courses must be at the 4XXX level or higher and NOT included as a required course for undergraduate majors in Civil Engineering or Geoengineering. 

For example, CEGE 4502 Water and Wastewater Treatment is a required course for undergraduate CEGE majors and cannot be taken for graduate credit. 

Graduate students are usually permitted and may even be required to take undergraduate courses (4XXX or lower) to fulfill gaps in their academic background. The grades from such courses will count toward the overall graduate grade point average (GPA), but cannot be included on the graduate degree plan or the GPAS planner.

These courses will not count towards your civil engineering graduate degree:

CEGE 4101W – Project Management

CEGE 4102W – Capstone Design

CEGE 4301 – Soil Mechanics II

CEGE 4401 – Steel and Reinforced Concrete

CEGE 4501- Hydrological Design

CEGE 4502 – Water and Wastewater Treatment

CEGE 4522 – Review of Introduction to Fluid Mechanics

These courses will not count towards your geoengineering graduate degree:

CEGE 4101W- Project Management

CEGE 4104W – Capstone Design

CEGE 4121 – Computer Applications in Civil Engineering II

CEGE 4311 – Rock Mechanics

CEGE 4351 – Groundwater Mechanics

ESCI 4501 – Structural Geology  

ESCI 4971W – Field Hydrogeology

The upper limit for acceptable 4xxx courses included on the Graduate Degree Plan or GPAS Planner is up to 9 credits. 

Partial credits from a course are not accepted. If your credits add up to 10 you will need to remove one course from your degree plan. 

Each research area (with the exception of water resources) in the department has a 1-credit seminar course offered each semester in which primarily graduate students present their research

M.S./M.C.E./M.GeoE. students can count up to 1 credit toward their coursework requirements

Ph.D. students can count up to 2 credits toward their coursework requirements

Although there is no graduate school rule about the number of incomplete courses you can have, the recommended departmental limit is 2. 

There can be no incomplete courses on your degree plan.

Any courses within the department and within the CSE college can be used to count towards your graduate degree plan or GPAS planner. 

Courses outside of the college can be approved in consultation with your adviser and the DGS.

Check the registration drop and add dates for information about refunds, when permission is needed, and if a “W” will appear on your transcript. If no approvals are required and you are confident that making the change is necessary, you may drop your class through MyU: Academics. If approvals are needed you will need to fill out the Graduate Registration Exception Request Form located on onestop.umn.edu. under forms, registration tab. Approvals to drop a course will only be given if the graduate registration exception request is received in the same semester you are taking the course and on or before the last instructional day of the semester. 

The Graduate School limits the number S/N (pass/fail) credits one third of the credit total. 

Consult with your adviser and the DGS concerning coursework questions.

Courses however must be taken as A-F, unless only offered S/N. 

A student may transfer graduate course credits into his/her degree program from other universities, non-degree seeking registrations at the University of Minnesota, and credits from other University of Minnesota units that were obtained in pursuit of graduate-level degrees that were not awarded and graduate credits taken but not used while an undergraduate.

The transfer of graduate credits is accomplished by listing the courses on the Graduate Degree Plan for students entering grad school prior to fall 2020. 

For students entering grad school fall 2020 and beyond – you will email the graduate program coordinator for the GPAS transfer course form which must be approved and signed by your adviser and returned to the graduate program coordinator to input into your GPAS planner. 

The department does not grant graduate credit by special examination.

Students with undergraduate preparation in disciplines other than civil engineering are frequently admitted for graduate study in the department. If you are in this category, most likely you will be required to take additional course work at the undergraduate level to compensate for specific deficiencies in your undergraduate preparation. 

These courses will not be included in your degree plan but will appear on your transcript and are included in the calculation of your GPA. Initially, the DGS and admissions committee determine the additional courses that a student is required to take at the time a student is recommended for admission to the graduate program. You should have been informed of these requirements in a separate letter from the graduate studies representative in your area, the DGS, or your adviser. Nevertheless, additional courses may be added at a later time if it becomes evident that a candidate has a weakness in a relevant topic area.