Civil Engineering

MSCE Program - Structural Engineering Option

The MSCE structural engineering option prepares graduates to work as practicing structural engineers.

Curriculum

The structural engineering curriculum consists of 30 semester units of coursework(equivalent to 45 quarter units). This coursework consists of required courses, elective courses, and a master's project, thesis or comprehensive examination, as described below:

Required Courses (21 Units)

  • CE 5502 - Structural Dynamics (3)
  • CE 5503 - Finite Element Analysis (3)
  • CE 5504 - Advanced Steel Design (3)
  • CE 5505 - Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design (3)
  • CE 5506 - Seismic Design of Structures (3)
  • CE 5515 - Probability Analysis, Structures & Infrastructure System Reliability (3)
  • CE 5541 - Advanced Structural Analysis (3)

Elective Courses (3 - 9 units)

Students who choose to take the comprehensive examination will need to take 9 units, those who choose to do a master's project will need to complete 6 units, while those who choose to do a master's thesis will need 3 units of electives. Select these electives from the following list: 

  • CE 5520 - Prestressed Concrete Design (3)
  • CE 5530 - Advanced Timber Design (3)
  • CE 5990 - Base Isolation and Energy Dissipation (3)
  • CE 5480 - Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering (3)
  • CE 5561 - Light Gage Steel Design (3)
  • ME 5400 - Advanced Mechanics of Materials (3)
  • ME 5431 - Advanced Finite Element Modeling (3)
  • EGR 5110 - Numerical Methods (3)

Master's Project, Thesis and Comprehensive Examination  

Each student must complete either a master's project (CE 6950 for a total of 3 units) or a master's thesis (CE 6960 for a total of 6 units) or take the comprehensive examination (CE6970 for a total of zero unit).

See the University Catalog for more details on each of these courses.

Program of Study

Each graduate student must meet with his or her academic advisor to develop a written course of study that outlines the specific courses the student will take to complete the MSCE degree. The approved program of study must be submitted by week ten of the second semester.

The following forms and information will be useful in preparing your program of study:

Academic Advisors

Initial academic advisers are assigned as based on the first letter of the student's last name

  • A-G: Dr. Lomiento
  • H-R: Dr. Perez
  • S-Z: Dr. Wang