Admission and Degree Requirements

Academic Credentials for Admission

Applicants are expected to satisfy all requirements for admission to the M.Sc. in Civil Engineering program. Entry into the M.Sc. in Civil Engineering program will require a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or a Bachelor's degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. A minimum requirement for admission into the M.Sc. in Civil Engineering program is an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.70 on a Scale of 4.00. Applicants having at least 3 (three) years noticeable professional experience with a slightly lower CGPA may be provisionally admitted at the discretion of the Graduate Admission Committee of the Department.

Applications for admission into the Master's by research will be evaluated by the 'Specialty Area Coordinator' or by a committee headed by the 'Specialty Area Coordinator.' The Department Chair will appoint Specialty Area Coordinators in all fields of Civil Engineering, including structural, geotechnical, transportation, environmental, water resources engineering, construction management and fire safety.

Degree requirements for various modes of M.Sc. in Civil Engineering program

Master's by Research

Master's by Research helps students succeed in graduate-level research in their area of concentration. A research proposal must be submitted within the second semester of enrollment to the Specialty Area Coordinator, and the research idea must be formally presented to the Thesis Examination Committee. The presentation must define the entire research cycle, including literature review, hypothesis formulation, and testing, analysis of outcomes, results presentation, etc. The Thesis Examination Committee may grant permission to move forward or request conversion to a Master's by Mixed Mode.

After three full semesters of enrollment in 36 credits of thesis courses, a final defense of the dissertation is expected; however, a maximum of five years is allowed. The performance of the student is assessed by Thesis Examination Committee based on the research paper and an oral examination that includes the student presentation.

Based on dissertation research, each student must have published or gained acceptance for publication of at least one Scopus-indexed journal article as the first author. As a co-author or first author, another peer-reviewed, high-quality international journal is required. The student must also have presented the dissertation research at a minimum of one technical international/national conference.

Master's by Mixed Mode:

Master's by Mixed Mode offers students opportunities for graduate-level research with a combination of graduate courses. Students are expected to finish 18 credits of coursework and 18 credits of dissertation. A research proposal must be submitted within the second semester of enrollment to the Specialty Area Coordinator.

After two full semesters of enrollment of 18 credit hours of thesis course, a final defense of the dissertation is expected; however, a maximum of five years is allowed. The performance of the student is assessed by Thesis Examination Committee based on the dissertation and an oral examination that includes the student's presentation. As a co-author or first author, a peer-reviewed, high-quality international journal is required.

Master's by Course Work:

Master's by Course Work offers students opportunities of completing a wide variety of graduate courses, including a concentration in their specialization area. Students are required to finish 40 credits of coursework, of which 18 credits from the specialization area, 18 credits from any other areas, and four credits from the graduate capstone design course.

Thesis Examination Committee

A Thesis Examination Committee must be appointed before the student may apply for Master's by Research or Master's by Mixed Mode. The committee will be appointed by the Chair of the Department. The Master's Degree Supervisory Committee will be comprised of a minimum of three members, including a chair. A full-time faculty may serve as the chair of a Master's Degree Supervisory Committee, who is the supervisor of the dissertation and should be carefully selected by the student to guide the work. NSU's part-time faculty members may serve as members but may not serve as the chair of a Master's Degree Supervisory Committee. An external member from another university within the same area of specialization is essential for a Master's by Research mode.

Master's Dissertation and Oral defense

To satisfy the research requirements of the Master's by Research and Master's by Mixed Mode, a student is required to present a thesis that is defended in an oral examination. The oral defense of the thesis must be completed to the satisfaction of the Thesis Examination Committee. All members of the committee and the student must be physically present at the oral defense. Students must register for the thesis courses as given in the following:

Master's by Research students should register for CE6000A (6cr), CE6000B (12cr), CE6000C (18cr) for three semesters.
Master's by Mixed Mode students should register for CE6000A (6cr) and CE6000B (12cr) in two semesters.
Master's by Course Work students cannot count credits by taking CE6000A, CE6000B, and CE6000C courses.

Revisions to the thesis are typical and must be completed in a timely manner. If a student is unable to complete revisions to the thesis within the semester in which the defense is held, the student must complete the revisions by remaining continuously enrolled by taking the CE6000 course and presenting the final document to the DCEE office within one year of the defense. The Thesis Examination Committee may suggest a second oral presentation to defend the thesis.

Policies and Grades

No grade is assigned for the research courses (CE6000A, CE6000B, CE6000C); it will be either satisfactory (Pass) or unsatisfactory (Fail). The decision will be taken by the Thesis Examination Committee.

NSU Academic Policies and Guidelines are applied to the courseworks. A cumulative GPA of 2.7 within the course works is required for the M.Sc. in Civil Engineering degree.

The minimum duration to complete the M.Sc. in Civil Engineering degree would be 18 months, i.e. three long semesters. The maximum duration is five years. No extension is possible beyond five years.