BS/MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering

The accelerated BS/MS program in Civil Engineering is an integrated degree program in which qualified students can earn a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering in five years. The credit hour requirement is 30 credits for the MS degree. CEN undergraduate students at UMass Dartmouth can choose to apply to the accelerated 5-Year BS/MS option during the fall of your junior year.

BS/MS program advantages

The accelerated, combined BS/MS program in Civil Engineering is designed for highly motivated and qualified undergraduate students who wish to pursue an advanced degree. The accelerated BS/MS program offers:

greater flexibility to schedule courses to complete the prerequisites for advanced study;
a seamless transition to the Master’s degree;
the opportunity to complete the requirements for the MS degree within a year of completing the BS; and
the ability to improve the effeciency and lower the cost of your college studies and experiences.

Admission Requirements

Interested and qualified undergraduate students will generally apply for the accelerated program at the beginning of the second semester of their junior year (sixth semester of the BS program).

Eligibility and admission criteria

Currently enrolled in the BS CEN program at UMassD and have not yet received an undergraduate BS CEN degree.
Completed at least 75 credit hours in the BS CEN major.

Cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0. CEN students with a GPA of 2.5-3.0 may be accepted to the CEN BSMS program on a case-by-case basis.

Application Process

Complete application packages should be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies online: http://www.umassd.edu/graduate/graduateapplication/. Applications must include a completed graduate application form, a brief statement of purpose explaining motivation for graduate study and curriculum vitae. No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or TOEFL exam scores are required. Presently, application fees are waived if students meet eligibility requirements. Students with a GPA of 2.5-3.0 must submit at least one Letter of Recommendation to demonstrate their readiness for graduate studies.

Applications will be reviewed by the CEN MS Graduate Committee. Acceptance into the BS/MS program is conditional upon admission to the UMass Dartmouth Graduate program.

Degree Requirements

All CEN MS students must complete a total of 30 credit hours as described in the MS program. Students must choose one of three possible tracks: Thesis, Project or Courses-Only which are described below. The BS degree must be awarded before the student can be considered a graduate student.

Students in the 5-Year BS/MS program are allowed to have 6 credits of upper level (400 or higher) tech-elective (not core-elective) courses count towards both the BS and MS degrees. They must receive a B or better for the 400-level courses to qualify. They can also automatically transfer up to 3 credits of 500-level courses for which they received a C or better. Lastly, UMassD students who have previously pursued another degree program and non-matriculate UMassD students may also officially exclude any number of additional 500-level courses from their BS degrees which can be used towards their MS degree. To do so, they must submit the Graduate-Level Course Exclusion Request Form at least 48 hours prior to the add/drop deadline.

Thesis Track

Six (6) credits of MS Graduate Thesis (CEN 590) must be completed. A master’s thesis, and satisfactory oral presentation and defense of the thesis are required.
No more than 6 credits of individual study, including independent study and/or directed study, and excluding graduate thesis, may apply as credit toward the master’s degree.

Project Track

Three (3) credits of MS Graduate Project (CEN 592) must be completed. A written report, and satisfactory oral presentation and defense of the project are required.
No more than 6 credits of individual study, including independent study and/or directed study, and excluding graduate project, may apply as credit toward the master’s degree.

Course Work Track

The course work track requires the successful completion of a comprehensive written or oral exam, involving questions from a set of a minimum of four core courses completed by the student. The set of core courses will be determined by the student’s advisor in consultation with the student and must be approved by the Graduate Program Director.

A comprehensive written or oral exam must be passed after the completion of a set of core courses. A student who fails to pass the exam may retake it for the second time upon consultation with the Graduate Advisor and approval of the Graduate Program Director.
No more than 6 credits of individual study, including independent study and/or directed study, may apply as credit toward the master’s degree.