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Degree Programs & Requirements

Degree Programs

Through its four departments and two non-departmentalized engineering programs, the school offers graduate programs leading to the Master of Science (M.S.) degree and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in the following concentration areas:

Biomedical Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.), Civil Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.), Electrical Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.), Environmental Engineering (M.S., Ph.D), Computer Science (M.S., Ph.D.), Mechanical Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.), Data Analytics (M.S. only), Engineering Management (M.S. only), and Materials Science and Engineering (M.S. Ph.D.).

The curricula of the master's degree programs aimed at a particular discipline provide in-depth coverage of topics related to the discipline.

The school also offers graduate certificate programs in several areas (Engineering Management, Additive Manufacturing, Data Analytics, Power Electronics, and Signal Processing & Data Science), which can be completed as stand-alone programs or as part of master’s degree programs.

Admission

Admission to the School of Engineering follows the general university regulations (see Admission to Graduate Study in these Announcements). We present here general admission regulations pertaining only to the graduate degree programs of the School of Engineering. Additional specific requirements for admission to particular programs, if any, are given in the departmental sections. Admission to all graduate degree programs is made by the dean of the School of Engineering upon the recommendation of the chair/director of the appropriate graduate program.

Doctoral Degree Programs

The minimum grade point average, GPA, required for admission to the doctoral degree programs is 3.4. In special circumstances, program chairs and faculty may petition for students to be admitted who do not meet the GPA guideline. There is no provisional admission for the doctoral programs.

Master Degree Programs

The minimum requirement for admission to the M.S. degree program is a baccalaureate degree from an accredited university. The minimum requirement for admission to the master's degree program of a particular engineering program is an undergraduate degree from an accredited engineering program. Additional requirements may apply based on undergraduate performance. The minimum GPA required for regular admission to master's degree programs is 3.0 for bachelors-level courses. Provisional admission may be granted to students with a bachelor's-level GPA less than 3.0. Provisional admission will be converted to regular admission after the student passes a set of approved graduate level courses with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Degree Requirements

The degree requirements for graduate studies in the School of Engineering generally follow the university requirements (see General Requirements of Graduate Studies). We present here general degree requirements pertaining only to the graduate degree programs of the School of Engineering. Additional specific degree requirements for particular programs, if any, are provided in the departmental sections.

Grade Point Average for Graduation

A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in coursework taken in the School of Engineering is required for graduation in all graduate programs.

Master's Degree

The university's general requirements for graduate study for the master's and licentiate degrees apply to all master's degree programs offered in the School of Engineering. There are, however, two exceptions: competency in a foreign language is not required and a comprehensive examination is not required. The minimum requirements for the master's degree are the successful completion of an approved program of study consisting of at least 30 semester credit hours. Individual programs may require more than 30 semester credit hours. Two options are available to complete the requirements.

Non-thesis Option

A student may complete the required semester credit hours through graduate coursework with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.

Thesis Option

A student may write a master's thesis whose topic is approved by the appropriate graduate program. If this option is selected, the student registers for a total of six semester credit hours of master's thesis guidance. Upon approval of the written thesis, six semester credit hours, which count toward the minimum 30, will be posted to the student's academic record. The remaining number of semester credit hours of graduate coursework must be completed with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.

Core Master’s-Level Course

All students pursuing a master's degree in the programs of biomedical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering are required to pass with a grade of C or better in two of the four courses: Graduate Level Applied Mathematics, Numerical Methods in Engineering, Engineering Economics and Engineering Systems Analysis. Each program may impose further restrictions regarding which courses their students must take.

Joint Master's Degree Programs

Some graduate programs in the School of Engineering participate in joint degree programs that allow students to earn two engineering master's degrees. The student must satisfy all requirements for both degrees but may be allowed to designate up to four approved graduate engineering courses to partially satisfy the requirements for both degrees. Typically, this would reduce the total number of graduate engineering courses required to earn both master's degrees from 20 courses to 16 courses. Contact the dean's office of the School of Engineering for more information.

Doctoral Degree

The university's general requirements for graduate study for the doctoral degree apply to all doctoral programs of the School of Engineering, with one exception: the foreign language competency exam is not required. The requirements for a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) of the school include:

  1. A minimum of 53 semester hours of graduate work in a program of study prepared and approved in consultation with an advisor;
  2. The successful completion of ENGR 991 Directed Study - Doctoral Qualification and passing of the examination.
  3. The successful passing of a comprehensive examination upon completion of the graduate coursework;
  4. The approval of a dissertation proposal submitted and presented by the candidate; and
  5. The approval and successful defense of the dissertation in an oral examination conducted as specified by university procedures.

Certificate Programs

Requirements for the various graduate certificate programs are described below in the sections for each department. Credit requirements vary from 12 to 18 credits depending on the specific certificate.

Transfer of Credit

Up to six semester credit hours of graduate work earned at another accredited institution with a grade of B or higher may be applied toward course requirements for master's degrees upon recommendation of the appropriate graduate program and with the approval of the dean of the school. Up to 24 semester credit hours of graduate work earned at another accredited institution with a grade of B or higher may be applied toward course requirements for the doctoral degrees upon recommendation of the appropriate graduate program and with the approval of the dean of the school. As part of the 24 credits eligible for transfer, up to six credits of thesis coursework may be eligible for transfer. The thesis work and topic are subject to review by the department chairperson and the transfer must be approved by both the department chairperson and dean. For students who earned their master's degrees at CUA, up to 30 semester credit hours of coursework with a grade of B or above may be applied toward the course requirements for the doctoral degrees.