Graduate Degree Program Summary
Graduate programs offered
Earn a Graduate Degree
- MS in Civil Engineering (30-36 cr, Option I, II, or III) with optional specialization:
- Environmental Engineering
- Geotechnical and Materials Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Transportation Engineering
- Water Resources Engineering
- Water Resources Planning and Management
- PhD in Civil Engineering (90 cr) with optional specialization:
- Environmental Engineering
- Geotechnical and Materials Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Transportation Engineering
- Water Resources Engineering
- Water Resources Planning and Management
- Minor in Construction Management with any graduate degree program, subject to approval (apply to degree program, add minor after enrolling)
Note: The specialization in Water Resources Planning and Management is not specific to Civil Engineering.
Online and Distance Opportunities
Some online coursework may be available for your program; contact dept. for details.Contacts for Civil Engineering
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Other Ways to Connect
On the Web
Civil Engineering
Graduate Chair
Dr. Yusong Li
Graduate Secretary
Tina Pham
Campus Address
N104 Scott Engineering Center
Lincoln NE 68588-6105

Application checklist and deadlines
1. Required by Graduate Studies
Submit these items as part of the standard steps to admission.
- Application for Admission with $50 non-refundable application fee
- One set of transcripts uploaded to MyRED
- If English is not your native language: verification of English proficiency
- If you are not a US citizen and you expect an F or J visa: financial information
2. Required by Civil Engineering
After you apply, allow one business day for us to set up your access so you can complete these requirements via MyRED.
- Entrance exam(s):
- Ph.D. Applicants: GRE
- M.S. Applicants: GRE - Minimum English proficiency: Paper TOEFL 550, Internet TOEFL 79, IELTS 6.5
- Three letters of recommendation (Ph.D. and M.S.)
- Resume or curriculum vitae (Ph.D. and M.S.)
- Statement of purpose (Ph.D. and M.S.)
When sending GRE or TOEFL scores, our institution code is 6877 and a department code is not needed.
Application Deadlines for Civil Engineering
- For Financial Consideration: January 10 for Summer. January 10 for Fall. January 10 for Spring. These deadlines are for Summer 2019 through Spring 2020.
- International students: Application for Fall admission strongly encouraged.
Application/admission is for entry in a specific term and year. Our academic year is divided into 3 terms: Fall (August-December), Spring (January-May), and Summer (multiple sessions May-August). Some programs accept new students only in certain terms and/or years.
Description
The Civil Engineering Department offers graduate programs on both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Nebraska at Omaha campuses. The campuses are approximately 50 miles apart. Facilities include materials and geotechnical labs, environmental and transportation labs, and the famous vehicle crash testing facility at the Lincoln Airport. The structures laboratory is equipped to do gravity load, seismic excitation, and wind loading testing of full scale specimens, from bridges and buildings.
Many research opportunities are available depending on the individual interests of faculty and students. Projects include ultra high-performance concrete, self-consolidating concrete, innovative high strength concrete and steel bridge systems, composite materials and energy efficient composite structures, hydrologic effects of global climate change, hydraulic modeling, GIS and watershed management, alternate fuels, water quality, remediation of hazardous wastes, fate and transport of emerging contaminants, risk assessment, pollution prevention, green technology, highway geometric design and safety, intelligent transportation systems, traffic simulation using hardware-in-the-loop simulation, highway-railroad grade crossings, safety aspects of highway design with a unique full scale crash testing facility, risk analysis and reliability of structures, design code calibration, field testing of bridges, pavement engineering, advanced modeling of geomaterials, and application of fuzzy set theories.
When applying, students should indicate interest in one or more of the above areas of study. Minors may be selected from related civil engineering areas and other related departments.
Courses and More
- Students work with an advisor to create a plan of study and follow the Steps to Degree Completion. See all courses or jump to related subjects:
- Cost of attendance differs from one student to another. Try our Cost Estimator or see Tuition, Fees, and Funding for details.
Faculty and research
Where available, names link to bios or homepages and contact card icons () link to directory listings with address, phone, and email.
Emission Control Technologies; Biological Treatment of Recalcitrant Air Toxics; Atmospheric and Indoor Air Pollution Control; Treatment, Fate, Tansport of Emerging Contaminants; Advanced Water/Wastewater Treatment Processes Development
Field Monitoring of Wind Turbine Foundation, Geothermal Heating and Cooling System, Engineering Characterization of Recycled Material and Geosynthetic
Eco-Efficient Concrete; Self-Consolidation Concrete (SCC); Fresh Concrete Properties and Rheology of Concrete; Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC); Concrete with Recycled Materials
Transportation Infrastructure, Planning, and Safety; GIS; Intelligent Transportation Systems
Testing and Modeling Geomaterials; Computational-Experiemental Constitutive Damage Modeling
Fate and Transport of Contaminants; Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology; Groundwater Remediation
Transportation Planning, Economics, and Systems Analysis; Airport Planning and Design; Traffic Engineering
Traffic Analysis; Roadway Geometric Design; Alternative Intersections and Interchanges; Driver Behavior
Design, Analysis, and Evaluation of Roadside Safety Devices; Design and Evaluation of Bridge Rail and Deck Systems; Non-Linear Finite Element Analysis
Modeling and Testing of Structural Concrete; Structural Members Under Extreme Loads; Advanced Instrumentation and Testing of Structures; Disaster Reconnaissance and Data Management; Infrastructure Health Monitoring (Big Data)
Structural Dynamics; Blast Resistant Design; Finite Element Modeling; Specialized Concrete
Structural Dynamics; Engineering Mechanics; Full-scale Experimentation of Structures
Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering; Non-Structural Components, Load Protocol Development for Seismic Qualification and Testing, Ground Motion Scaling, and Use of Laser Scanning within Structural Assessment.
Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Technologies; Biofilm Processes; Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment
Nondestructive tTesting (NDT) of Structures and Materials; Sensor Development; Ultrasonics and Wave motion; Material Characterization
This summary page is maintained by Graduate Studies.
For additional details check out the dept./program website: Civil Engineering.
Departments: Have an update for this summary? Contact Kurt Mueller.