Civil Engineering (MCE)

Description

The Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering specializes in environmental, geotechnical and structural engineering. Environmental engineering deals with water and wastewater treatment, chemical and biological unit operations, hazardous waste treatment and pollution prevention. Structural engineering emphasizes finite element methods, computer-aided structural analysis and design, pre-stressed concrete and plastic analysis. Geotechnical engineering focuses on advanced concepts in soil mechanics, soil dynamics, tunneling, earth dams and pavement design.

Detroit and its environs provide the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering with large-scale local engineering activities and facilities, including research and development, industrial operations, and civil construction. These opportunities offer the engineering student a stimulating environment for study and considerable future employment potential.

The Civil Engineering program prepares students for careers as consulting engineers, engineers in industry and government, and researchers for university and industrial laboratories.

The Master of Civil Engineering program is described in the following sections. In addition, students in the Master of Architecture and the Master of Community Development programs in the School of Architecture may also take classes from the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering department. For more information about these two programs, please visit School of Architecture.

Students interested in focusing on environmental issues should consider the Master of Environmental Engineering. Students can also further their studies in the Doctor of Engineering program with a major in Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Click here for more information.

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    Program Learning Outcomes

    Graduates of this program will be able to:

    1. analyze and design a complex engineering system or component (Technical Competence)
    2. independently investigate an engineering topic and make conclusions about its effect on designs (Research Skills)
    3. present an engineering solution (Effective Communication)
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    Traditional Master vs. 5 year Bachelor/Master

    Students may enter the Master program one of two ways: Traditional (for new Master students or Detroit Mercy undergraduate students who were not in the 5-year Bachelor/Master program) and 5-year Bachelor/Master (for Detroit Mercy undergraduate students).

    Traditional Master Program

    New Master students or Detroit Mercy undergraduate students who were not in the 5-year Bachelor/Master program may apply for graduate school online. Typical (but not absolute) minimum requirements include an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 and a bachelor degree in Civil Engineering or closely related discipline. Although the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (if applicable) are not required as part of the application, they can be useful in facilitating the admission process.

    5-year Bachelor/Master Program

    New Detroit Mercy undergraduate students and current Civil Engineering undergraduate students who are within two to three terms of graduating, with a GPA of 3.25 or better, and who will finish their undergraduate program in four years, may apply for the 5-year Bachelor/Master program. If accepted into the 5-year Bachelor/Master program, students may take up to nine graduate credits that will double-count towards their Bachelor and Master programs.

    For more information on the 5-year Bachelor/Master program, click here.

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    Master of Civil Engineering Degree Requirements (30 credits)

    The Master of Civil Engineering may be completed with a thesis (with advisor approval) or a non-thesis plan. The thesis plan requires six credit hours of thesis (CIVE 5990) and 24 credit hours or more of course work. The non-thesis plan includes a total of 30 credit hours of course work. Either plan may be supplemented by a cooperative education preparation course or actual co-operative education placements (CTA); however, these credits can NOT be used toward the 30 credit hours required. 

    Basic requirements:

    15 credits (minimum) must come from CIVE and/or ENGR coursework.

    6 credits Thesis: CIVE 5990 or Non-Thesis: courses from ARCH, CIVE, CHM, ENGR, MENG, and/or MTH.

    9 credits may be selected from: ARCH, CIVE, CHM, EMGT, ENGR, ENT, MENG, MBA, MTH, MPD

    Courses offered in civil and environmental engineering may be supplemented with approved courses in mathematics, chemistry, biology, other branches of engineering, law and other areas - based on advisor approval - to suit the student's individual needs. 

    Specializations

    Students may choose to specialize in one of the following areas based on their interests: Structural/Architectural, Construction Management, Geotechnical, or Road/Bridge. Suggested courses in each of the specializations are listed below.

    Students should consider a minimum of 15 credits from one area. Students interested in Environmental Engineering are advised to pursue the Master of Environmental Engineering degree. However, students in the Master of Civil Engineering program may select courses in the environmental engineering area if they are relevant.

    Structural/Architectural Engineering

    Construction Management

    • CIVE 5630 Environmental Risk Analysis & Design (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5850 Project Management & Costing (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5300 Forensic Engineering (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5920 Capstone Design (3 credits)
    • ARCH 5590 Architecture and Construction Law (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5810 Masonry Design (3 credits)
    • EMGT 5010 Management and Leadership of a Technical Workforce (3 credits)
    • EMGT 5020 Economic Considerations of Technical Businesses (3 credits)
    • EMGT 5030 Financial Decision Making for Technical Industries (3 credits)
    • EMGT 5040 Administration of Technical Businesses (3 credits)
    • EMGT 5700 Systems Architecture and Engineering (3 credits)
    • EMGT 5760 Engineering Project Management (3 credits)
    • MBA 5260 Information Systems & Technology (3 credits)
    • EMGT 5400 Manufacturing, Processes, Strategy and Logistics (3 credits)
    • EMGT 5450 Total Quality Management (3 credits)
    • EMGT 5060 Global Engineering Management and Leadership (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5762 Advanced Concrete Design (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5760 Pre-Stressed Concrete (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5710 Special Topics in Civil Engineering (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5740 Advanced Pavement Design (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5320 Cost Estimating (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5762 Design Build (3 credits)

    Geotechnical Engineering

    Road and Bridge

    • CIVE 5630 Environmental Risk Analysis & Design (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5400 Advanced Structural Dynamics (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5120 Advanced Traffic Engineering (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5870 Foundation Engineering (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5890 Design of Earth Retention (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5740 Advanced Pavement Design (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5484 Slope Stability (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5760 Pre-Stressed Concrete (3 credits)
    • CIVE 5660 Bridge Design (3 credits)

Program Contact Information

Department Chairperson: Utpal Dutta, Ph.D. 
Office: Engineering 262
Email: duttau@udmercy.edu
Telephone: 313-993-1040
Fax: 313-993-1187