Areas of Study

Civil Engineering Materials; Environmental and Water Resources Engineering; Geotechnical Engineering; Structural Mechanics;  Structural/Earthquake Engineering; Structures and Civil Engineering Materials. Detailed program requirements for each area of study may be found on the Graduate Division Program Requirement website.

Course Requirements

There are two plans of study that lead to the M.S. degree, the capstone plan (comprehensive examination) and thesis plans. For both plans, at least nine courses are required, a majority of which must be in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. At least five of the courses must be at the 200-level. In the thesis plan, seven of the nine must be formal 100- or 200-series courses. The remaining two may be 598 courses involving work on the thesis. In the comprehensive examination plan, 500-series courses may not be applied toward the nine-course requirement. A minimum 3.0 grade-point average is required in all coursework and in all 200-level coursework. Each major field has a set of required preparatory courses which are normally completed during undergraduate studies. Equivalent courses taken at other institutions can satisfy the preparatory course requirements. The preparatory courses cannot be used to satisfy course requirements for the master’s degree. Courses for the master’s degree must be selected in accordance with the lists of required graduate courses and elective courses for each major field listed in the CEE Program Requirements. Undergraduate Courses. No lower division courses may be applied toward graduate degrees.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Capstone Plan: Comprehensive Examination

In addition to the course requirements, a comprehensive examination is administered that covers the subject matter contained in the program of study. The comprehensive exam may be offered in one of the following formats: (1) a portion of the doctoral written preliminary examination, (2) examination questions offered separately on final examinations of common department courses to be selected by the committee, or (3) a written and/or oral examination administered by the comprehensive examination committee. The examination is administered by a comprehensive examination committee consisting of at least three faculty members. In case of failure, the examination may be repeated once with the consent of the graduate adviser.

Thesis Plan

Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research. In addition to the course requirements, under the thesis plan students are required to write a thesis on a research topic in civil and environmental engineering supervised by the thesis advisor. A thesis committee reviews and approves the thesis. No oral examination is required.

Time to Degree

The normative duration for full-time students in the M.S. program is three quarters. The maximum time allowed for completing the M.S. degree is three years from the time of admission to the M.S. program in the School. Each quarter students must maintain satisfactory academic progress toward their degree. Quarters taken on an approved Leave of Absence do not count toward the three-year time limit.

Continuous Registration

Unless granted a formal leave of absence, graduate students are expected to register every term, including the term in which their degree or certificate is to be awarded. A student must be registered in order to take any University examination with the exception of those that are permitted by payment of the Filing Fee (master’s comprehensive or doctoral final oral examination [defense if the dissertation]). Students must be registered during the regular academic quarter when they take the written and oral qualifying examinations for the doctorate. To be eligible to take such examinations in the summer, the student must have been registered in the immediately preceding Spring term. If students have completed all requirements for the degree except the filing of the thesis or dissertation and/or the final examination (master’s comprehensive or doctoral final oral examination), they may be eligible to pay the Filing Fee (half the registration fee) instead of registering. Failure of students to register as required will constitute presumptive evidence that they have withdrawn without leave from the Graduate Division, and that to be readmitted, they must apply formally in competition with all other applicants for admission.

Registration in the Final Quarter for the Award of the Degree

If a student is completing courses, using faculty time, library facilities, laboratories, or other University resources, or receiving University funds, the student is required to register in the final term in which the student expects to receive the degree.

Registering in Online Classes

On-campus students may register in online coursework to fulfill program requirements. Students may view the online course policies and offerings via the UCLA HSSEAS MS Online office website.  Students should obtain approval from their faculty advisor. Please note that the cost of the course would be in addition to the regular campus tuition and fees. For example, if an online course costs $4000 you would be required to pay the regular tuition/fees + $4000. See the Registrar’s Office for UCLA tuition/fees. See the HSSEAS website for UCLA HSSEAS online course fees. If you are interested in enrolling in an online course email mimi@seas.ucla.edu with the following information: your name, UID, online course and term offered, statement indicating you agree to pay the extra cost associated with enrolling in an online course. Be sure to cc your faculty advisor which will indicate their approval. The CEE SAO will then contact the MS Online admission office and ask that they allow you to enroll in the course.

Filing Fee Notes

There are benefits (reduced cost) and limitations (not allowed to receive funding, not allowed more than 12 hours of university resources, no library access) to filing fee. MS Comprehensive Exam students will most likely not utilize the Filing Fee option unless they fail the comprehensive exam and need to stay an additional quarter to re-take the exam. Typically, MS Thesis and PhD students utilize the filing fee. However, beginning Fall 2016 there are significant changes to the Filing Fee policies: Usage Period: Students on filing fee will only have the first two weeks of the filing fee quarter to complete degree requirements. We do not recommend that you plan on using filing fee in your final quarter to complete degree requirements. Filing fee should be used as a back-up plan in case an emergency situation occurs where you cannot complete degree requirements in the preceding quarter. Application: Students must submit the filing fee application one quarter prior to the filing fee term. For example, students who wish to go on filing fee for Winter must submit the filing fee application at the end of Fall. ATC: Students must Advance to Candidacy (ATC) at least one quarter prior to using the filing fee. The ATC form must be received by the Student Affairs Office (BH 5732-A) no later than Friday of Week 1 to provide enough time to process and submit to the Graduate Division by Friday of Week 2. Summer Funding: Students who plan to utilize filing fee in Fall are not eligible to receive Graduate Division Block Grant funding or Graduate Division Conference Travel Reimbursement issued through the Civil and Environmental Engineering department during Summer.  International Students: The Dashew Center will shorten the I-20 or DS-2019 end dates for all F-1 and J-1 students on filing fee status to the end of Week 2 of the student’s filing fee quarter. Students who wish to maintain F-1 and J-1 visa status until the end of the quarter must be registered full-time by the end of Week 2 of that quarter.

Certificate of Completion

A Certificate of Completion from UCLA is only necessary when you must immediately submit proof of completion to an employer or other institution. If needed, you can contact the Registrar’s Office only after receiving the final email confirmation from the Graduate Division of the completion of all filing requirements.

Official Transcripts & Diplomas

Complete official transcripts are available approximately 30 working days after the last day of the term. For graduating students, official transcripts with the graduation date included are available approximately seven weeks after the end of the term. Diplomas for graduate students are available approximately three months after the degree award date. Information about obtaining your diploma in person or by mail is sent to your e-mail address approximately six weeks after the end of your final term. For further information please visit the Registrar’s website.

Summer Information

To satisfy continuous registration, a graduate student should register in Fall, Winter and Spring terms. Enrollment in Summer may not substitute for registration in a regular term. For Ph.D. Students: A student who registered in the preceding Spring term may take the written and oral qualifying examinations for the doctoral degree during the Summer. A student who did not register in Spring must wait until the Fall to take these examinations, at which time the student must be registered. For M.S. & Ph.D. Students: Per the continuous registration policy, in order to be eligible to take the master’s comprehensive or doctoral final oral (dissertation defense) examination, file a thesis or dissertation, or receive a degree during a Summer Session, a student must either pay the Filing Fee, if eligible, or register and enroll in at least four units during the Summer Session. Registration: If students register in summer to graduate, typically students register in one of the following courses under their faculty advisor: C&EE 296 (for MS Comprehensive Exam students), C&EE 598 (For MS Thesis students), C&EE 599 (For PhD students). These summer courses are not made available unless a student sends a request to mimi@seas.ucla.edu and includes their name, UID, faculty advisor name, and requested course of registration. Students may select to take a regular 4 unit course during the summer and are not required to take the courses listed, but most students typically enroll in one of the courses listed. Continuing students (will register in Fall) do not have to register in Summer. See Filing Fee section above for Filing Fee details. Recommendations: (a) If a student is graduating in Summer and will be receiving funding from the university during summer, he/she must register in summer. Please note there is no tuition/fee reimbursement for the summer term. Students will be responsible for paying the tuition/fees if registered. (b) If a student plans to be on filing fee during summer and is unsure if he/she will make the deadline to file the thesis or dissertation, do not submit the filing fee application until later in the summer. (c) A MS student who is continuing to the PhD program in Fall may want to consider waiting to submit the MS Thesis until the Fall term. That way the student does not have to pay to register or use filing fee in Summer. The student will still be able take courses toward the PhD program in Fall.

Form: Submit Intent to Advance to Ph.D. Form, Ph.D. Program of Study Form, and Change of Major Form

Deadline: Friday of 2nd week of quarter (Fall, Winter, Spring) preceding quarter of intended Ph.D. start term. For example, if you intend to begin your Ph.D. in the Fall quarter, submit the Intent to Advance to Ph.D. Form in the preceding Spring quarter.

Where to submit: Boelter Hall 5732-A or Stacey’s mailbox

Students must still submit M.S. Program of Study and Advancement to Candidacy to complete their M.S. degree.

On the Intent to Advance to Ph.D. Form, students will list a potential Ph.D. faculty advisor and one other faculty advisor. Both faculty will be requested (by SAO) to submit recommendations. Students should contact faculty prior to submitting the form to discuss interest in pursuing the Ph.D. program.

Students may be eligible to complete the Ph.D. Preliminary Exam. Keep in mind the M.S. Comprehensive Exam and the Ph.D. Preliminary Exam may be different. Students should contact their faculty advisor to discuss the Preliminary Exam.

International students who are approved to continue to the Ph.D. program, must contact the Dashew Center for International Students & Scholars to request a Change of Education Level (COEL) I-20 to reflect their new degree objective. Students will also need to submit a new proof of funding. If receiving department support, the Student Affairs Officer will provide a verification of funding letter only when she receives the following: 1) email from the student requesting the letter, 2) information from the student’s faculty advisor indicating how the student will be funded. The Student Affairs Officer will then notify the student when the letter is ready for pick-up. Students who plan on traveling internationally soon after completing the M.S. degree, but before starting the Ph.D. degree, should make sure all documents (Intent to Advance to Ph.D. form, faculty recommendations, and information regarding student funding) are submitted by the deadline indicated above.