Master of Science in Environmental Engineering, M.S.E.E.

[ This program does not receive new applications any more ]

The Master of Science in Environmental Engineering degree is offered through the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Washkewicz College of Engineering. This program represents the engineering component of the cross-disciplinary, environmental academic studies program at Cleveland State University.

Although this program is designed for individuals with a bachelor's degree in engineering, non-engineering graduates also can take advantage of this program.

Faculty Research and Publications (advisor Dr. Nilufer Dural)

Faculty research and publications reflect areas in which students may conduct their theses or project investigations. Faculty research areas include adsorption, waste-site remediation, pollution prevention, green manufacturing, industrial waste treatment, brownfields, air-pollutant control, biological treatment processes, waste recycle and reuse, solid-waste engineering, physiochemical treatment processes, soil decontamination, combustion-process emissions, energy conversions, risk assessment, environmental policy, and real-time environmental monitoring.

Current faculty information can be located on the Cleveland State University Faculty Profile page.

Financial Assistance

University-supported assistantships and graduate tuition grants are available to qualified graduate students on a competitive basis. Additional assistantships and support are available through the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; the Environmental Institute; and external federal, state, and industrial grants of program faculty. Applicants should indicate their interest in assistantships or tuition grants on the Application for Graduate Admission.

Accelerated Program in Environmental Engineering

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering also offers an Accelerated MS Program that would enable students to a earn a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree as well as a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering in 5 years. Students are eligible to apply after they have completed sixty credit hours in their undergraduate program, with at least 30 credit hours earned at CSU. Once admitted to the combined program, the student may complete up to 9 credit hours of graduate courses while enrolled in the undergraduate program. These 9 credit-hours count towards both the undergraduate degree and the graduate degree requirements, either as electives or as requirements. For more details, please refer to the department webpage

For more details, please refer to the department webpage http://www.csuohio.edu/engineering/civil/programs.html

Admission Information

Admission to the graduate program in environmental engineering is open to qualified students with a baccalaureate degree in engineering or science. A minimum baccalaureate grade-point average of 3.0 usually is required. Applicants from undergraduate programs other than environmental, civil, and chemical engineering may be required to take additional courses.

The GRE General section is required if one or more of the following conditions is true:

• The undergraduate degree was not in environmental, civil, or chemical engineering.
• The undergraduate degree was awarded by a college or university outside of the United States, or by a Canadian institution not accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers.
• An unaccredited college or university awarded the undergraduate degree.
• The student's undergraduate cumulative grade-point average is below 2.75.
• The year of the baccalaureate degree precedes the date of application to the College of Graduate Studies by more than six years; however, in this case, the examination requirement may be waived, with program approval, if the applicant's undergraduate grade-point average is 3.0 or above.

If the GRE is required, the admission decision is based on the applicant's performance on the quantitative section of the GRE along with the undergraduate grade-point average. A minimum of the 50th percentile on the GRE quantitative is required, but this minimum score does not guarantee admission.

All non-native English speakers must demonstrate proof of English-language proficiency. Any individual who has earned a bachelor's (or higher) degree from a U.S. institution, in which the primary language of instruction is English, is not required to take an English-language proficiency examination. International students who want to be considered for teaching assistantships are advised to take the Test of Spoken English (TSE).

Apply now at College of Graduate Studies (https://graduate-studies.csuohio.edu/).

Degree Requirements

Students in the MS in Environmental Engineering program may elect a thesis or non-thesis option. In addition to University requirements, a master's candidate must meet the following departmental requirements:

1. Students following the non-thesis option must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours for the degree, including the core-competency requirements, the engineering core curriculum, and two additional courses from the environmental engineering elective courses listed in this section.
2. Students following the thesis option must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours for the degree, including the core competency requirements, the engineering core curriculum, and a minimum of six credit hours of thesis.

Core Competency Requirements (8 to 10 credits)

Competency requirements introduce students to areas outside of their major area of study and promote an interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems. All students enrolled in environmental graduate-degree programs are required to complete these courses, which are listed below. The environmental engineering faculty determines whether completion of a similar course(s) satisfies a specific competency requirement.

Core competencies for the MS in Environmental Engineering program are fulfilled through courses in science, law/policy, and technical writing.

1. Science
EVS 506 - Ecosystem Science or PHY 570 Environmental Physics
2. Law/Policy
LAW 671 - Environmental Law or ENV 652 Environmental Policy and Administration
3. Technical Writing
ENG 509 - Technical Writing

Core Curriculum (16 credits)

Required core courses in the MS in Environmental Engineering program provide a sound foundation for environmental work, regardless of an individual's background in engineering. Since some of these core courses are prerequisites for elective courses, it is generally helpful to complete core courses early in the program.

Core Courses

• EVE 534 - Environmental Transport Phenomena
• EVE 570 - Environmental Chemistry
• EVE 572 - Biological Principles of Environmental Engineering
• EVE 671 - Physical and Chemical Principles of Environmental Engineering

If a student has already completed a course with content very similar to a core course, he or she may be able to substitute an elective course for the specific required core course, with program approval.

Elective Courses

Non-thesis students are required to take two elective courses from the list below:

• EVE 533 - Pollution Prevention and Sustainability
• EVE 540 - Soil Stabilization and Decontamination
• EVE 574 - Industrial Wastewater Treatment
• EVE 575 - Solid and Hazardous Waste Engineering
• EVE 576 - Environmental and Occupational Health Engineering
• EVE 578 - Water Treatment Plant Design
• EVE 579 - Wastewater Treatment Plant Design
• EVE 581 - Air Pollution and Abatement
• EVE 585 - Hazardous Waste Site Remediation

In addition to the courses listed, a maximum of four credits of Special Topics (EVE 593) courses may count toward master's degree requirements. Students must obtain approval from their advisors prior to registration for Special Topics.

Thesis/Research Courses

• EVE 697 Master's Research (1-8 credits per semester)
• EVE 699 Master's Thesis (1-8 credits)

Transition Courses

Transition courses prepare incoming students, who do not have a background in engineering, for the graduate program. The requirements are presented below. Courses previously completed—and to some extent the applicant's professional experience—are compared to the content of the transition courses. Based on an evaluation of the applicant's academic and professional background, the specific courses required to satisfy the Transition curriculum are determined. Transition courses do not count toward the degree.

A non-degree graduate student may take up to three courses in the MS program, provided that all prerequisites are satisfied, while taking the Transition courses.

Transition Curriculum Science Requirements

• One year of chemistry (CHM 261/266 and CHM 262/267*)
• One year of physics (PHY 241/242*)

Mathematics Requirements

• One year of calculus (MTH 181 and MTH 182*)
• Statistics (ESC 310*)
• Differential equations (ESC 250*)
• Linear algebra (ESC 350*)

Engineering Requirements

• Statics (ESC 201*)
• Fluid mechanics (ESC 301*) and Thermodynamics (ESC 321*)
• Hydraulics (CVE 361*)

*Cleveland State Equivalent

Personalized MS Program

A faculty advisor (Dr. Nilufer Dural) is assigned to each student when he or she enters the MS program. The student must meet with the advisor to establish a personilzed program plan. The personalized program plan addresses which core competency courses are required, any engineering core courses for which a substitution is sought, the elective area of concentration, and thesis/project requirements. This plan must be approved by the Environmental Engineering Coordinating Committee (EECC), which is comprised of Environmental Engineering faculty.

If Core Competency Courses are required, the EECC may allow these courses to count as electives toward the degree, but not toward the elective area of concentration.

To receive approval for an Engineering Core Course, the student must submit a petition to the EECC requesting a course substitution for a specific elective course. If granted, this does not reduce the number of credit hours needed for graduation, but allows individuals to take other electives.

Selecting a thesis faculty advisor should be done early in the program. The advisor helps the student establish a thesis Advisory Committee of faculty from the student's area of interest. After the committee has been established, the student is required to prepare a research proposal that must be approved by the Advisory Committee. The committee members also monitor the progress of the student's thesis.

Exit Requirements

Thesis students must submit a thesis to their graduate committee, following the Thesis and Dissertation Format Guidelines, available on the College of Graduate Studies/Graduate Students.

In order to graduate, each student's thesis must be accepted by the graduate committee and pass an oral defense of the thesis.

Non-thesis students must complete course requirements.