Structural Engineering Degrees

Our masters in Civil Engineering is flexible, allowing students to concentrate in structural engineering, among other options.  The structural engineering concentration is practice-oriented, but offers interested students the possibility of participating in advanced cutting-edge research.

Students in the structural engineering concentration are required to take 4 core courses (12 Credits), and 4 structural courses (12).  The remaining 6 Credits may be taken as 2 electives, one elective and a 3-Credit Project, or as a 6-Credit Thesis.  The following are courses are available (the first two are required in the structural engineering concentration).

Core Courses

3 Credits Instrumentation, Monitoring and Condition Assessment of Civil Infrastructure CE-GY 6073

This course covers: A systematic approach to planning and executing instrumentation, monitoring and condition assessment programs; strain measurements; civil engineering sensors (static, dynamic, optical); environmental measurements; mechatronic sensors; signal conditioning, information measurements and error analysis; business aspects; advanced-measurement systems.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

3 Credits Materials for Civil Engineers CE-GY 6023

The course covers: Materials composition and production of cementitious materials; polymeric composites and metals; mechanical properties subject to short-term and long-term loads, impact and fire; fatigue and fracture; transport properties, chemical degradation and long-term durability.
Prerequisite: Graduate Status.

3 Credits Environmental Impact Assessment CE-GY 7673

The course examines legal and technical requirements in preparing environmental-impact statements. Considerations include legal and technical requirements, the procedure and the interdisciplinary nature of the analysis. Topics include overall impact evaluation, categories of impacts, problem definition, quantification of impact, methods used in analysis, field evaluations, mitigations, hearing procedures and management. Practical examples and case studies are used.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

3 Credits Urban Infrastructure Systems Management CE-GY 7843

This course provides a descriptive overview of key infrastructure systems and technologies that must be managed, operated and maintained. Systems treated include buildings and structures, water supply, solid and liquid waste handling and disposal, transportation, power, communications and information systems, health and hospitals, police and preprotection. The course explores the financial, political, administrative, legal and institutional settings of these systems and technologies. A portion of the course features distinguished guest lecturers who are experts in some of the systems and technologies included.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

3 Credits Project Management for Construction CE-GY 8253

The course covers topics specific to developing and coordinating large projects, including organizational structures, management functions, pricing and estimating project costs, bidding and contracting, risk allocation, scheduling, time and cost control, labor relations, quality management and project life-cycle activities.

3 Credits Risk Analysis CE-GY 8283

In this course, students investigate the ever-rising importance of risk analysis in project management. Topics include: analysis of qualitative and quantitative risk; techniques in probability analysis, sensitivity analysis, simulation of risk and utility theory; and computational methods for calculating risk. Students are exposed to real-world problems through case investigations.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

Structural Engineering Concentration Courses

3 Credits Theory of Structural Analysis and Design CE-GY 6013

The course discusses theories of structural analysis and their relationship to design. Topics: Classical structural mechanics, matrix procedures and numerical methods in problem-solving; and analysis of statically indeterminate beams, frames and trusses using force and displacement methods. Also considered are elastic supports, movement of supports and temperature effects.
Prerequisite: undergraduate structural analysis.

3 Credits Finite Element Methods CE-GY 6163

Students study the basic theory of the finite element method and learn how to apply it using widely used engineering programs. The course emphasizes developing finite element models and executing the analysis. Students learn to recognize modeling errors and inconsistencies that could lead to either inaccurate or invalid results.

3 Credits Bridge Engineering CE-GY 6063

The course covers types of bridges; geometric design of bridges; construction materials and techniques; simplified bridge analysis; special problems in the design of steel and reinforced-concrete bridges; bridge inspection policies; bridge rehabilitation procedures; bridge management systems; and the effects of wind and earthquakes on long-span bridges.
Prerequisites: undergraduate structural analysis and steel design.

3 Credits Steel Structures CE-GY 6143

This course explores compression members; elastic and inelastic buckling of columns and plates; lateral support of beams; torsion of open and closed sections; warping; lateral torsional buckling of beams; and bi-axial bending. Other topics include: Plate girders, including stability of webs and flanges; combined bending and axial load; instability analysis; and design of rigid and semi-rigid mechanisms of continuous beams and rigid frames. Both elastic and plastic design criteria are discussed.
Prerequisite: Undergraduate steel design.

3 Credits Concrete Structures CE-GY 6183

The course covers design principles and construction methods for reinforced and pre-stressed concrete structural elements; response of members subject to axial loading, shear and flexure; design of columns, deep beams and shear walls; design and detailing for connection regions; design of pre-tensioned and post-tensioned beams and slabs; and the effect of short-term and long-term deformations.
Prerequisite: Graduate status.

3 Credits Wind and Earthquake Engineering CE-GY 6193

The course examines characteristics of wind and earthquake loads; atmospheric motions and boundary layer theory; response of structures to wind forces; code treatments of wind loads on structures; calculation of lateral forces from seismic events; lateral force-resisting systems; diaphragms and center of rigidity; response spectrum and time-history; ductility; concrete and steel frame structures; braced frames; shear walls; dual systems; story drift; detailing requirements.
Prerequisite: Graduate status.

CE-GY 6133 Please refer to the bulletin for more information

Suggested Structural Engineering Elective Courses

3 Credits Advanced Foundation Design CE-GY 8663

Topics covered: Advanced analysis of foundations, shallow foundations, bearing capacity, settlement, deep foundations, axial and lateral loading of piles, wave equation analysis, drilled piers, design and construction issues, and case histories.
Prerequisites: undergraduate soil mechanics and foundations, CE-UY 4173 or equivalent.

3 Credits Excavation Support Systems CE-GY 8673

The course covers design and construction methodologies for excavation support systems, including soldier pile, sheet pile, and secant pile wall systems. Both traditional limit-equilibrium and modern elastoplastic analysis methods will be presented. Students will get the opportunity to utilize industry software to design excavation support systems. Last, for the 1st time this year, students will have the opportunity to also experience excavation support systems in virtual or augmented reality.
Prerequisites: undergraduate Geotechnical Engineering.

3 Credits Selected Topics in Geotechnical Engineering CE-GY 8603

The course explores current special interest topics, such as ground improvement, geotechnical earthquake engineering, site characterization and remediation. Topics vary with each offering and are disseminated before registration.
Prerequisites: CE-UY 4173 or equivalent.

Recommended Educational Background: BS/BE Civil Engineering

The Ph.D. in Civil (Structural Engineering) offers a personalized research-based educational experience. Recent graduates have worked mostly on topics related to material engineering, advanced concrete, fiber reinforced composites, and soil-structure interaction.

Recommended Educational Background: MS Civil Engineering