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Graduate Programs

Applying to WPI’s Graduate Programs 

WPI offers world-class graduate programs that prepare our students for leadership roles in a wide range of fields, often crossing boundaries between traditional areas of study in order to address the most critical problems of our day.  To pursue your graduate studies at WPI, or for additional information about the application process, please visit our Graduate Admissions website.

WPI’s graduate programs in civil and environmental engineering combine classroom instruction delivered by outstanding faculty, with opportunities to engage in important research in such areas as construction project management, environmental engineering, highway infrastructure, impact engineering, and structural engineering. In modern laboratories, using state-of-the-art facilities, students work closely with faculty on problems at the cutting edge of their specialties, developing solutions that make a difference to society. WPI’s graduate programs in civil and environmental engineering are marked by a spirit of collaboration and an easy exchange of ideas and information between students and faculty, and across departments. With an emphasis on putting the most up-to-date theory into practice, a graduate education in civil and environmental engineering at WPI is excellent preparation for a career in industry, government, and academia.

Degree Programs

The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department offers the Master of Science (MS) and the PhD in civil engineering; the MS in environmental engineering and construction project management; the Master of Engineering (ME), a practice oriented degree, with environmental engineering and master builder concentrations; and Graduate and Advanced Graduate Certificates. All programs may be pursued on a part-time or full-time basis and some courses are available via streaming video through WPI’s Advanced Distance Learning Network.

ME: Students typically spend their time in courses and independent study projects.

MS: Thesis and non-thesis options are available. Research work and its presentation are graduation requirements for the thesis option. Students in the thesis option typically divide their time between coursework and research.

PhD: During the first two semesters, students divide their time between courses and research. A qualifying exam is administered within the first 18 credits in the program. After passing the exam, candidates focus on their research, which culminates in a dissertation including a defense of the research. PhD students must establish residency by being full-time graduate students for at least one continuous academic year.

Selected Research Areas

• Construction project management (information technology in design and construction integration, supply chains, lean construction)
• Environmental engineering (water and wastewater treatability studies, contaminant fate and transport)
• Highway infrastructure (aggregate, asphalt, mix materials processing and evaluation)
• Impact engineering (automobile crash testing and computer simulation)
• Structural engineering (design and analysis of tall buildings, structural design for fire conditions and other extreme events, integration of design and construction)

Application Requirements:

• Completed online application form
• Official transcripts for all post-secondary colleges or universities
• Three letters of recommendation. Please invite your recommenders to submit their letters electronically via the online application form.
• GRE scores recommended for all applicants
• Proof of English language proficiency must be submitted by all applicants for whom English is not their first language with the exception of applicants who have completed two years of full-time study in a college or university in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, or the Anglophone regions of Africa, Canada, and the Caribbean. In order to prove English language proficiency, applicants must submit an official score report from either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing Service). WPI’s  institutional code for submitting test scores is: 3969.

The minimum scores for admission are:

TOEFL: 213 (computer based test)      
             550 (paper-based test)   
             79-80 (internet-based test) 
IELTS: 6.5 overall band score with no sub-score lower than 6.0 

Note: Higher scores are required for Teaching Assistants. 

Scores are valid for two years from the test date. For more information or to register to take the TOEFL go to: www.toefl.org. For more information or to register to take the IELTS, go to: www.ielts.org. Otherwise, the student will be required to take English as a Second Language (ESL) prior to beginning Graduate Studies at WPI. 

• Application fee of $70* (check or money order payable to WPI, or online by credit card) 

*Fee is waived for current WPI undergraduates and alumni

Application Deadlines

Full-time - January Admission: Oct 15 for funding consideration; Dec 1 for all others, September Admission: Jan 15 for funding consideration; April 1 for all others

Part-time - Apply at any time; decisions typically take four weeks

Financial Information

For current information about tuition and typical living expenses for graduate students at WPI, visit >Graduate Admissions. You will also find information about research, teaching and graduate assistantships and fellowships, which are rewarded annually to qualified full-time students; nearly 60 percent of full-time students receive funding.

For additional information, contact the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at ceegrad@wpi.edu or 508-831-5530.

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Last modified: February 21, 2011 12:27:13