Civil Engineering (MS)

WPI’s MS in Civil Engineering program prepares you to build a better future for people and the planet. Your experience at WPI combines team-based collaboration, immersive research, and state-of-the-art equipment and lab space, positioning you alongside your peers and faculty who are working on solutions to critical societal problems.

To fit your personal and career goals, you can pursue a thesis or non-thesis degree part- or full-time—and all classes are held at night.

Graduate Admissions

Curriculum

Small classes, one-on-one faculty mentoring, and applied learning are hallmarks of the WPI experience. In the MS in Civil Engineering program you’ll be part of a collaborative culture that supports interdisciplinary thinking and innovation.

Rigorous studies in core principles can be augmented with more specialized courses, such as Advanced Design of Steel Structures, Structural Design for Fire Conditions, Hazardous Waste: Containment, Treatment and Prevention, and Open Channel Hydraulics.

Graduate Catalog

Similar Degrees

Construction Project Management (MS)

construction project management

Environmental Engineering (MS)

environmental engineering

Civil Engineering (MEng)

Civil Engineering Student working on a project

Research

Civil engineering graduate students are at the forefront of cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research exploring areas like sustainability, natural resource preservation, design, construction, architecture, and energy.

Our pioneering faculty are currently engaged in globally recognized research and scholarship, including pavement engineering and highway materials, analysis and design of structural systems and smart structures, construction and sustainable building design, and physical and chemical treatment processes.

Working in state-of-the-art laboratory facilities on campus, you’ll have access to advanced instrumentation, including a loading device that lets researchers in the pavement laboratory measure the impact of real-world traffic—one of only about a dozen such devices in the world.

Research & Facilities

Faculty Profiles

Nima Rahbar

Associate Professor

Civil & Environmental Engineering

My research and teaching activities in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are in the area of the mechanics of materials and structures. At WPI, my favorite aspect of teaching is working one on one with graduate and undergraduate students on research projects. I like to excite students’ curiosity towards discoveries and creative scientific advancements. In our research group, we focus on the fundamental principles that control the behavior of materials in engineering and biology at multiple scales.

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Rajib Basu Mallick

Professor

Civil & Environmental Engineering

Rajib Basu Mallick is currently the Ralph White Family Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at WPI. He graduated from Jadavpur University, India, in 1989 and received his master’s degree and PhD from Auburn University, USA. He also worked as a senior research associate at the National Center for Asphalt Technology, USA. Rajib’s main research interests are in the optimum utilization of natural resources and sustainable construction, specifically related to the pavement industry.

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Suzanne LePage

Instructor

Environmental Engineering

Having initially graduated from WPI with a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering in 1995, I returned to teach part-time and pursue graduate studies in 2007. While the intervening years as a professional planner provided me with a wide variety of experience assisting towns and regions with long-term planning goals, the teaching and project advising activities at WPI have been infinitely more rewarding. I teach classes in urban and environmental planning and advise undergraduate projects in those topics and others.

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Getting Involved

At WPI, you have plenty of opportunities to become an active part of the community – as a civil engineer, you also have several academic-related groups to join:

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)
Chi Epsilon (XE), the civil engineering honor society

Learn More

Students walking around the fountain in the springtime

After Graduation

Your MS in Civil Engineering from WPI can prepare you for a promising career in the private sector, government, or academia, or can be your launching point into a research-focused PhD program. WPI’s Career Development Center has a wealth of information on career options and terminal degree resources.

Career Outlook

Civil & Environmental Engineering Department