Graduate Student Applicant Criteria

Application material should include: Online application, GRE scores, TOEFL scores (international applicants), official copy of transcripts, personal statement, and three letters of recommendation.

The combined (V&Q) GRE score preferred for admission is 315. GRE scores should not be more than four years old.

 The undergraduate and MS GPA preferred for admission is 3.5.

The minimum TOEFL score is 83 (IBT) or 7 (IELTS). TOEFL is not required if you have a bachelor or advanced degree from an accredited US program or if you have a bachelor or advanced degree from a recognized program in a country where the official language of instruction is English.

Deadlines

Fall semester: March 1st , February 1st (International Applicants)

Spring semester: November 1st , October 1st (International Applicants)

PhD Applicants

Application material should include: Online application, TOEFL scores, official copy of transcripts, personal statement, and three letters of recommendation. GRE is not required.

The minimum GPA required for admissions into the master’s program is 3.0.

The minimum TOEFL score is 83 (IBT) or 7 (IELTS). TOEFL is not required if you have a bachelor or advanced degree from an accredited US program or if you have a bachelor or advanced degree from a recognized program in a country where the official language of instruction is English.

Deadlines

Fall semester: March 1st , February 1st (International Applicants)

Spring semester: November 1st , October 1st (International Applicants)

Online applications and the application process guidelines can be found at the following the link: http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu/apply/overview

All graduate courses are offered in the evening.

Master's Applicant

Graduate applicants with a bachelor degree in engineering other than civil engineering should take the required basic civil engineering courses and additional undergraduate courses in their area of specialization. The following courses are required for each area of specialization: 

Structural Engineering

• Mechanics of Solids (180:243) 
• Soil Mechanics (180:372) 
• Fluid Mechanics (180:387) 
• Structural Analysis I (180:318) 
• Steel Design (180:320) 
• Reinforced Concrete (180:411) 
• Foundation Engineering (180:473) 

Environmental Engineering

• Mechanics of Solids (180:243) 
• Fluid mechanics (180:387) 
• Soil Mechanics (180:372) 
• Water and Wastewater Engineering (180:429) 

Transportation Engineering

• Mechanics of solids (180:243), or Fluid mechanics (180:387), or Soil mechanics (180:372)  
• Transportation Engineering (180:364) or Transportation Planning (180:430) 
• Basic Prob & Statistics (960:379) 

Construction Engineering and Management

• Mechanics of solids (180:243), or Fluid mechanics (180:387), or Soil mechanics (180:372)  
• Construction Engineering (180:305) 
• Construction Engineering Management (180:406) 

Geotechnical Engineering

• Mechanics of Solids (180:243) 
• Soil Mechanics (180:372) 
• Fluid Mechanics (180:387) 
• Foundation Engineering (180:473) 

These requirements must be met early in the students’ curriculum because many are pre-requisites for graduate courses. The student need to earn grades of B or better in the listed courses. 

Applicants with a bachelor degree in non-engineering majors should have the following courses before they apply to the graduate program in civil engineering:

• 12 credits of calculus
• 6 credits of chemistry
• 6 credits of calculus-based physics
• 3 credits of computer programming
• 3 credits of engineering graphics or CAD

Applicants with a bachelor degree in non-engineering majors who have the required math, physics, chemistry, computer programming, and CAD can apply to the graduate program. If granted admission, they have to take the required basic civil engineering courses and any additional courses needed in their area of specialization. Applicants who have taken the majority (2/3 or more) and earned C+ or higher can apply.

In some cases applicants with non-engineering degrees are advised to consider a bachelor degree option in civil engineering given the amount of pre-requisite credits required and professional licensing which may require a bachelor degree in civil engineering in some state jurisdictions.

All graduate courses are evening classes. Most undergraduate courses are day time classes.

This program is only open to students receiving their BS degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Rutgers-New Brunswick.

• Online application form
• Brief (one page) personal statement outlining your professional goals, attached to the application form
• At least one recommendation letter, e-mailed to the graduate program director
• Send an e-mail to the Graduate Program Director indicating that your application has been submitted for faster response

Students need to complete 9 credits in the graduate program in civil engineering before they request credit transfer. Upon completion of 9 credits of graduate level course work with grades of B or better, student can submit a transfer credit form. The form is available at https://gsnb.rutgers.edu/resources/graduate-student-forms

• Transfer of credit is allowed only for formal graduate level course work in civil engineering or specifically related to the student’s program of study in which grades of B or better were received.

• No credit may be transferred for thesis research work, course work done as independent study, or work in courses which were not graded. Grades of P, R, or S are eligible for transfer if equivalent to a grade of B or better and accompanied by a letter from the instructor of the course testifying to that equivalence.

• Credit is not normally transferred for courses taken more than six years prior to the application for transfer of credit. Appeals for waiver of this time limit may be made by the graduate director, in writing, with a statement verifying the current level of the student’s information on the subject or that the course material is still current.

• No more than the equivalent of one year of graduate course work may normally be transferred toward the Ph.D. (i.e., 24 credits). No more than 12 graduate credits may be transferred towards the MS degree from an outside institution.

• No more than 6 online graduate credits may be transferred to the MS degree.

• Quarter credits will be converted to semester credits by reducing the total by 1/3 (i.e., 9 quarter credits = 6 semester credits).

• Students who are already in the program and want to take a graduate course at another school, should get the approval of their advisor and the graduate director.

The application fee is managed by the School of Graduate Studies, and not by CEE. Fee waivers are not normally given, but more information is available at this link.

The Big Ten Academic Alliance provides the FreeApp Program for prospective students to request a graduate application fee waiver for Ph.D. programs at Rutgers. FreeApp is a collaborative program for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in graduate education, including racial and ethnic minorities, women in STEM, first-generation college students, and individuals who have faced adversity, such as societal, economic or academic disadvantages. The definition of underrepresented is determined by each university in the Big Ten Academic Alliance and whether to award a fee wavier is wholly within the discretion of each university. More information is provided here.