Introduction
Civil Engineering is a vital profession in the development of cities and societies. Civil Engineers are involved in the planning, analysis, design, and problem solving of a variety of projects that directly serve the needs of societies for buildings, bridges, roads, water supply systems, dams, canals, sanitation systems, environmental protection systems, and risk management systems. Civil engineering includes a variety of sub-disciplines, including environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, municipal or urban engineering, water resources engineering, materials engineering, coastal engineering, surveying, and construction engineering. To meet the demands of the rapid developments in the field, civil engineers must be up to date in their knowledge, motivated self-educators, and involved in lifelong learning.

The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Sharjah offers a Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE) Program that prepares graduates to confidently confront current and future challenges in an exciting profession and equip them with advanced knowledge, practical skills, knowledge discovery, and application skills. The MSCE program is officially accredited by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

The Department has well qualified faculty and lecturers with many years of academic and practical experience both regionally and internationally. The expertise of the academic staff spans the main disciplines of modern civil & environmental engineering. In addition, the department has laboratory facilities that are furnished with the state-of-the-art equipment and analytical instruments in support of advanced experimental work for teaching, research, and community service. The laboratories are also staffed with qualified and well-trained laboratory assistants, technicians, and engineers.

The MSCE Program offers two broad specialization streams (areas) with optional concentration areas within the streams, as follows:

1. Structural Systems Engineering Stream, with the following concentration areas:
a. Structural Engineering;
b. Materials & Construction Engineering; and
c. Geotechnical Engineering.

2. Infrastructure Systems Engineering Stream, with the following concentration areas:
a. Environmental Engineering;
b. Water Resources Engineering; and
c. Transportation Engineering

The two specialization streams enhance the interdisciplinary nature of the MSCE Program, which helps students to get advanced knowledge, practical skills, and knowledge discovery and application skills in more than one area of civil engineering specialization. This equips students with the means to confront current and future challenges in an exciting multidisciplinary civil engineering profession, which requires specialized and advanced knowledge, and skills in more than one area in civil engineering. Completing the requirements of a concentration in a particular stream requires completing at least two (2) Courses in the concentration area + completing the Thesis course in the concentration area appropriate to the chosen stream. Students who wish to have a particular concentration area recognized in their transcripts need to make a request in writing to the Department during the final semester of their studies.

 

Program Objectives
The CEE Department aims at offering degree programs that are recognized and accredited, preparing graduates for professional life and advanced graduate studies, and responding to the research and development needs of the community, especially in the UAE and the region:

The overall objective of the Master's Program is to provide the opportunity for qualified engineers to advance their knowledge and knowledge discovery skills in the modern civil engineering specializations. The program supports the development of quality and relevant research, especially applied research.  In addition, the program aims to satisfy the demand for highly educated professionals who can contribute to and lead the scientific and technological development of the UAE and the region.

Graduates of the MSCE Program will be able to fulfill the following educational objectives:

• PEO1:  Will successfully assume leading roles in professional practice, and research and development.
• PEO2: Will contribute to fulfilling the specialized needs of the civil engineering and related industries in the UAE and the region using their acquired advanced knowledge and skills.
• PEO3: Will pursue scientific inquiry and lifelong learning opportunities, actively participate in scientific and professional activities, and undertake further research and doctoral studies in civil engineering or related areas.
• PEO4: Will embrace the principles of professional ethics, environmental consciousness and sustainability, personal responsibility, and service to the community. 

Upon successful completion of the MSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering, the student will have developed:

• LO1:  Ability to apply advanced mathematical, analytical and numerical techniques to formulate and solve complex civil engineering problems.
• LO2: Ability to conduct independent research to solve challenging problems and contribute to the body of knowledge in a specialized area of civil engineering.
• LO3:  Ability to synthesize and integrate advanced technical knowledge from various civil engineering and related disciplines including traditional and emerging knowledge.
• LO4:  Ability to evaluate and design complex systems, components or processes to meet desired needs that appropriately accounts for the global, environmental, and socio-economical aspects.
• LO5:  Ability to lead teams and work on the planning, management, analysis, and design of related civil engineering projects.
• LO6:  Ability to integrate environmental and sustainability factors with management concepts and leadership principles for effective and professional practice of civil engineering.
• LO7: Ability to effectively communicate technically complex ideas, concepts, and research findings orally and in writing to the professional and scientific community.
• LO8:  Ability to value the principles of professional ethics and practices, contemporary issues, and personal responsibility in serving the community and the profession.
• LO9:  Ability to adopt the latest relevant knowledge through life-long learning process.

 
Program Structure
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Sharjah has been offering its offered the Master's program starting since Fall 2004/2005. The MSCE Program is officially accredited by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The degree is titled: "Master of Science in Civil Engineering."


The MSCE Program requires completion of 33 credit hours, which consists of 24 credit hours of course work in addition to 9 credit hours of thesis. The courses in the curricula are distributed among three sets of requirements, which are:
 

1. Compulsory General Courses Requirements (courses taken by all students in the program)
2. Compulsory Specialized Courses Requirements (courses taken by students in their respective stream /area of specialization in the program); and 
3. Elective Courses Requirements (courses taken by students from a list/basket of courses)

The minimum degree requirement is 33 credit hours distributed as follows:

Requirements	Credits
Compulsory General Courses	9
Compulsory Specialized Courses	9
Elective Courses	6
Graduate Seminar	0
Thesis	9
Total	33

 


Curricula

The curricula requirements are classified into the following categories:
(I) General Compulsory Courses
(II) Specialized Compulsory Courses
(III) Elective Courses
(IV) Graduate Seminar
(V) Thesis

I – General Compulsory Courses

Students must take the following three general courses:

Course No.	Course Title	Credits	Prerequisite
0401564	Environmental Impact Assessment and Risk Analysis	3	Grad Standing
0401509	Advanced Numerical Methods	3	Grad Standing
0401506	Applied Engineering Statistics	3	Grad Standing

 

II – Specialized Compulsory Courses

The MSCE Program is comprised of two major streams (general specialization) namely, the structural engineering and infrastructure engineering.  Under these general specializations there are areas of concentration (shown below) where the student has the option to choose one of these concentration areas under his major stream.

1. Structural Systems Engineering Stream, with the following concentration areas:
a. Structural Engineering;
b. Materials & Construction Engineering; and
c. Geotechnical Engineering.

2. Infrastructure Systems Engineering Stream, with the following concentration areas:
a. Environmental Engineering;
b. Water Resources Engineering; and
c. Transportation Engineering
 

The students must select three (3) courses from the following two lists of specialized courses listed under the Structural Systems Engineering and Infrastructure Systems Engineering general specializations.

Structural Systems Engineering Stream

Course No.	Structural Engineering Concentration	Credits
0401511	Advanced Structural Mechanics	3
0401512	Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering	3
0401513	Advanced Behavior & Design of Concrete Structures	3
0401514	Advanced Structural Steel Design	3
Course No.	Materials & Construction Engineering Concentration	Credits
0401531	Advanced Concrete Technology	3
0401532	Advanced Materials in Construction	3
0401533	Cost Analysis for Construction Projects	3
0401534	Management of Construction Projects	3
​0401535	​Infrastructure Planning and Management	​3
Course No.	Geotechnical Engineering Concentration	Credits
0401552	Advanced Geotechnical Engineering	3
0401553	Soil Improvement	3
0401554	Soil Dynamics	3

 

Infrastructure Systems Engineering Stream

Course No.	Environmental Engineering Concentration	Credits
0401551	Environmental Geotechnology	3
0401561	Water Quality Engineering	3
0401562	Wastewater Treatment and Reuse	3
0401563	Unit Operations in Environmental Engineering	3
Course No.	Water Resources Engineering Concentration	Credits
0401541	Fluvial Hydraulics	3
0401542	Mathematical Hydrology	3
0401543	Water Resources Planning & Management	3
0401544	Hydraulic Structures	3
Course No.	Transportation Engineering Concentration	Credits
0401521	Traffic Flow Theory	3
0401522	Applied Traffic Operations	3
0401523	Urban Transportation Planning	3
0401524	Intelligent Transportation Systems	3

 

The list of specialized courses is categorized based on the concentration areas. The student can select any course related to his/her stream. However, for the student to be qualified for the concentration area in a particular stream, he/she should complete a minimum of two out of the three required specialized courses in his/her area of concentration in addition to the thesis.
 

III – Elective Courses

Student must take and complete two (2) elective courses. Courses in this category are selected by the student in coordination with the supervisor from any one (or combination) of the following:

1. Graduate course(s) offered by the department.
2. Up to two graduate level courses from outside the department subject to department approval (i.e., department approval based on recommendation of advisor and graduate studies committee).
3. Courses selected from the following list:

Course No.	Course Title	Credits	Prerequisite
0401505	Advanced Applied Engineering Mathematics	3	1440261
0401507	Buildings, Energy & Health	3	Graduate Standing
0401508	Finite Element Methods	3	0401310
0401519	Advanced Topics in Structural Engineering	3	Depends on Topic
0401529	Advanced Topics in Transportation Engineering	3
0401539	Advanced Topics in Construction and Materials	3
0401549	Advanced Topics in Environmental & Water Resources Engineering	3
0401559	Advanced Topics in Geotechnical Engineering	3
0401589	Independent Studies in Civil Engineering	3

 

IV – Graduate Seminar
All students enrolled in the MSCE Program must successfully complete a zero Credits graduate seminar course, as follows:

Course No.	Course Title	Credits	Prerequisite
0401590	Graduate Seminar	0	Grad Standing

 

V – Master Thesis
All students must complete nine (9) Credits Research-Based Thesis, as follows:

Course No.	Course Title	Credits	Prerequisite
0401599	Master Thesis	9	Completion of at least 12 credits