Jan 28, 2026  
2025-2026 University Catalog 
    
2025-2026 University Catalog

Materials Engineering Concentration for Civil Engineering, MSCE

Location(s): West Lafayette


About the Concentration


Material engineers improve the road you travel on, the coal used to fuel a factory, and the sidewalk in your neighborhood. Through their study of asphalt and bituminous materials, roads and sidewalks last longer and fuels, like coal, are more energy efficient.

The Materials area of emphasis in Civil Engineering provides freedom for students to develop a plan of study that will meet individual goals. Students take a broad range of courses including chemistry, construction, geology, mathematics, mechanics, and other engineering disciplines. Historically, the area has continuously maintained a balance between theoretical, experimental and practice-based approaches to solving problems. The Materials Engineering faculty are dedicated to teaching and research. The Materials Engineering Research Facilities offer hands-on experiences to undergraduate and graduate students.

Required Courses (21-30 credits)


At the master’s level, both a non-thesis and a thesis option are available. The 30-credit requirement for a master’s degree is satisfied by completing 30 course credits (non-thesis option) or 21 course credits plus a thesis (9 credits) for the for thesis-option.

Core Courses (12 credits)


Statistics Course (3 credits)


Choose one. The requirement for the core statistical course can be waived if the student took a similar course somewhere else.

Electives (6 credits)


In addition to the core courses and statistics course, the students will typically select several elective courses either form the material area or from other areas as deemed necessary based on their plan of study. The most recent Materials area list of course offerings are listed below, along with “on-demand” courses.