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Engineer Program

Applying to become a candidate for the Engineer degree

A student with an M.S. in Civil Engineering may satisfy the requirements of the degree of Engineer in Civil and Environmental Engineering by completing 45 unduplicated course work and research units for a total of 90 units. 

Review the requirements for the degree, then meet with your advisor during your first quarter of Post-MS study to agree upon a proposed program of study. Before the last week of the second quarter of study, complete an Application for Candidacy for the Degree of Engineer [PDF]. The submittal of this form is a university requirement and admits the student into candidacy.

Changing your academic program

If your actual course work changes after submitting the Application for Candidacy for Degree of Engineer [PDF] (and it probably will), you must submit an Academic Program Revision.

This form is typically submitted only once, by the end of the third week of the final quarter of your program of study, when all changes to the proposed course work have already been made. With approval from your principal advisor and the chairperson, the revised list of courses becomes your official program for the Engineer degree.

Extension of candidacy

If you will be unable to complete the requirements of your Engineer degree program of study within five years, you must complete an Application for Extension of Candidacy.

This form may be used to extend the time limits for completion of your Engineer degree program for up to one year. Extensions require a review of your academic progress and approval from the department chairperson.

After obtaining your advisor’s signature, submit all forms to the department’s Student Services office for the chairperson’s signature and processing.

Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR)

Graduate students in the School of Engineering normally must be registered as full-time students and must be carrying a full load of course and/or thesis work. The only students eligible for less than full-time registration are honors cooperative enrollees.

As soon as you qualify, you will want to apply for TGR status to reduce your tuition payments. To be eligible you must have:

When you have fulfilled all requirements, complete a Request for TGR Status [PDF]. Be sure to file this request before the start of the first quarter of TGR. After obtaining your principal advisor’s signature, submit the form to the department’s Student Services Office for the chairperson’s signature.

NOTE: students with “required” or “strongly recommended” remedial English courses may not include those credits in the 45 degree program units, but these units may be part of the overall total units. These requirements must be met or waived before the TGR status is requested.

TGR registration
Students who register for TGR should enroll in the course CEE801 Thesis Project using the section number assigned to their principal advisor. Continue to enroll in CEE801 every quarter until conferral of the degree.

Each quarter, your principal advisor will evaluate your thesis work as a measure of continued academic progress and you will receive either:

  • “N” or “S” indicating satisfactory progress, or
  • “N-” or “NC” indicating unsatisfactory progress (no credit).

If you receive “NC" grades for two consecutive quarters, you should meet with your advisor and work out a satisfactory plan for completing degree requirements. Subsequent “NC” grades may be grounds for dismissal.