We prepare students with the technical and humanistic perspectives and the skills and experiences needed to apply their knowledge in a broad range of professional fields.
| Application deadlines | November 1 for spring 2026 admission December 1, 2025 for fall 2026 early admission March 15 for fall 2026 admission (regular admission) |
| Average time to degree completion | Two to four full-time semesters |
| Tuition | Full-time residential $66,670 annually / $33,335 per semester
Part-time residential $6,525 minimum tuition (0-3 credits), then $2,175 per credit |
| Funding support | More details here |
No GRE required, and no application fee.
What makes us unique?
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Integration of civil and systems engineering
We equip students to address complex, interconnected, and large-scale societal challenges by combining traditional engineering with systems thinking, data analysis, and computational methods.
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Specialized courses
Pursue your passion with one-of-a-kind course pathways including historic preservation, structural fire engineering, more.
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Outstanding research facilities
A high temperature structure testing rig for fire engineering and the “Big Blue Baby” for testing thin wall structures are among the department’s specialized facilities.
About our program
Focuses on mechanics of materials, probabilistic methods, fire engineering, earthquake engineering, infrastructure design resilience.
Flexible pathways
In this program, you can choose an academic (coursework) or research (thesis) track, depending on your interests.
The Hopkins network
Join us and you’ll be part of a worldwide network of alumni who are committed to your professional success.
"Aside from academic teaching, one thing Professor Guest has taught me is that ‘blank pages are the enemy,’ which I still apply to my everyday life and which helps me keep moving forward. My life has taken a turn towards promising growth and excellence after being selected to attend such an esteemed university and being guided by such supportive professors and coordinators.”
Shashwat Bhagat, Engr ’24, MSE in Civil Engineering
The Civil Engineering master's student experience
Outcomes-oriented
We prepare students for professional leadership no matter what career path they choose. Our graduates are leaders in industry and entrepreneurs, working at the forefront of fields from renewable energy, transportation, and consulting to urban planning. According to the ASCE, Median salaries for civil engineers exceed $120,000 annually. Engineers with a master’s degree typically earn 15–20% more, advancing into leadership roles in infrastructure and systems design. Today, the professional opportunities available to civil and systems engineering are evolving and expanding rapidly, in large part as a result of the applications of AI and machine learning to areas ranging from transportation engineering and natural disaster modeling to infectious disease simulation.
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Current MSE Requirements
Effective Spring, 2024
Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) students within the Civil Engineering program must take a total of eight courses that have been approved by the advisor. Seven courses must be technical, but courses may be requested for substitution at the advisor’s discretion. Four courses must be taken from civil engineering – EN.560.XXX or EN.565.XXX. One of the eight courses can be a professional development class, such as those offered from the Center for Leadership Education.
Master’s students are offered two options (different combination of courses, seminars, optional internship, and research) to earn their degree. There is also a bachelor’s/master’s program available as well as a Systems Engineering MS degree. With bachelor’s/master’s and master’s‐/master’s double‐counting, a student may double-count one advanced course towards both degrees with the permission of the master’s faculty advisor.
Requirements for MSE in Civil Engineering with Coursework Requirements
The most common path for MSE graduate students is to complete the degree through coursework alone. The MSE degree requirements are as follows*:
- Minimum course requirements: 8 courses** at the 600-level or above:
- 4 of which must be from civil engineering – EN.560.XXX or EN.565.XXX
- 7 of which must be technical
- Required courses, but do not count towards minimum course requirements:
- Two semesters of CaSE graduate seminar courses (Fall semester – EN.560.691 and/or Spring semester – EN.560.692)
- Academic Ethics short course EN.500.603
- Responsible Conduct of Research short course: AS.360.624 (online)
- Acceptable grades: B- and above. Only one course with a grade lower than B- is allowed toward the degree requirements. No grade lower than a C- may be counted toward the course requirements.
- First three semesters must be full-time. The student may submit a request for the fourth semester to be part-time, which requires approval from the Department Head and is not guaranteed.*** It is expected that the degree will be completed in one year with the student enrolling in 4 courses per semester, although in select cases students may require a third semester of study.
- CPT internship credits for international students do not count toward the completion of a MSE degree.
- Transfer credits typically are not permitted.
*Students must comply with all requirements stipulated by the Whiting School of Engineering Academic Policies and Procedures.
** Academic advisors, in consultation with the faculty in the department, will determine whether the 8 courses (at least 3 credits each and 24 credits total) leading to this degree are appropriate and if they have been completed satisfactorily.
***See the director of your masters degree program or the department academic program administrator to determine if you might be eligible for part-time status.
MSE with Thesis Requirements
The MSE with thesis option is primarily intended for students interested in pursuing a PhD. The MSE degree requirements are as follows*:
- Minimum course requirements: 7 courses** at the 600-level or above:
- 4 of which must be from civil engineering – EN.560.XXX or EN.565.XXX
- 7 of which must be technical
- Required courses, but do not count towards minimum course requirements:
- Research course with research advisor – Fall semester
- Research course with research advisor – Spring semester (a two-semester research sequence)
- Two semesters of CaSE graduate seminar courses (Fall semester – EN.560.691 and/or Spring semester – EN.560.692)
- Academic Ethics short course – EN.500.603
- Responsible Conduct of Research short course: AS.360.625
- Acceptable grades: B- and above. Only one course with a grade lower than B- is allowed toward the degree requirements. No grade lower than a C- may be counted toward the course requirements.
- Final essay that is approved by the research advisor and one additional reader who is required to be a full-time departmental faculty member. Any external reader must be approved by the department chair.
- Research presentation in a public forum attended by two members of the WSE faculty or other faculty approved by the Department Chair.
- The MSE with thesis program is expected to be completed in 3-4 semesters with the student enrolled in 2-3 courses per semester in addition to research. Summer research is typical but not necessary and is left to the discretion of the student and advisor. All semesters must be full-time.
- CPT internship credits for international students do not count toward the completion of a MSE degree.
- Transfer credits typically are not permitted
*Students must comply with all requirements stipulated by the Whiting School of Engineering Academic Policies and Procedures.
**Academic advisors, in consultation with the faculty in the department, will determine whether the 7 courses (at least 3 credits each and 21 credits total) along with research credits leading to this degree are appropriate and if they have been completed satisfactorily.
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Only at Johns Hopkins
Tallest U.S. Cold-Formed Steel Building tested on Earthquake Simulator - The seismic testing will be used to determine the structural limits of cold-formed steel buildings and modernize U.S. building codes
Faculty Spotlight
Lauren Gardner is the Alton and Sandra Cleveland Professor in the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering at Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering and holds a joint appointment in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is also a member of the Data Science and AI Institute.
She is the creator of the interactive web-based dashboard used by public health authorities, researchers, and the general public around the globe to track the COVID-19 Pandemic. The dashboard debuted on January 22, 2020, and since has recorded more than 200 billion feature requests.