Civil and Environmental Engineering MS - Geological/Geotechnical Engineering

Admissions to the Civil and Environmental Engineering: Geological/Geotechnical Engineering, M.S. have been suspended as of summer 2021 and will be discontinued as of fall 2022. If you have any questions, please contact the department.

This is a named option within Civil and Environmental Engineering M.S. It is based on coursework only (no research-based thesis). This program will be replaced by Civil and Environmental Engineering: Professional M.S. in fall 2021.

The Geological/Geotechnical Engineering M.S.-CEE named option from the University of WisconsinMadison is interdisciplinary, taught by faculty from the College of Engineering and the College of Letters & Science. Our program integrates expertise from geology and engineering, so you acquire deep understanding of the interrelation between nature and the built environment.

In just one year, learn to solve a variety of practical problems associated with rocks and soils using principles of sustainable engineering. Combine your knowledge of geology with your engineering expertise to build structures, manage groundwater and surface water resources, construct subsurface repositories for waste disposal, and design systems to help extract conventional and alternative energy and mineral resources.

Our program is dynamic. You work with engineering and geoscience professors, visiting professors, academic staff members, and a cadre of research graduate and undergraduate students. Choose your electives based on your specific career or research needs. Research topics include alternative energy, geoenvironmental engineering, rock mechanics, earthquake engineering, hydrogeology, near-surface geophysics,and many more.

In the UWMadison Geological/Geotechnical Engineering masters program, you develop strong skills in geoenvironmental engineering, groundwater technology, rock and soil mechanics, geophysics, and geology. Graduate ready to excel in your field, whether it be consulting, petroleum and gas industries, mining, infrastructure, federal and state laboratories, or research. The Earth can be your office!

A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution is required. International applicants must have a degree comparable to a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree. You must have completed your undergraduate degree, or similar, before starting graduate school.

A minimum undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 on the equivalent of the last 60 semester hours (approximately two years of work) or a master’s degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required. Applicants from an international institution must demonstrate strong academic achievement comparable to a 3.00 for an undergraduate or master’s degree. The Graduate School will use your institution’s grading scale. Do not convert your grades to a 4.00 scale.

Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide an English proficiency test score. TOEFL scores must be submitted electronically via ETS. IELTS scores can be submitted electronically or by paper.  Our office address is: UW-Madison Graduate School, Office of Admissions, 232 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706.  Your score will not be accepted if it is more than two years old from the start of your admission term. Country of citizenship does not exempt applicants from this requirement. Language of instruction at the college or university level and how recent the language instruction was taken are the determining factors in meeting this requirement.

Applicants are exempt if: