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Graduate Program Requirements

General requirements for graduate programs in Civil & Coastal Engineering and Environmental Engineering

Graduate students generally take 9 credits per semester during the Fall and Spring and 6 credits in the summer.

Graduate level courses are always ###5000 or higher. For work outside the major, courses numbered 3000 or above (not to exceed 6 credits) may be taken if they are part of an approved plan of study. There are some exceptions to this so check with the appropriate personnel under ESSIE Graduate Administration for clarification. 

Students on financial aid will need to check with the Office of the University Registrar to see if there are any additional registration requirements. 

All students must complete a program plan of study and gain the approval of the plan from their faculty advisor.  The plan lists all courses that the student has attempted (if transferring courses into their graduate degree program) as well as future anticipated enrollment.

Look for “Plan of Study” under Civil and Coastal graduate forms.

Program plan submission deadlines

  • Master’s non-thesis students – mid-term of the first semester
  • Master’s thesis students – mid-term of the second semester
  • Ph.D. students – mid-term of the third semester

Registration holds are placed on the student’s record if the completed and approved plan is not submitted by the required deadline.

If a student has graduate-level coursework completed outside of the current UF degree program (from an outside institution, as part of the UF 4/1 program, taken as a non-degree student or was taken as an undergraduate but did not count toward bachelor’s degree requirements) and the grade(s) was a B or higher, the request to transfer the coursework into the UF degree program is indicated on the program plan of study form. This transfer of credit request is typically processed during the semester when the program plan is submitted.

The Graduate School processes the transfer of credit request after the department submits it for processing. The processing times are not immediate as the requests are placed in a queue and processed in the order that they were received. Also note that all requested credits may not be approved for transfer after the Graduate School reviews the request. The student should check his/her unofficial transcript page in ONE.UF to see if the transfer credits are indicated there after the program plan is submitted. If they are not, the student should contact the appropriate personnel under ESSIE Graduate Administration. Students are encouraged to view the Departmental Graduate Handbook for information pertaining to transfer of credit and all other all graduate student processes. This program plan of study can be revised at any time as long as the student’s advisor signs off on the changes.

No more than 30 credits of a master’s degree from another institution will be transferred to a doctoral program. If a student holds a master’s degree in a discipline different from the doctoral program, the master’s work will not be counted in the program unless the academic unit petitions the Dean of the Graduate School. All courses beyond the master’s degree taken at another university to be applied to the Ph.D. degree must be taken at an institution offering the doctoral degree and must be approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of the University of Florida. All courses to be transferred must be graduate-level, letter-graded with a grade of B or better and must be demonstrated to relate directly to the degree being sought. (NOTE: Research hours are not included because they are not letter-graded.)

All such transfer requests must be made by petition of the supervisory committee no later than the third term of Ph.D. study. The total number of credits (including 30 for a prior master’s degree) that may be transferred cannot exceed 45, and in all cases the student must complete the qualifying examination at the University of Florida. In addition, any prior graduate credits earned at UF (e.g., a master’s degree in the same or a different discipline) may be transferred into the doctoral program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and by petition to the Graduate School. The petition must show how the prior course work is relevant to the current degree. All master’s degrees counted in the minimum 90 credit hours must be earned in the last 7 years.

If a UF student participated in this program as an undergraduate, those courses should be listed on the program plan for consideration of transfer.

The MDA is a formal process to acknowledge the content, level, relevancy, and contribution of a student’s previously earned master’s degree from a non-UF institution or in another field of study within UF to the student’s doctoral program at the University of Florida. The student’s committee chair must conduct a holistic review of the individual’s official records and transcripts to evaluate the previously awarded master’s degree, considering the age of the degree, curricular level, grades, and grading schemes. Note that international degrees may have timelines and curricula differing from UF standards.

Per the University of Florida Graduate School Policy, students must have a minimum 3.00 GPA overall and a 3.00 GPA within home departmental courses to be eligible for graduation.

Minor work must be in an academic unit other than the major. If an academic unit contributes more than one course (as specified in the curriculum inventory and/or the Graduate Catalog) to the major, the student is not eligible to earn a minor from the contributing academic unit. A 3.00 (truncated) GPA is required for minor credit. In order to obtain a minor in another department area, the student will need approval from that department and to check on what the requirements are for that program. If a minor is chosen, the supervisory committee includes at least one Graduate Faculty member representing the student’s minor. If the student elects more than one minor, each minor area must be represented on the supervisory committee. Therefore, committees for students with two minors must have a minimum of five members.

Ph.D. program requirements


The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A Ph.D. student does the major work in an academic unit specifically approved for offering doctoral courses and supervising dissertations. At least a B (3.00 truncated) is needed for courses included in the major (overall and major/departmental courses).

Students will arrange to meet with their committee chair/advisor in order to complete the Program Plan of Study (PPS). The student will also be provided with information about the completion of the Individual Development Plan (IDP).

The PPS is done one time unless changes are made, but the IDP, which is found in Canvas, is done annually in conjunction with a scheduled advisement meeting with your Chair.

Each year all Ph.D. students (including newly admitted students) are asked to meet with their faculty advisor (chair) and complete the Individual development plan (IDP). The IDP is a well-thought out document to assist you with developing strategies and goals throughout your PhD program and to make certain you stay on track toward graduation.  The annual submission deadline for this is April 15 and it is provided to ESSIE Graduate Administration by your faculty advisor.  The IDP is in located in Canvas for ease of access by the student and faculty advisor.


Membership: The supervisory committee for a doctoral candidate comprises at least four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two members, including the chair, must be from the academic unit recommending the degree. At least one member serves as external member and should be from a different educational discipline, with no ties to the home academic unit. One regular member may be from the home academic unit or another unit. A co-chair may also be appointed.

Co-chair: To substitute for the chair of the committee at any examinations, the co-chair must be in the same academic unit as the candidate.

External member:

  • Represents the interests of the Graduate School and UF
  • Knows Graduate Council policies
  • Serves as an advocate for the student at doctoral committee activities.

If the academic unit’s committee activity conflicts with broader University policies or practices, the external member is responsible for bringing such conflicts to the attention of the appropriate governing body. Therefore, the external member is prohibited from holding any official interest in the doctoral candidate’s major academic unit. Faculty holding joint, affiliate, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit cannot be external members on a student’s committee.

Minor member: The Graduate Faculty member who represents a minor on a student’s committee may be appointed as the external member if he/she does not have a courtesy graduate appointment in the student’s major academic unit.

Retired faculty: Graduate Faculty members who retire may continue their service on supervisory committees for 1 year. With approval of the academic unit, retired faculty may continue serving on existing or new committees beyond this period.

Special appointments: People without Graduate Faculty status may be made official members of a student’s supervisory committee through the special appointment process. Appropriate candidates for special appointments include

  • Individuals from outside UF with specific expertise who contribute to a graduate student’s program of study
  • Tenure-track faculty not yet qualified for Graduate Faculty status
  • Non-tenure-track faculty or staff at UF who do not qualify for Graduate Faculty status

Limitations for special appointments:

  • They do not hold Graduate Faculty appointments
  • They have a special appointment that is specific only to an individual student’s committee
  • They may not serve as a supervisory committee chair, co-chair, external member, or minor representative.

The student’s supervisory committee chair requests the special appointment, briefly explaining what the special appointment contributes to the supervisory committee. A special appointment is made for a specific supervisory committee. If a student changes to a new degree or major and the committee chair wishes to include the special member on the new supervisory committee, another request must be submitted to the Graduate School for the new committee.

  • If a student holds an assistantship, the student should be registered for 9 credit hours during the Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours during the summer in order to maintain the appointment. If the student registers for more than that, the student will have to pay out of pocket based on the student’s residency.
  • Anything less than 9 credit hours is considered part-time in the Fall and Spring and anything less than 6 is considered part-time in the summer.
  • Advanced Research (7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy (classified as 7 and 8).
  • Students enrolled in 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy (classified as 9).
  • During the student’s final term, the student must be registered for research hours (a minimum of 3 in the Fall and Spring and 2 in the summer).
  • If the graduating student is on an appointment, the student must be registered full-time based on the appointment requirements.

All Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given.

The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units, is both written (sometimes referred to as a preliminary or pre-qualifying exam) and oral (sometimes referred to as the oral defense) and covers the major and minor subjects.

Students take their qualifying exam, with their advisor’s permission, once they have made adequate progress towards their dissertation. In preparation for the qualifying exam the student will prepare a written dissertation research proposal which outlines their research objectives. The proposal is submitted to their graduate committee and then in coordination with their faculty advisor they will schedule their qualifying exam. The qualifying exam is composed of two parts: a written exam and oral exam (proposal defense).

Written exam: The written exam is composed of questions provided by the members of the supervisory committee. The questions will typically relate to the students research proposal but may also include content that committee members believe will strengthen the proposed research. Answers to the written exam will be evaluated by a panel composed of departmental faculty and will determine whether the student will advance in the Ph.D. program.

Once the student has passed their written exam, the student in consultation with the advisor will schedule the oral exam. This exam is evaluated by the full supervisory committee. The student will present their work to the committee and answer questions from the members. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must attend. The student and chair or co-chair must be in the same physical location. With approval of the entire committee, other committee members may attend remotely using modern technology.

At this time the supervisory committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree. If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School should be notified. A re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee. At least one term of additional preparation is needed before re-examination.

Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.


A student is admitted to candidacy upon completion of the qualifying exam when all committee members have approved the candidacy form and approved the dissertation topic.

  • A student about to graduate should check the Graduate School website for deadlines and final term requirements. This would include the Editorial Office’s guidelines as well.
  • Apply for the degree/certificate (found on the Office of the University Registrar website or in ONE.UF)
  • Transmittal Letter (Request from the ESSIE Graduate Records staff.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
  • First Submission
  • Final Exam (Packet found on the ESSIE website under the forms area.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
  • Final Submission
  • Degree Certification and Final Clearance

Master’s program requirements

Upon admission, a departmental faculty member is assigned as the student’s advisor.

Whether pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, students must complete the Program Plan of Study.

Non-availability of courses: If any required courses are not available for reasons such as faculty members’ sabbatical, departmental faculty will recommend appropriate alternatives on a case-by-case basis.

Master’s students are expected to satisfy the following minimum coursework requirements and procedures in addition to program requirements for each specialization.

The non-thesis option is only available if the student has not received an assistantship from ESSIE.

Coursework Requirements

Students in these programs must complete a minimum of 30 total semester hours of coursework (including a minimum of 21 credits from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering). See specialization program requirements for your desired program to see required courses and distribution of core and elective courses.

Additional Requirements

Non-thesis students obtaining a Master of Science degree must also satisfy the final exam requirements by submitting a completed design or analysis term project that earned a grade of B or better from one of your program’s core competency courses listed in the specialization coursework requirements. Projects from outside the curriculum will not be considered. Projects are to be submitted to the student’s advisor, in addition to the course instructor, for approval and must be comprehensive in nature.

Master of Engineering students are not required to complete this final examination requirement, as per the Graduate Catalog.

Students on research assistantships must complete a thesis. 

Coursework Requirements

Students in these programs must complete a minimum of 30 total semester hours of coursework (including a minimum of 21 credits from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering). See specialization program requirements for your desired program to see required courses and distribution of core and elective courses.

The student must also submit a written master’s thesis to their supervisory committee and complete an oral defense of the thesis that is approved by all members of the supervisory committee prior to graduation. The parameters of the master’s thesis, including length and content, are to be decided by the student’s advisor.

Enrollment of 3 credit hours (Fall/Spring) or 2 credit hours (Summer) of Masters Research (CGN 6971) is required during the final/graduating semester.

Supervisory Committee

Thesis students obtaining a or Master of Engineering thesis degree are required to have a supervisory committee. That committee must consist of a minimum of two members, a chair (usually the advisor), and another member from either Civil Engineering, Coastal Engineering or Environmental Engineering Sciences. Students may include a third committee member from any department at UF, any other academic institution, or relevant non-academic institution (e.g. Naval Research Lab, US Geological Survey).

The full committee should be formed by the mid-term of the second semester. If a minor is designated, the committee must include a graduate faculty member from the minor department.