The faculty has a great amount of formal training, practical experience and ongoing research in the following areas: Environmental engineering, water resources, geotechnical engineering, structures/mechanics, and transportation engineering. Well-equipped laboratories in these and related areas are available for research. Graduate students normally specialize in one of these fields (also referred to as "areas of concentration").

There are two options leading to the M.S.C.E. degree. The thesis option requires the student to complete a minimum of twenty-five (25) hours of approved course work and to submit an acceptable thesis worth 6 hours. The non-thesis option requires the student to complete a minimum of thirty-four (34) hours of approved course work and a Master's Report worth 3 hours. General guidelines for selecting courses in these two programs are given below.