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Structural Design Graduate Certificate

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Why this certificate?

The Structural Design graduate certificate, offered through the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is available to both degree and non-degree-seeking students who are interested in continuing their education but may not be ready to commit to a master's degree program. The program is structured to advance the working engineer’s knowledge and skills in the rapidly changing field of the structural design. It deals with advanced graduate courses related to structural design for a wide variety of structural systems and under both static and dynamic loading.

You are eligible to apply if...

  • Those who hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent on or related to civil engineering from an institution of recognized standing (exceptions may be approved if the student has the background needed to succeed in the graduate engineering courses) are eligible.
  • There is no GRE requirement.
  • GPA of 2.75/4.0 or higher for a bachelor's degree program on or related to civil engineering. Students who do not meet the 2.75/4.0 GPA criterion may still be eligible to enroll if they have significant engineering experience outside of the classroom.

To complete the program you must...

  • The program requires students to take four elective graduate courses (12 credit hours) from the following:
    • CIVL 6600 Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design (3)

    • CIVL 6620 Prestressed Concrete Design (3)

    • CIVL 6630 Advanced Concrete Materials (3)

    • CIVL 6640 Structural Masonry Design (3)

    • CIVL 6650 Advanced Steel Design (3)

    • CIVL 6660 Bridge Engineering (3)

    • CIVL 6690 Timber Design (3)

    • CIVL 6970 Structural Analysis/Design Special Topics (3) (e.g., Wind Engineering)

    • CIVL 7640 Stability of Structures (3)

    • CIVL 7720 Earthquake Engineering (3)

    • CIVL 7970 Special Topics in Structural Analysis/Design (3)

  • Some graduate courses are possibly offered for distance or outreach students, and those courses will have the same course number (e.g., CIVL 6600) as the on-campus option but have a unique section number "D01" ("D" stands for "distance." Some special topic courses, e.g., CVIL 7970, may have several corresponding distance sections, D01, D02, D03, … D09). Therefore, distance certificate students should take the above courses with the section number starting “D.”
  • CIVL 7970 will be replaced by a specific title when it is offered. Only special topic courses in structural analysis/design can be counted toward this certificate program.
  • Some of the elective courses are available for more than one certificate program, but the same course cannot be counted for more than one civil engineering graduate certificate.

What can you expect?

  • After completion of this certificate program, students will be able to:
    • Apply advanced concepts and principles related to structural design.
    • Analyze information presented in the scientific literature related to structural design.
    • Formulate effective and persuasive communication to technical and nontechnical audiences.
  • If a student chooses to pursue a master's degree, all academic credits earned from the certificate may be applied toward the graduate degree.
  • Most students take 1-2 courses per semester and complete their certificate in 3–4 semesters. Graduate level courses are not typically offered in the summer.

Applying for the Structural Design Graduate Certificate

  • You can apply for it by filling out the online graduate application at https://graduate.auburn.edu/prospective-students/application-instructions/ (you will be required to create an account) and selecting “Certificate/Graduate-Structural Design.”
  • Information on tuition and fees can be found at https://eng.auburn.edu/online/tuition-fees.html
  • For additional questions, contact James Davidson, structural certificate coordinator in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.