Enrollment is now open for the department's online master's degree program. Classes begin in fall 2011.
“The program allows students who can’t come to campus to have the same high-quality educational experience as resident students,” says Professor William G. Buttlar, Director of Online Programs. “For example, a practicing engineer who wants to continue his or her education and earn a master’s degree or professional development hours can do so while continuing to work.”
Online students will view the same lectures as on-campus students, delivered by the same CEE at Illinois professors, but they will access them online. Lectures will be available within 24 hours after they are delivered on campus. Homework and projects will be submitted electronically, and students must take exams with a proctor. Course information will be available on the course website, and students will be able to contact their professors via email or phone. Some courses will also allow students to connect through chat rooms, online office hours, Skype meetings, and group projects and presentations. The degree requirements are the same as for the on-campus non-thesis M.S. program—36 hours of course work—and the degree awarded to online students is the same degree awarded to resident students. Online students have five years to complete the program.
The M.S. degree in Civil Engineering offered online is currently available for specialization in Construction Management and Transportation Engineering. Students can also develop cross-disciplinary programs in consultation with their advisers. Courses are available online in the following areas of concentration to complement the student's area of specialty: Construction Materials, Environmental Engineering and Science, Environmental Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Information Technology, and Structural Engineering.
Students may try online classes before applying to a degree program, Buttlar says.
Courses count for professional development hours and may be combined for a certificate. Up to 12 hours of credit taken prior to being admitted may be transferred into the degree program with departmental approval.
For more information about the online program, please visit the CEEonline website, or email questions to: ceeonline@illinois.edu.