Entrance Requirements: M.S. EnvE

To begin candidacy for an M.S. EnvE, a student must have completed an ABET accredited undergraduate degree in engineering, or have a B.S. in a physical or biological science and have completed specified core course requirements at the undergraduate level.

Applicants with a B.S. in Engineering
Applicants without a B.S. in Engineering
Additional Requirements for International Applicants

Applicants with a B.S. in Engineering

Graduates of U.S. ABET or Canadian accredited engineering programs who have maintained a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) may be accepted with Full Graduate Standing (Full Status); students whose GPA is 2.75/4.0 or above may be accepted with Provisional Status. In the latter case, recommendation for full status may be made by the M.S. EnvE Graduate Committee to the University of Nebraska Graduate College if the student maintains a B average (3.0/4.0) in the first nine semester hours of graduate coursework. Graduates of non-ABET-accredited engineering programs will be reviewed by the M.S. EnvE Graduate Committee for possible admission on an individual basis.

Most students with an ABET-accredited B.S. degree in Civil Engineering and Biological Systems Engineering will already have completed the required undergraduate coursework. Some students in other majors (e.g., Chemical Engineering, Geological Engineering) may be required to take one or two undergraduate core courses. All students must have completed the following core courses, or their equivalent (as determined by the M.S. EnvE Graduate Committee), to be fully admitted into the program. Students who have not completed all of these courses may be admitted provisionally, and be required to take specific courses which do not count toward their graduate degree.

All students must have completed the following core courses, or their equivalent (as determined by the M.S. EnvE Graduate Committee), to be fully admitted into the program. Students who have not completed all of these courses may be admitted provisionally, and be required to take specific courses which do not count toward their graduate degree.

Applicants without a B.S. in Engineering

The M.S. EnvE Program admits, with a provisional status, students without an engineering background that have exceptional grade point averages, references, and/or professional experience. In addition to the normal requirements for the M.S. degree, such students must take (or have taken elsewhere) several undergraduate level background courses, as detailed below. A non-engineer should expect to devote a longer time to the M.S. degree program than a graduate student with an engineering degree.

Because of the competition for financial assistance, non-engineering students often do not receive financial aid during the period they are primarily taking these undergraduate make-up courses. However, they often receive financial assistance during the latter part of their programs.

Note that the requirements to obtain the Professional Engineers (P.E.) license have changed in many states, including Nebraska, to require an accredited B.S. degree in Engineering. By earning a M.S. degree in Engineering without a BS degree in Engineering, it may not be possible to become licensed in some states. The P.E. license is required for by many, but not all, upper level environmental engineering positions. Some students prefer to simultaneously earn a B.S. in Engineering (e.g., Civil Engineering or Biological Systems Engineering) while working on an M.S. EnvE.

Required Courses: The courses (or their equivalents) necessary for a student's background are listed below.

The required background courses are determined on a case-by-case basis. Students with a B.S degee in the physical sciences who have completed mathematics through differential equations typically require one to two extra semesters to complete their degree program.

Additional Requirements for International Applicants

International applicants who have not graduated from an ABET or CAB accredited undergraduate engineering program in the United States or Canada must take the TOEFL and the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Those international applicants must achieve a TOEFL score of 550 (paper), 213 (computer), or 80 (internet) and a minimum equivalent ranking of 75 percent on the quantitative portion of the GRE examination.

These scores must be directly reported to the University of Nebraska Graduate Admissions Office.

Graduates of foreign environmental engineering programs who have met the above conditions and who are in the top five percent of their graduating class or equivalent standing from an environmental engineering program comparable to accredited (ABET) programs may be admitted with full status. Students in the upper 20 percent of their graduating class or equivalent standing from a recognized environmental engineering program may be admitted with provisional status. Students will be recommended for full status after removing all specified undergraduate deficiencies and maintaining at least a B average (3.00/4.00) in the first nine hours of graduate coursework.