Degree Requirements
These degree requirements will guide you through your graduate program. Requirements vary based on when you entered the program. Students enrolled prior to June 2025 may be eligible to elect to follow the previous degree requirements and should review the Legacy Degree Requirements Policy before selecting the appropriate requirements below.
Faculty Advising
Your faculty advisor plays an important role in helping you plan your graduate experience. Meet regularly with your Major Professor or Area Advisor to discuss your Program of Study, research interests, degree track and academic goals. View the Area Advisors.
- All MS students begin in the MS Plan II track
- All incoming MS students are initially admitted to the MS Plan II track, regardless of the track selected during the application process. Students interested in pursuing the MS Plan I (Thesis) track must identify a Major Professor who agrees to supervise their research and chair their thesis committee. Your official degree track is declared when you Advance to Candidacy.
- Your initial faculty advisor
- Your Area Advisor (also referred to as your GPC Representative) serves as your initial faculty advisor when you begin the program. Many MS Plan II students continue with their Area Advisor throughout their degree. Students pursuing the MS Plan I (Thesis) track will typically transition to a Major Professor who serves as the chair of their thesis committee.
If you remain with your Area Advisor, no action is required. - Changing your faculty advisor
- Students who wish to change faculty advisors should discuss the change with the prospective faculty member and obtain their agreement to serve as Major Professor. New students are encouraged to identify a Major Professor by the end of their first quarter, or no later than their second quarter.
Once a mutual agreement has been reached, submit the Change of Major Professor form to the Graduate Program Coordinator. The form is available on the CEE Forms page. - Planning your Program of Study
- Review your Program of Study with your faculty advisor at least once each quarter and whenever changes to your coursework or academic goals occur. Additional guidance is available in the Degree Milestones section of this website.
- ECI 299 research units
ECI 299 provides variable-unit research credit for graduate students conducting research under the supervision of their faculty advisor. Students should discuss expectations with their advisor before enrolling, including the work required to earn a satisfactory (S) grade. The amount of work should be proportional to the number of units in which you enroll.
ECI 299 defaults to 1 unit in Schedule Builder. If additional units are needed, select Edit next to the Units field in Schedule Builder to adjust your enrollment.
Each CEE faculty member has a unique ECI 299 CRN that changes every quarter and is not published online. Contact Lauren Worrell to obtain the correct CRN for your faculty advisor. When requesting a CRN, include your faculty advisor's name. After registering, verify that you enrolled under the correct faculty member and for the correct number of units.
- MS Plan I thesis committee
- Students pursuing the MS Plan I (Thesis) track establish their thesis committee when they Advance to Candidacy. Committee membership must meet the requirements outlined in the CEE Degree Requirements as well as the UC Davis Service on Advanced Degree Committees Policy. If you have questions about committee membership or eligibility, contact the Graduate Program Coordinator.
MS Milestones
Please see below for the important administrative steps needed to finish your degree and officially graduate. Each milestone lays out steps for both MS tracks. Contact the Graduate Program Coordinator for any questions about the administrative steps.
- Registration
Creating your Fall schedule and first year plan
Please refer to the New Student Course Registration page for detailed information about how to register for courses.
1. Review your core classes and see when they are being offered. Fill those courses in for Fall/Winter/Spring. The CEE Course Matrix (linked from our Special Courses page) will be helpful in seeing when our ECI courses are planned to be offered.
2. Explore what other ECI classes are being offered in our department, and make a list of the ones that seem interesting to you and when they are being offered.
3. Explore classes outside of ECI that are related to your research, academic and/or career goals. Make a list of these courses and when they are being offered (this might take some searching - department websites, historical offerings, etc). *Note: be sure to review prerequisites when exploring classes!
4. Review if you have other course requirements, such as the background courses for a student without an engineering degree, or the graduate first year English course. These courses will NOT satisfy requirements for the MS or PhD Program of Study.
5. Start making a one year (three quarter) plan, with about 2-3 courses per quarter (and maybe one or two back-up courses).
6. If you are trying to graduate in one year, be sure your plan fulfills all the degree requirements.
7. Consider using the Program of Study form as you do your planning, as you will need to submit a preliminary Program of Study around the start of your second quarter.
8. Attend the Area Advising as part of the CEE Department Orientation, and check in with the faculty about the courses you are planning to take.
- Preliminary Program of Study
The Program of Study form can be downloaded (as an excel file) from the CEE Forms page. The Program of Study form serves as the formal written plan of courses to be reviewed and approved by your major professor. The form is filed (at a minimum) twice, once as preliminary Program of Study, and subsequently as final Program of Study. The preliminary Program of Study (student must check the “preliminary” box on the form) lists the courses planned to be used to satisfy the curriculum requirement of the M.S. degree, and should be filed with the Graduate Coordinator before the end of the second quarter of entering the masters program. It also must be reviewed and approved by the GPC within the first two quarters of entering the masters program.
Students without and Engineering Background: Please also complete the CEE Background Completion form (found on the CEE Forms page) and submit this with the MS Program of Study.
Early submission will allow masters students to adjust their Programs before investing time and energy in courses that may not be approved by your major professor. If a student decides to make any changes to the preliminary Program of Study after it has been approved by your major professor, the student must submit a revised preliminary Program of Study for a second review by your major professor.
The GPC has the right to reject Programs of Study that are inadequately developed. Students are recommended to consult with their Major Professor and their Program of Study Committee, and follow the guidelines (below) carefully, in developing their Program of Study.
- Student Progress Assessment (Annual)
The Student Progress Assessment (SPA) is an online form, and is initiated each year in early April, and is due in mid-June. SPA must be completed annually. The SPA is one tool that can help strengthen conversations between students and their advisers about their academic progress and goals. The online tool is meant to complement in-person conversation, and to not be a replacement for actual conversation.
- Final Program of Study/Advance to Candidacy
MS Plan I
To be completed at least one quarter BEFORE your final quarter
1. MS Program of Study (final version): Fill out your final Program of Study, and have it signed by your Major Professor. If needed, also submit the Background Course Completion form (only students without a previous degree in Engineering).
2. Advance to Candidacy:
- Log into GradSphere and select the "Advancement to Candidacy" form.
- Select your degree pathway as "GECE MS Plan I"
- Enter expected term and year of completion - this is not binding, just an estimate.
- Enter your coursework. Your coursework should match all courses listed on your Program of Study (the courses counting towards the MS degree. Background courses, English Language course requirements, or other courses not counting towards the MS requirements should not be listed). You can log into OASIS for easy copy and past of course titles. Example: Course Code = ECI, Course Number = 201, Title = Intro Theory Elast
- If you officially transferred coursework from a previous institution, you will check that field. This will not apply to most students.
- Enter your MS Thesis Committee. Please review the degree requirements for additional information about committee membership. This is the committee that will review and sign your Thesis.Once you submit your candidacy form in GradSphere, it should route automatically for approval to your Committee Chair, the Program Graduate Advisor, the Program Graduate Coordinator, and then Graduate Studies. You can log into GradSphere and see where your form is throughout the process. You should also receive an email once the Candidacy has been fully approved.
MS Plan II
To be completed at least one quarter BEFORE your final quarter
1. MS Program of Study (final version): Fill out your final Program of Study, and have it signed by your Major Professor. If needed, also submit the Background Course Completion form (only students without a previous degree in Engineering).
2. Advance to Candidacy:
- Log into GradSphere and select the "Advancement to Candidacy" form.
- Select your degree pathway as "GECE MS Plan II"
- Enter expected term and year of completion - this is not binding, just an estimate.
- Enter your coursework. Your coursework should match all courses listed on your Program of Study (the courses counting towards the MS degree. Background courses, English Language course requirements, or other courses not counting towards the MS requirements should not be listed). You can log into OASIS for easy copy and past of course titles. Example: Course Code = ECI, Course Number = 201, Title = Intro Theory Elast
- If you officially transferred coursework from a previous institution, you will check that field. This will not apply to most students.Once you submit your candidacy form in GradSphere, it should route automatically for approval to the Program Graduate Advisor and the Program Graduate Coordinator, and then Graduate Studies. You can log into GradSphere and see where your form is throughout the process. You should also receive an email once the Candidacy has been fully approved.
- Graduation
ALL students must complete the Filing Process in GradSphere to be added to the Degree List and officially graduate.
MS Plan I
To be completed when you are done with your Thesis:
1. Review Filing Information: Graduate Studies has a comprehensive website for all the filing information - please read through it all!
2. Filing your Thesis or Dissertation: Log into GradSphere and select the "Filing Process" under "Degree Completion".MS Plan II
To be completed when you pass the exam/individual project/capstone course:
1. Review Filing Information: Graduate Studies has a comprehensive website for all the filing information - please read through it all!
2. MS Report Form, Plan II: Your Major Professor (chair of your individual project, instructor of your capstone course, lead faculty on your written exam) will submit this directly in GradSphere. Please be mindful of the filing deadlines.
3. File to Graduate: Log into GradSphere and select the "Filing Process" under "Degree Completion". If your MS Report Form is not complete when you submit the Filing Process, you may upload a document that has your name, SID, and a statement explaining when your MS Report was completed and which faculty member will be submitting your MS Report Form.Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduation Checklist
As you prepare to graduate, we would appreciate if you would complete the following checklist items as relevant. This checklist must be complete PRIOR to graduation/leaving Davis. This checklist includes important items such as returning key and other department property, cleaning any assigned desk or locker space, and cleaning lab space as necessary.
Filing Deadlines
Check the Graduate Studies Filing Deadlines to see the submission deadline for each quarter degree list. All aspects of the Filing Process (Master Report forms, thesis, required filing paperwork, and signed title page) must be submitted to Graduate Studies (GradSphere) by 4:59 PM Pacific Time on the deadline.
Diploma, Transcript, and More!
Review the Graduate Studies website for more information about your diploma, transcript, conferral letter, email, and more.
Email and account access
Student computing accounts close at time of graduation. Be prepared to transition all important documents, emails, and data. You can read more in this Knowledge Base article.
The department will not be able to sponsor a Temporary Affiliate Form (TAF) for graduated students.The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering does not host a commencement celebration. Graduate Students can participate in the Graduate Studies Commencement. There is only one Graduate Studies Commencement held annually in June (there is no winter ceremony for Graduate Students).
Generally speaking, students should start reviewing information about commencement in late February.
To be eligible for the Graduate Studies Commencement, please pay attention to the dates on the website regarding Advancing to Candidacy and/or being filed to graduate. Students may participate in the Commencement Ceremony prior to actually graduating if they Advance to Candidacy by the appropriate deadline.
Please also be sure to pay attention to the registration deadline, which is generally early May, and the deadline to to rent your cap/gown without a late fee.
Questions? Check out their FAQ website, or contact [email protected]