MSc in Sustainable Critical Infrastructure

Overall Structure and Requirements

The M.Sc. in Sustainable Critical Infrastructure (SCI) program consists of a minimum of 36 credit hours. The required program credits are distributed as follows: 12 credits of Program Core courses, 12 credits of Program Elective courses, and 12 credits of SCI Master’s Thesis work. A student may organize the selection of the elective courses and the master’s thesis topic to follow a specialization track within the broad field of SCI.  In such cases, the track will be noted on the student’s transcript. The table below presents a summary of the M.Sc. in SCI degree program structure and requirements. All the M.Sc. in SCI program courses, with the exception of the Seminar in Research Methods and the Master’s Thesis, have a credit rating of three credits each.

Summary of M.Sc. in SCI Degree Program Structure and Requirements

Program Requirements

Students seeking the degree of M.Sc. in SCI must successfully complete a minimum of 36 credited hours as specified in the categories detailed in this section, with a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.0.

Program Core

The program consists of eight courses with four infrastructure-planning and engineering core courses (SCIN601, SCIN602, SCIN603, and SCIN612), four electives from within the program and one free elective, which can be taken from other programs (provided the pre-requisite is met) with the approval of their advisor.

I. SCIN Core Courses (12 credits)

Students must select all four courses below:

– SCIN 601 Transportation Systems Analysis: Demand and Economics

– SCIN 602 Urban Design for Sustainability: Theory and Practice

– SCIN 603 Management of Infrastructure Systems

– SCIN 612 Sustainable Building Science: Fundamentals, Tools, and Applications

II. ENGR 695 Seminar in Research Methods (0 credits)

Program Electives

Students must complete a minimum of 15 credits of electives. The list of electives that students can select from includes any core courses not used to meet the SCIN Core requirement above as well as those listed below.

–       SCIN 604 Infrastructure Finance

–       SCIN 605 Planning Theory, Practice, and Ethics

–       SCIN 606 Geographic Information Systems

–       SCIN 607 Infrastructure and Development

–       SCIN 608 Urban Planning and Design Studio

–       SCIN 609 Comparative Land Use and Transportation Planning

–       SCIN 610 Public Transportation Systems

–       SCIN 611 Thermal Energy in Buildings

–       SCIN 694 Selected Topics in Sustainable Critical Infrastructure

Sustainable Critical Infrastructure Master’s Thesis

SCIN 699 Master’s Thesis (12 credits)

A student must complete a master’s thesis that involves creative, research-oriented work within the broad field of SCI, under the direct supervision of at least one full-time SCI program faculty advisor. The research findings must be documented in a formal thesis and defended successfully in a viva voce examination.

Program Tracks

A student may select a group of elective courses to form an optional specialization track within the M.Sc. in SCI program.  The track will be noted on the student’s academic record (transcript), provided that the student completes:

– A minimum of 12 credits from the group of courses designated by the track.

– A master research thesis within the domain of the track.

The tracks supported by the M.Sc. in SCI program and the required courses for each of the tracks are set out below.

Study Plan

Typical study plans for full-time and part-time students enrolled in the M.Sc. in SCI program are shown below. Each student is expected to select the courses in consultation with her/his academic advisor.