Sample Course Schedule for MSCE: Intelligent Infrastructure Design

The sample course plan for Michigan Tech's civil engineering master's degree with a focus on intelligent infrastructure design provides a guide to courses and requirements.

Sample Course Plan

This sample course plan is a sample, and adjustments may be required due to curriculum changes. Students should work with their advisor to develop their individual plan. A full list of graduate course descriptions is available.

The specialty area encompasses the design of robust, resilient, digitally interconnected civil infrastructure for smart community design. Students will develop holistic design approaches to streamline the incorporation (monitoring, feedback) of all things digital into structures, transportation, geotechnical, water and waste management with a focus on minimizing environmental impact and the advancement in sustainability and resiliency. This is one possible pathway for students to attain an MS in Civil Engineering, while bridging the traditional “silos” identified within the profession.

Specialty Area Description

The Intelligent Community Design specialty area is intended to offer training for applying technology to make our communities work more sustainably and efficiently. The pathway consists of courses that provide necessary knowledge of the engineering design and analysis of infrastructure systems (e.g., transportation, water resources/environmental, structural, and geotechnical), data collection techniques (from traditional surveying to more advanced sensor and sensing techniques), and computing (machine learning, optimization, numerical simulation, and big data as it relates to infrastructure/geospatial information). Graduates of this specialty area will be able to meet emerging and rapidly-growing needs for engineers to build more intelligent communities.

Coursework

The following breakdown of courses is meant to serve as a guide when crafting a degree schedule for students interested in focusing on Intelligent Community Design. Potential courses are provided below; however, alternative courses could be selected based on the student’s interests, goals and prior education. Consultation with a faculty advisor is required.

Core Courses

4 - 5 core courses should be taken. These course serve to provide a foundation for designing different civil engineering infrastructure systems with a focus on the environment and sustainability. Courses should be selected to provide adequate breadth across the areas of civil/environmental engineering, while also providing sufficient coursework focused on design vs. systems thinking.

Necessary Computing Skills

3 courses should be selected to provide necessary computing skills

Data Acquisition

1 - 2 courses should be taken related to data acquisition

Coding

1 course should be taken related to coding

Note: Selected courses would have to adhere to basic requirements of the Civil MS
program. Namely, a minimum of 15 credits must be taken within the CEE Department. In
addition, students must take one of the following courses: CEE 5710, CEE 5730, CEE 5740, or
CEE 5760. A minimum of 18 5000-level credits must be taken; a maximum of 12 3000- or 4000-
level courses can be used towards the 30 credit requirement. All MSCE degree requirements
and rules set forth by the Department and the Graduate School must be met in order for a
student to finish the program.