History of NJIT and its Online Masters of Science in Civil Engineering

The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has a long history specializing in engineering fields. Founded in 1880, the school has offered engineering degrees for over 100 years. Even today, about half the students attending the school are in pursuit of an engineering degree.

A few years ago, a new popular masters was launched at NJIT, the online Masters of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE).

“[The program provides] the essential credentials engineers need to back up their Baccalaureate degree with specialized training. Additionally, the education and skill set is applicable immediately in the field,” said Prof. John Schuring, Online MSCE Program Designer and Advisor.

Prof. John Schuring Online MSCE Program Designer and Advisor.

NJIT’s Online Masters of Science in Civil Engineering Curriculum

Students taking the online MSCE program can focus in one of three specializations: Construction Management, Transportation, and Structural Design and Construction.

“These specializations probably cover 75% of the civil engineering field,” explained Prof. Schuring. “We offer enough core courses to cover those topics and many electives to compliment them. Many other programs would have a set curriculum with little choice. But for us once the students satisfy the core knowledge they should learn what they need for their careers.”

He added, “If students require knowledge from more than one specialization, however, then some flexibility and customization exists. These are the standard curricula but hybrids are certainly possible.”

The online specialization curricula mimic their on-campus counterparts with respect to the 10 course format and content. The students must take 5 core courses in the specialty and at least two electives in management. The remaining courses can be taken as technical electives or more management courses. Typically, a student will choose technical electives that relate to their field.

“We want our students to take at least two management electives as many engineers are becoming leaders or managers in their careers. These courses will help to prepare them with leadership skills their undergrad may not have focused on,” explained Prof. Schuring.

There are other ways students are able to customize their online MSCE program. For instance, if they are unable to commit the time for a full masters the students can opt for a professional certificate. The certificate requires students complete four courses in the MSCE program. If they choose to come back to school later, these four courses can be counted towards a future masters.

Additionally, students can add a capstone project to their education. The project counts as a single course. It is a great way to introduce the everyday issues of your workplace into your academic career.

If you wish to complete your MSCE at NJIT with a thesis, however, then on-campus learning is your only option. The thesis will count to two courses in your masters.

NJIT’s Online Masters of Science in Civil Engineering Specializations

The most popular specialization is construction management. It teaches the students skills they need to manage and supervise projects to ensure they are on time and on budget. “The program responds to the needs of leading professionals. And here in the New York Metropolitan area with all the construction, it’s easy to see the need,” said Prof. Schuring.

The transportation specialization teaches students how to plan and design the networks of highways, railways and mass transportation society relies on. “The program has the soft side, the planning, and the hard side, the design. We have a strong faculty to teach both elements,” said Prof. Schuring.

As for structural design and construction specialization, Prof. Schuring was very proud. He mentioned “The population of this specialty is growing. Students will learn from the same courses with the same quality as their on-campus counterparts. However, not many other Universities offer this specialty online at this time.”

Unfortunately, some of the courses present in the on-campus versions of other specializations have yet to be added online. However, Prof. Schuring suggests more of these missing electives will be added online in the next few years. He said, “The same faculty teach the same content online as on-campus and some courses, like Finite Element Analysis and Structural Stability, were harder than others to make the transitions. Format changes are necessary to accommodate the new learning platform.”

Additionally, Prof. Schuring did mention that two more specialties are planned to be added to the online MSCE: environmental engineering and geotechnical engineering.

Who is Pursuing an Online Masters in Civil Engineering from NJIT?

Most of the students in the program are working professionals. Prof. Schuring suggests that this is why online masters have become so popular recently. He said, “Masters Degrees have become the new minimal for many professionals regardless of the field. The masters allows professionals to become more focused in the field than the more generalized undergrad. Additionally, licensing boards are encouraging masters degrees as they tend to count the degree as a year of experience. So the degree can fast track you to a PE designation.”

Students from various civil engineering backgrounds are welcome to take the program. However, those without a civil engineering undergrad, international students, and lower GPAs may need to submit their GRE exam results to gain acceptance. Additionally, some of these students may need to take some prerequisite undergraduate level courses to get them up to speed.

“Students can contact an enrollment coach to help them with their applications,” explained Prof. Schuring. “Our decision process considers an applicant’s entire record.  In some case we will take experience or professional certifications where education might be lacking. The coaches act as a screener for your credentials and qualifications and suggest supplementary documents, like resumes, that are not mandatory but can be helpful for a certain individual.”

Benefits of taking a Masters in Civil Engineering Online

The online nature of NJIT’s MSCE is also attractive to many working professionals. “The benefit to learning online is the convenience to work on it whenever and wherever your busy professional life can fit it in,” said Prof. Schuring.

Even local students have been choosing the online route due to the asynchronous nature of the MSCE program. He said, “Professionals used to go on campus for night courses, though we still have a strong night program, online has become significantly more popular. The beauty of online is asynchronous learning, the flexibility to watch a class whenever and wherever is convenient. A distant student can graduate with the legacy of an NJIT degree in their pajamas! In reality, there are only a few times each semester when you will need to be online at a specific moment.”

Unfortunately, the reality of asynchronous learning is that the freedom doesn’t work for every student. Prof. Schuring said, “The self-discipline involved isn’t for everyone. If you are on campus you are constantly reminded by peers about deadlines. But it is much easier to ignore an email. Though the scheduling of the course remains the same online, we find some students can’t keep up with it as they would have if they were on-campus. The student needs to really ask themselves if online education is practical for their learning styles. However, learning to keep up can be a great source of personal growth.”

To help students keep up with the online programs Prof. Schuring suggests students get the textbooks ahead of time. This allows engineers to familiarise themselves with the content before they need to dive into it for the course. Courses are typically a blend of textbook assignments and professor-created content. Therefore, getting a general understanding from the textbook before the course opens is a good way to stay ahead of the curve.

Prof. Schuring also suggested to “Schedule time each week for the program. Some weeks will require more time than you block, other weeks will require less time. By scheduling this time at the start of the week you can ensure you to complete the work before any deadlines”

NJIT adds a personal touch to their Online Masters of Science in Civil Engineering

To help ease new students into the program, the faculty performs a series of welcome calls to students. This personal touch can be a great way to ease the apprehension of students. This is important as many of the students will have never participated in an online course or may have graduated from their undergrad long ago.

The school also offers an online tutorial to help students become accustomed to the online platform known as Moodle. This platform allows professors upload the content (videos, PowerPoints, PDF, etc.) and students to submit assignments, or tests. The platform students also allows students to network with peers and faculty through chat and threaded discussions.

“Many Professors will have virtual office hours where they can discuss with students live over the PC,” said Prof. Schuring. “Professors have even been known to give out phone numbers if more assistance is needed. We make sure that students are able to get the one-on-one care they would have if on-campus.”

New Jersey Institute of Technology has sponsored this post. They have no editorial input to this post - all opinions are mine. Shawn Wasserman