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2024 Best Civil Engineering Master's Degree Schools

169 Colleges in the United States
4,884 Master's Degrees
$70,613 Avg Early-Career Salary
a master's degree in civil engineering is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #40 out of 343 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 169 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for civil engineering students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 4,884 master's degrees in civil engineering to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Civil Engineering School for Your Master's Degree

Best Civil Engineering Master's Degree Schools The civil eng master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality civil eng program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for civil engineering students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Civil Eng Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Civil Engineering Master's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Civil Engineering in the United States

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for civil engineering students seeking a a master's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Master's in Civil Eng

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA

Stanford University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in civil engineering. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Those civil engineering students who get their master's degree from Stanford University make $8,298 more than the average civil eng grad.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Stanford University

2

Columbia University in the City of New York is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in civil engineering. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.

Those civil engineering students who get their master's degree from Columbia University in the City of New York earn $10,953 more than the typical civil eng student.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Columbia University in the City of New York

3

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in civil engineering. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the civil engineering degree program at University of Southern California make $11,082 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from University of Southern California

4

It is hard to beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology if you wish to pursue a master's degree in civil engineering. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.

Those civil engineering students who get their master's degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology receive $9,586 more than the typical civil eng grad.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

5
46 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Northwestern University

6

UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Master's students who receive their degree from the civil eng program make an average of $71,729 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from University of California - Los Angeles

7

Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.

Those civil engineering students who get their master's degree from University of California - Berkeley make $3,895 more than the standard civil eng student.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from University of California - Berkeley

8

UW Seattle is a very large public university located in the city of Seattle.

Those civil engineering students who get their master's degree from University of Washington - Seattle Campus make $4,947 more than the average civil eng grad.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

9

Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

Students who graduate with their master's from the civil eng program report average early career wages of $67,478.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Carnegie Mellon University

10

Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those civil engineering students who get their master's degree from University of California - San Diego receive $10,978 more than the typical civil eng grad.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from University of California - San Diego

11

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis.

Those civil engineering students who get their master's degree from University of California - Davis earn $2,747 more than the average civil eng grad.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from University of California - Davis

12
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
13 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Princeton University

13

UIUC is a very large public university located in the city of Champaign.

Master's students who receive their degree from the civil eng program make around $70,772 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

14
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
8 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University

15
27 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Cornell University

16

NJIT is a large public school located in the large city of Newark.

Master's recipients from the civil engineering program at New Jersey Institute of Technology make $8,149 more than the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology

17

Georgia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Atlanta.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the civil eng program earn around $70,633 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

18
12 Annual Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in civil engineering from University of Virginia - Main Campus

19
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
23 Annual Graduates

Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham.More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Duke University

20
14 Annual Graduates

Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a master’s in civil engineering from University of Notre Dame

21
25 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Johns Hopkins University

22
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.

Students who graduate with their master's from the civil eng program state that they receive average early career wages of $70,394.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Virginia Tech

23

Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the midsize city of College Station.

Soon after graduation, civil eng master's recipients generally earn around $69,791 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from Texas A&M University - College Station

24
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.

Those civil engineering students who get their master's degree from New York University receive $5,503 more than the standard civil eng student.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from New York University

25

UT Austin is a very large public university located in the city of Austin.

After graduating, civil eng master's recipients generally make about $71,572 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in civil engineering from The University of Texas at Austin

Rest of the Top Best Civil Engineering Master's Degree Schools

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Civil Engineering Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
26 Villanova University Villanova, PA
27 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
28 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
29 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
30 Northeastern University Boston, MA
31 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
32 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA
32 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
33 Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO

Civil Engineering by Region

View the Best Civil Engineering Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 41 majors within the Engineering area of study, Civil Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Civil Eng Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Civil Engineering 4,500
Structural Engineering 161
Trasportation Engineering 93
Civil Engineering 84
Water Resources Engineering 45
Geoenvironmental Engineering 1

Majors Similar to Civil Eng

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 8,658
Mechanical Engineering 7,218
Computer Engineering 5,020
Biomedical Engineering 3,089
General Engineering 2,969
Industrial Engineering 2,483
Systems Engineering 2,186
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 1,880
Chemical Engineering 1,558
Other Engineering 1,409

Notes and References

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