The Engineer degree is designed for those engineers who need additional technical depth and diversification in their education beyond the Master's degree.

This degree requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate work beyond the Master's degree. It is not to be considered as a partial requirement toward the PhD degree. The student's objective after the Master's degree should be the PhD or the Engineering degree.

Admission to the Program

To be admitted to the program, students must have completed a Master's degree in engineering and apply for admission to the Graduate School of the University of Florida. The Master's degree is regarded as the foundation for the degree of Engineer. The Master's degree must be based on the candidate having a Bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited curriculum or having taken sufficient articulation course work to meet the minimum requirements specified by ABET.

Course Requirements

A total registration in an approved program of at least 30 semester credit hours beyond the Master's degree is required. This minimum requirement must be earned through the University of Florida.

Seminar Requirements

All graduate students are required to register for two Departmental Seminars (1 semester credit hour each, graded S/U). One of the Departmental seminars requires students to attend the Departmental Colloquium (4 to 5 presentations per semester) every semester, with a minimum 75% attendance rate required to pass. The second Departmental seminar is taken in one of the following focus areas: Air Pollution, Hydrologic Sciences, Potable Water, Solid Waste, Systems Ecology, Water/Wastewater Treatment, and Wetlands. A maximum of 2 credits of seminar coursework may be applied to the formal degree requirements.

Final Examination

After the student has completed all work on the plan of study, the Supervisory Committee conducts a final comprehensive oral and/or written examination, which also involves a defense of the thesis if one is included in the program. This examination must be taken on campus with all participants present.

Grade Requirements

The only passing grades for graduate students are C or above (or S in a course graded S/U). A graduate student may be denied further registration should scholastic performance become unsatisfactory to the Department, College, or Dean of the Graduate School. Failure to maintain a B average is defined as unsatisfactory scholarship. At the time of graduation, a minimum GPA of 3.0 must be achieved overall as well as in the student's major area of concentration.

A student receiving a grade of incomplete (a grade of "I") should complete the required work and have his/her professor submit a change of grade form to the Registrar by the time specified in the University calendar. Otherwise, the grade will be treated as an "E" (fail) grade for GPA purposes after one semester has passed. Students cannot graduate until all "I" , "E", "N", and "NG"  grades have been resolved.

Students holding a graduate assistantship or other stipend must maintain a B average or the assistantship will be discontinued.

Time Limitation

The last 30 semester credit hours must be completed within five calendar years.

Supervisory Committee

Each student admitted to the program will be advised by a Supervisory Committee consisting of at least three members of the Graduate Faculty. Two members are selected from the major department and at least one from a supporting department. In addition, every effort should be made to have a representative from industry as an external advisor for the student's program.

This committee should be appointed as soon as possible after the student has been admitted to the Graduate School but in no case, later than the end of the second semester of study.

This committee will inform the student of all regulations pertaining to the degree program. The committee is nominated by the Department Chairperson, approved by the Dean of the College of Engineering, and appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School. The Dean of the Graduate School is an ex-officio member of all supervisory committees. If a thesis or report is a requirement in the plan of study, the committee will approve the proposed thesis or report and the plans for carrying it out. The thesis must be submitted to the Graduate School. The committee will also conduct the final examination on campus when the plan of study is completed.

Plan of Study

Each plan of study is developed on an individual basis for each student. Thus, there are not specific requirements for the major or minor; each student is considered individually. If the plan of study includes a thesis, the student may register for 6 to 12 semester credit hours of thesis research (ENV 6972).

Thesis

The thesis should represent performance at a level above that ordinarily associated with the master's degree. It should clearly be an original contribution; this may take the form of scientific research, a design project, or an industrial project approved by the Supervisory Committee. Work on the thesis may be conducted in an industrial or governmental laboratory under conditions stipulated by the Supervisory Committee.

Registration

Registration requirements listed here do not apply to eligibility for financial aid programs administered by the Office for Student Financial Affairs. Check with Student Financial Affairs in S-107 Criser Hall for financial aid registration requirements.

Students who do not register according to the minimum registration requirements in each semester in which they hold graduate assistantships will not be permitted to remain on assistantships.

For students on appointment for the full Summer Semester, minimum registration must total that specified for C Semester. Registration may be in any combination of A, B, or C Semester. However, courses must be distributed so that the student is registered during each Semester that he/she is on appointment. Students on appointment who register for any Summer Semester must register at the beginning of Summer A.

Students may register for a minimum of 3 credits in their final semester. Students will only get one "final semester." If the degree is not earned during that period, students will have to register for full time status in subsequent semesters.

Students must get registration advisement each semester either by their Advisory Committee Chairperson or the Graduate Coordinator. Students must register for a minimum of 1 credit hour of research (ENV 6916, Non-thesis Project or ENV 6971, Master's thesis) during semesters in which they are performing research.