Admission

Application Process

The application process is centralized at the university and requires TWO steps as described below:

1. Apply Online at Cal State Apply. 
2. Submit official academic records/transcripts to the Admissions Office within three weeks of university application submission. 

• Effective with the Fall 2021 application cycle, unofficial academic transcripts must be uploaded as part of the Cal State Apply application. Please plan to have them readily available at time of university admission application submission. For Fall admission, transcripts should include coursework completed through the preceding fall term (usually ending in December). For Spring admission, transcripts should include coursework completed through the preceding summer term (usually ending in August). 
• Be aware: If you are a current (or former) Cal State LA student, the Cal State LA transcript does not need to be submitted to the Admissions Office.
• If you have studied at an institution outside of the US, you will need to have your foreign academic work evaluated by the International Education Research Foundation (IERF) or World Education Services (WES) for securing admission into the program. 
  • IERF - Visit https://apply.ierf.org/ to create an online application requesting the "Detailed Report". The foreign evaluation fee is $165 (USD). When submitting your course work to IERF please make sure to indicate that you were referred by "CSU Los Angeles-Office of Graduate Admissions" and that you would like to have the official agency copy of the evaluation report sent directly to CSU Los Angeles-Office of Graduate Admissions. 
  • WES - Visit http://www.wes.org/fees/evaltypes.asp to create an online application. You will need to order the course-by-course evaluation report. The cost is $160 for the WES Basic or $205 for the WES ICAP.
  • For steps on how to submit your foreign academic records to these agencies, visit the Admissions and Recruitment page on IERF/WES.
• If you do not possess a Bachelor's (or advanced) degree from a postsecondary college/university where English is the only language of instruction, you will need to submit official TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE test scores to the Cal State LA Admissions Office. Be aware, scores are only valid for two years from exam date.
• Applicants without a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering must complete a set of prerequisite courses before applying for the MS in Civil Engineering. Please review the list of required courses.
• See also /graduate-application-and-admission.

Application FAQs

1. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score is NOT required (for Civil Engineering Program). However, GRE score can be considered in the admission process and can also exempt graduate students from Graduate Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) UNIV 4000 if they have a score of 4 on the analytic writing portion of the GRE or GMAT. 
2. Letters of Recommendation are NOT required (except upon department request for certain circumstances).
3. Applicants must possess a bachelor's degree in civil engineering or a related field with a GPA of 3.0 or better. A promising applicant with a GPA between 2.5 and 2.99 may be admitted as a special action student. Prerequisite courses may be required for students with a non-civil engineering bachelor's degree, for students from non-ABET accredited civil engineering programs, or for special action students.
4. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for students who do not possess a bachelor's degree from an institution where English is the principal language of instruction. A score of 80 iBT or higher is required. DuoLingo English Test for the English Language Proficiency Exams accepted. (For additional information please visit the following website: Language Proficiency Requirement)
5. Currently, there is no teaching or research assistantships offered through the Department of Civil Engineering. Refer to the Center for Financial Aid for financial assistance available from federal, state, and institutional sources at Cal State LA.
6. Go to the Student Handbook for more information on the graduate program in Civil Engineering.
7. Go to the Graduate Application and Admission page for more detailed information about the university graduate admission.

After Admission FAQs

1. Note that the applicants who meet all the university requirements are admitted in one of the four following categories: Graduate Classified, Graduate Conditionally Classified, Post-Baccalaureate Classified, and Post-Baccalaureate Unclassified. (For more information please visit the following website: Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate Admission Requirements)
2. The Civil Engineering Department will conduct advisement/orientation sessions for new incoming graduate students to set up a study plan and determine which prerequisite courses must be taken prior to beginning any courses for their graduate program. Fall 2020 Mandatory New Incoming Graduate Student Orientation.  
3. Graduate advisors in the Civil Engineering Department.

For questions regarding CE Graduate Admissions, contact us: ECSTGradAdmission@calstatela.edu