Civil Engineering – PhD

You can apply for a graduate degree while you are finishing your current program. The Graduate Affairs Committee will review your in-progress transcripts that you submit at the time of your application. 

Applicants whose results are not within the last two years should submit a new TOEFL or IELTS test result.

If you completed a 4 year degree in English, the department may accept this as proof of English language proficiency. You must include an official letter from your previous institution noting the language of instruction OR have this printed on your transcript. Please include these documents as a pdf file when you apply.

No.  We only accept IELTS or TOEFL.

Co-op options are only discussed once you are in the program. The Centre for Career Growth and Experience (the Centre) office will send information to all new students at the beginning of the degree and students must obtain permission from their supervisor to take a co-op term(s).

The university does not waive application fees.

Applicants will only be considered for the degree in which they applied. If an applicant wants to be considered for more than one degree, a separate application (including documents and referee submissions) must be submitted for each degree.

You do not need an official transcript to apply. However, if you are accepted into the program, you will be required to submit official transcripts at that time.

We do not accept hard copy transcripts for application documents. Only digital copies are required for application review. We do not require any official transcripts (hard copy or digital) unless an applicant is granted an offer of admission. 

Yes. The MEng, MASc and PhD programs all require students to have a supervisor.

No, applicants are not required to find a supervisor themselves. If an applicant makes it to the final round of the admission competition then all faculty members will have access to review their application. If a faculty member is interested then an offer of admission will be granted. 

If you would like to contact a faculty member about the possibility of gaining their admissions support as a potential supervisor and advocate for your application, please feel free to reach out to them by email. Contact information for faculty members is listed on the department website.

Tuition information can be found here: https://registrar.mcmaster.ca/fees/graduate/

Click on the Faculty of Engineering tab and then scroll down to the correct program tuition chart (The MEng program is course based, the MASc is research based and PhD is PhD). Also note, level is the same as the year e.g., level 1 is year 1 of study. 

Full time MASc and PhD students receive funding from the department in the form of scholarships. MEng do not receive scholarships.

No, we do not require or accept GRE results.

No, only academic references are accepted.

Yes, you can apply if your area is not in civil engineering but it is helpful if you do have this background.  You don’t need to take any prerequisites to apply.  If you gain admission, your supervisor will advise you on what courses you should take.