Distance Learning

The University of Florida offers online graduate courses from six departments across all branches of engineering and from at least 17 departments outside of engineering.

Students in the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment (ESSIE) can pursue a master’s degree in either Civil Engineering (CE) or Environmental Engineering Sciences (EES) through UF’s Electronic Delivery of Gator Engineering (EDGE).

Degree requirements

Department of Civil & Coastal Engineering (CCE) and Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences (EES) Contacts and Responsibilities

• Students in the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment (ESSIE) can pursue a master’s degree in either Civil Engineering (CE) or Environmental Engineering Sciences (EES).
• For either degree, all master’s students are required to complete a total of 30 credit hours, with a minimum of 15 credit hours of required departmental coursework within their selected department. The remaining 15 credit hours can consist of any graduate-level course available online at UF. Each student will prepare a listing of all proposed courses in a Program Plan of Study and will be subject to approval by the student’s advisor.
• UF graduate students are also permitted to enroll in up to six (6) credit hours of undergraduate-level courses (3XXX or 4XXX) outside of their department (i.e., outside of ESSIE) to be counted toward the graduate degree.
• It is also noted that the UF EDGE program offers a series of graduate-level courses in engineering leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship that are available to students in ESSIE. These courses can be counted toward the 15 credit hours of required departmental coursework within their selected department with approval from the students’ advisor.
• It is UF policy that a 3.0 grade point average must be maintained. Performance below this standard will be considered grounds for dismissal from the program.

Admissions

• Degree-seeking applicants to the EDGE program follow the same guidelines as all other ESSIE degree seeking applicants. These guidelines and deadlines are found on the Admissions page.
• To see side-by-side tuition and fee comparisons for Florida and non-Florida residents, visit https://ufedge.ufl.edu/online-graduate-programs/tuition-fees.
• Admitted students will be asked to choose between a Master’s of Engineering (M.E.) and a Master’s of Science (M.S.) degree. The curriculum requirements for the two degrees are identical, but the UF Graduate School does require that a final exam be administered for the M.S. degree. In addition, an M.E. degree is only available to students who have completed a bachelor’s degree in an engineering field from an ABET accredited university.
• If a degree-seeking student does not enroll in courses at UF for three consecutive semesters or more, the student will need to apply to the department for readmission if the student chooses to continue in the same program. If a new program department is desired, the student must submit a new application through the UF Office of Admissions to that new department. This is a fairly lengthy process and it should be submitted by the posted application deadline.
• Non-degree seeking applicants must apply to the desired department by the posted deadlines. Non-degree application can be found on the UF Office of Admissions website along with the posted requirements and deadlines.
• Each EDGE program participant receives a special program code of either FED or FE2.  Check with ESSIE EDGE administration to obtain your special program code if you do not have it or have forgotten it.

Courses

View current course offerings for the UF EDGE program.

There are many online courses available at UF from departments outside of engineering (shown below). To seek out potential courses, visit the UF Schedule of Courses. This listing will show what courses will actually be offered each semester at UF. Within a typical department level listing, look for “WEB” or 100% online to identify courses available in online format.   Also,  some courses may also reflect either the FED or FE2 program codes.

• Agriculture
• Agronomy
• Biostatistics
• Construction Management
• Environmental Horticulture
• Fisheries and Aquatic Science
• Food and Resource Economics
• Food Science and Human Nutrition
• Forest Resources and Conservation

• Geomatics
• Geological Sciences
• Information Systems and Operations Management
• Management
• Microbiology and Cell Science
• Public Health
• Soil and Water Science
• Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

While a complete list would be extensive, some examples of coursework from other departments that are available to ESSIE students include:

• Agronomy
• Construction management
• Engineering economy
• Engineering leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship

• Finite element method
• Geographic information systems (GIS)
• Soil and water science
• Structural dynamics

Program plan of study

• Prepare an ESSIE Program Plan of Study based on your department.  This will be due by midterm of your first semester so stay on top of it and be certain to contact your advisor well in advance of midterm.  You will have a hold placed on your registration based on this form submission.
• Fill out the Plan completely, all 30 credits, using the course information found on the UFEDGE website under the Courses heading and assuming that courses taught in previous terms and currently will continue to be available in subsequent years.  This is processed through DOCUSIGN so be certain that it is complete prior to submitting it to your advisor.
• Please note that the Plan is a working document and not a fixed contract. The Plan can be revised at any time and submitted for reapproval however your plan should be updated and reflect all approved courses prior to your final term of registration.
• It is possible to complete a portion of your coursework at another university. In this case, please list these courses on your plan as transfer credits. Please note that the last course that you schedule during your final graduation semester from UF must be taken at UF and cannot be transferred from another university.  If you want to pursue taking a course from another institution while you are in the program, you must complete a traveling scholars form which is found on the Graduate School website.  This must be approved prior to you registering for the course(s) at the other institution and your advisor must approve it as well.
• If you take a course from another university the semester prior to your anticipated graduation, an official transcript from the other institution must be submitted and posted to your records by the UF Office of Admissions before the third week of the final semester. If the transcript is not available by the third week, the transfer of credit will not be processed in time. If this is the case and you need these credits for your degree, your graduation will be delayed for an additional semester and you will be required to enroll in another course at UF.

Course Registration

• After you confirm your acceptance of your admission, you will receive an email letting you know that you have been coded as FED or FE2.  You will then register for the sections that fall under your designated code.  This is for the ESSIE courses only.  If you intend to register for a course outside of ESSIE, you will need to contact the department offering the course.  View the contacts for each department. Be certain that the course has been approved on your Program Plan of Study (PPS), otherwise you will need to submit a revised PPS to the ESSIE EDGE Student Advisor for approval.
• View registration dates. UF Policy is that you will be charged full fees if you withdraw from a course after the drop/add period and you will receive a ‘W’ on your transcript. If you have encountered extenuating circumstances, contact Nancy to discuss possible resolutions.
• Non-degree (ND), Employee Education Program (EEP), and state employee (SE) students follow an alternative registration timeline. Non-degree registrants should review the information here. EEP and State Employee registrants should review the information here. Contact edge@essie.ufl.edu  directly for assistance with this.  The EEP State waiver form is on the ESSIE website under the Resources tab and should be completed at least 1 month prior to the start of the semester.

Intent to Graduate

Prior to the start of your final semester, be certain to check your transcripts in ONE.UF to be certain that; you will have a total of 30 credit hours, a minimum of 15 credits in your major department coursework , your program plan accurately reflects your coursework, and you have a minimum GPA of 3.0 overall and in your major coursework.  Also, if you requested credits to be transferred, they should appear on your transcript.  If they are not there or if you do not meet any of the previously stated items, send an email to edge@essie.ufl.edu stating the issue so that it can be resolved PRIOR to the start of your final term. At the beginning of your final semester, submit a degree application by the posted deadline on the academic calendar to be placed on the graduation list. Visit the Degree Application page for graduation information. You will receive an e-mail outlining the graduation requirements. If you have followed your approved Program Plan of Study and you have maintained the required grade point average, you should not have any remaining graduation issues unless there are the exceptions outlined in the e-mail.

Final Exam

The final exam will be discussed with you by your program advisor during your final term.  See your department Graduate student handbook for further information.