Infrastructure, Resiliency and Sustainability (IRS)

The Infrastructure, Resiliency, and Sustainability (IRS) track within the online MSCE program will prepare a new generation of civil engineers to meet the challenges of the future and create durable, sustainable, and effective public infrastructure that will move the nation forward.

The IRS track gives students a strong foundation in issues related to the analysis, design, and construction of civil infrastructure – with a special focus on sustainable materials, natural resilience, and new advancements in infrastructure planning and construction.

Research has shown that engineers with interdisciplinary educational backgrounds perform well in teams and enjoy a broad range of job opportunities. Purdue University – ranked #2 in online civil engineering by U.S. News and World Report 2025 – offers a Master's in Civil Engineering with an IRS track, combining top-tier education with interdisciplinary training. Learn more about this track’s unique curriculum below:

Curriculum

Students are required to complete at least nine credits from one of the following collection of courses and six additional CE graduate level credits (for a total of 15 credits):

Introduction to Advanced Structural Engineering

Course Title Credits
CE 57000: Advanced Structural Mechanics 3
CE 57200: Design of Prestressed Concrete Structures 3
CE 59100:  Advanced Steel Design 3
CE 59500: Finite Elements in Elasticity 3

Advanced Construction Materials and NDT

Course Title Credits
CE 53101: Nanotechnology for Civil and Environmental Applications 3
CE 53600: Non-destructive Testing and Sensing for Civil Infrastructures 3
CE 63100: Advanced Concrete and Aggregates 3

Digital Twin of Infrastructure

Course Title Credits
CE 50801: Geographic Information Systems 3
CE 52200: Computer Applications in Construction 3
CE 59700: UAS-Based LiDAR Mapping 1
CE 59700: UAS-Based Photogrammetric Mapping 1
CE 59700: UAS-Based Mapping: Basic Principles 1

Advanced Steel Specialist

Course Title Credits
CE 57900: Structural Stability and Design 3
CE 59100:  Advanced Steel Design 3
CE 69700: Seismic Design of Steel Structures 3

 

Technical Electives can be chosen from additional available CE, ME or ECE graduate level courses.  Nine credits are required:

Course Title Credits
CE 50701: Geospatial Data Analytics 3
CE 51300: Lighting and Daylighting Design of Buildings 3
CE 54300: Coastal Engineering 3
CE 57300: Structural Dynamics 3
CE 59700: Design in Urban Hydrology 3
CE 59700: Sustainable Building Design Construction and Operation 3
ME 53900: Introduction to Scientific Machine Learning 3
ME 55400: Intellectual Property for Engineers  1
ECE 57000: Artificial Intelligence 3
ECE 58000: Optimization Methods for Systems Control 3
ECE 69500: Communication for Engineering Leaders 1
ECE 59500: Introduction to Deep Learning 3
ME 50900: Intermediate Fluid Mechanics 3
ME 60800: Numerical Methods in Heat, Mass, and Momentum Transfer 3
ME 61400: Computational Fluid Dynamics 3
ME 55700: Design for Manufacturability 3
ME 55900: Micromechanics of Materials 3
ME 56200: Advanced Dynamics 3
ME 56300: Mechanical Vibrations 3
ME 57000: Machine Design 3
ME 57100: Reliability Based Design 3
ME 58100: Numerical Methods in Mechanical Engineering 3
ME 59700: Decision Making for Engineering Design 3
ME 65000: Computational Fracture Mechanics 3
ECE 63700: Digital Image Processing I 3
ECE 64100: Digital Image Processing II 3
ECE 66100: Computer Vision 3
ECE 69500: Big Data for Reliability and Security  1

Six credits of applied math and/or statistics courses can be chosen from this list:

Course Title Credits
MA 51100: Linear Algebra with Applications 3
MA 52700: Adv Math for Engineers and Physicists I 3
MA 52800: Adv Math for Engineers and Physicists II 3
STAT 51200: Applied Regression Analysis 3
STAT 51400: Design of Experiments 3
STAT 51700: Statistical Inference 3

Sample Plan of Study - Infrastructure, Resiliency and Sustainability

Course Name Credits Category
CE 57000: Advanced Structural Mechanics 3 CE Core
CE 57200: Design of Prestressed Concrete Structures 3 CE Core
CE 57900: Structural Stability and Design 3 CE Core
CE 59100:  Advanced Steel Design 3 CE Core
CE 59700: Sustainable Building Design Construction and Operation 3 Tech Elective
CE 69700: Seismic Design of Steel Structures 3 CE Core
ME 55700: Design for Manufacturability 3 Tech Elective
ME 53900: Introduction to Scientific Machine Learning 3 Tech Elective
MA 51100: Linear Algebra with Applications 3 MATH/STAT
STAT 51400: Design of Experiments 3 MATH/STAT