Structural Engineering: Bridge Analysis and Design—Graduate Certificate

Online Education for Working Professionals

Use modern methods to analyze and design bridges.

Structural Engineering: Bridge Analysis and Design

Upgrade your technical skills to meet the specialized needs of the structural bridge design industry.

Apply advanced techniques to evaluate the design and construction of bridges of many material types. Skills learned as part of this certificate focus on design, analysis, construction, and operation of bridges and support structures. This is useful for career advancement of structural engineers in the technical track at large and small engineering firms. Also benefiting from this certificate would be working professionals, particularly those already holding undergraduate engineering degrees, who want to expand their skills to evaluate and design bridge structures. Provisions of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specification are introduced and used for the design bridge structures.

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How to Apply

3 courses in 3 semesters.

Department	Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
Admissions requirement	Civil engineering, structural engineering, or related degree.
Contact	Angela Keranen

Length	3 courses in 2-3 semesters
Effort	3 hours per credit per week
Each course	3 credits
Total credits	9
Course type	Online or on-campus
Modality	Watch class recordings on demand
Cost	Based on credits and course type
Already enrolled?	Speak with your advisor

Curriculum

Progress quickly with a compact curriculum. Work with the program advisor to select courses that fit your interests and prerequisite skills.

Prerequisites

Check your preparation. Here are some of the pre-requisite courses for this certificate.

CEE 4213 - Structural Concrete Design

Introduction to design of reinforced concrete structural components. Analyze and design reinforced concrete beams, columns, and footings. Understand material behavior, limit state criteria, and practical detailing considerations. Application of the ACI 318 to cast-in-place and precast systems.

Credits: 4.0
Lec-Rec-Lab: (0-3-2)
Semesters Offered: Spring
Pre-Requisite(s): CEE 3202

CEE 4223 - Steel Design I

Behavior and design of structural steel members using both ASD and LRDF approaches. Covers material behavior, external loads, and the design of tension, compression, and flexural members (rolled, built-up, and composite), and simple welded and bolted connections.

Credits: 4.0
Lec-Rec-Lab: (0-3-2)
Semesters Offered: Fall, Summer
Pre-Requisite(s): CEE 3202

Required Courses

Take a 3 credit required course.

CEE 5261 - Bridge Design and Construction

Introduction to design and behavior of short and medium span bridges. Topics include aesthetics, preliminary design and layout, design of prestresses and plate girders bridges, deck design, foundation design. Project may alternate between structural steel and prestressed concrete member design.

Credits: 3.0
Lec-Rec-Lab: (0-3-0)
Semesters Offered: Spring
Pre-Requisite(s): CEE 4213 and CEE 4223

Electives

Take 6 credits of elective courses. Students who have already taken the required course CEE 5261, or its equivalent, may take 9 credits from the elective course list to complete the certificate requirements.

CEE 5212 - Prestressed Concrete Design

Theory of prestressed and post-tensioned members. Covers analysis and design of prestressed concrete beams, slabs, box girders, and bridge girders by elastic and ultimate strength methods. Precast and cast-in-place system construction techniques will be included.

Credits: 3.0
Lec-Rec-Lab: (0-3-0)
Semesters Offered: Fall
Pre-Requisite(s): CEE 4213

CEE 5213 - Concrete and Masonry Building Systems

Design of reinforced concrete two-way slabs and reinforced masonry systems for buildings. Includes design of bearing walls, shear walls, lintels, pilasters, slender columns, torsional beams and connections. A design project may be included during the semester.

Credits: 3.0
Lec-Rec-Lab: (0-3-0)
Semesters Offered: Fall
Pre-Requisite(s): CEE 4213

CEE 5223 - Steel Design II

Additional topics in steel design including beam-columns, floor vibrations, diaphragms, buckling behavior of thin elements, torsional buckling, and beam and column bracing. Includes an introduction to cold-formed steel design.

Credits: 3.0
Lec-Rec-Lab: (0-3-0)
Semesters Offered: Spring
Pre-Requisite(s): CEE 4223

Typical Schedule

The minimum completion time is three semesters. Here is a typical schedule.

Summer	Fall
CEE 5213 or CEE 5223	CEE 5212
Summer
CEE 5261

Application Process and Admissions Requirements

Applications are reviewed on an individual basis using a holistic approach. Fill out our free graduate application online to apply to any of our programs. Official transcripts and scores are not required for the initial application, although you will need to upload them later.

Graduate School Admissions Process

Applying to the Graduate School is free (no application fees) and fast (no official transcripts, test scores, or letters needed to start). The application process involves three easy steps.

See Admissions Steps

Graduate School Requirements

To be considered for admission to the Graduate School as a degree- or certificate-seeking student, you need to:

have a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution, and
be prepared for advanced study in your chosen field, as demonstrated by your previous degree and your scholastic record.

See additional application requirements, including required materials:

Official Transcripts

Program Specific Requirements

Program Specific

Admitted applicants typically have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale
GMAT/GRE: Not required
Preferred major: Civil, environmental or related degree

International Students

TOEFL: Recommended Score of 79 iBT
IELTS: Recommended Overall Band Score of 6.5

Admissions Decisions

Made on a rolling basis.

Certificate Admissions

Prospective Students

Prospective students and non-degree seeking students interested in obtaining a graduate certificate must apply to the certificate program using the online application.
Accelerated certificate options exist for current Michigan Tech undergraduate students in good standing and have achieved at least junior-level standing or recent bachelor’s graduates of Michigan Tech (less than two years).
The number of credits earned prior to admission that can be counted are restricted.

Current Graduate Students

Current Michigan Tech graduate students who are in a degree program do not need to formally apply. Current students must still submit the appropriate degree schedule in order to complete the certificate.

International Student Requirements

International Students must apply and be accepted into a degree-granting program in order to earn a graduate certificate. A non-refundable $10 processing fee per application is required.

See International Applicants

Interested in taking a single, online course? Enroll as a non-degree seeking student.

Upon completion of the certificate, students will be able to:

Apply advanced engineering skills necessary for the design, analysis, construction, and inspection of small- and medium-span bridges.

Michigan Tech was founded in 1885.

The University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and widely respected by fast-paced industries, including automotive development, infrastructure, manufacturing, and aerospace. Michigan Tech graduates deliver on rapid innovation and front-line research, leaning into any challenge with confidence.

The College of Engineering fosters excellence in education and research.

We set out as the Michigan Mining School in 1885 to train mining engineers to better operate copper mines. Today, more than 60 percent of Michigan Tech students are enrolled in our 17 undergraduate and 29 graduate engineering programs across nine departments. Our students and curriculum embrace the spirit of hard work and fortitude our founders once had. Our online graduate courses are the same, robust classes taken by our doctorate and masters candidates, taught directly by highly regarded faculty, with outstanding support from staff. We invite working professionals to join these courses, bring their own experience and challenges as part of the discussion. Leverage the national reputation of Michigan Tech to advance your career in tech leadership.

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