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Academic Catalog 2022-2023

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Sustainable Building Systems, MSSBS

2022-2023 Edition

  • Undergraduate
  • College of Professional Studies Undergraduate
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    • General Admission and Transfer Credit
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      • Bioengineering
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      • Civil and Environmental Engineering
        • Civil and Environmental Engineering, PhD
        • Engineering and Public Policy, MS
        • Civil Engineering with Concentration in Data and Systems, MSCivE
        • Civil Engineering with Concentration in Construction Management, MSCivE
        • Civil Engineering with Concentration in Geotechnical/​Geoenvironmental Engineering, MSCivE
        • Civil Engineering with Concentration in Structures, MSCivE
        • Civil Engineering with Concentration in Transportation, MSCivE
        • Civil Engineering with Concentration in Water, Environmental, and Coastal Systems, MSCivE
        • Environmental Engineering, MSEnvE
        • Sustainable Building Systems, MSSBS
        • Climate and Engineering, Graduate Certificate
        • Sustainability Engineering, Graduate Certificate
      • Electrical and Computer Engineering
      • Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
      • Multidisciplinary Programs
      • Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs
      • Graduate Certificate Programs
    • Bouvé College of Health Sciences
    • School of Law
    • College of Professional Studies
    • College of Science
    • College of Social Sciences and Humanities
    • Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership
    • Additional Programs
    • Faculty
    • Appendix
  • Course Descriptions
  • Catalog Archives
  • Overview
  • Program Requirements

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The sustainable building systems program focuses on the design and operation of buildings to provide a comfortable, healthy, and productive indoor environment with minimal energy and environmental impact. Students have an opportunity to develop leadership and decision-making skills to implement sustainable building practices in either the private or public sectors in the global market.

The graduates of the Master of Science in Sustainable Building Systems program should display a high level of engineering knowledge in a broad range of architectural engineering, civil engineering, and construction management while embracing the concepts of engineering sustainability as related to energy and materials usage and the effects on the environment. Graduates will have the base training necessary to lead efforts within companies to plan and implement sustainable practices for the design and operation of buildings, realize energy and materials efficiency improvements, and minimize environmental impact. Upon graduation, students will have a theoretical background to the concepts behind the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Associate examination.

Below is a typical course sequence for graduation in two semesters. The program is flexible to accommodate full-time students—who wish to proceed over a period of two to four semesters—and part-time students—who can complete the program requirements by taking one to two courses per semester, finishing the program in approximately four years.

Graduate Degree Requirements Study
Degree Requirements Full-Time Study Part-Time Study
Core courses 12 12
Restricted electives 8 8
Open electives 12 12

Graduate Certificate Options

Students enrolled in a master's degree have the opportunity to also pursue one of the many engineering graduate certificate options in addition to or in combination with the MS degree. Students should consult their faculty advisor regarding these options.

Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership

Master's Degree in Sustainable Building Systems with Graduate Certificate in Engineering Leadership

Students may complete a Master of Science in Sustainable Building Systems in addition to earning a Graduate Certificate in Engineering Leadership. Students must apply and be admitted to the Gordon Engineering Leadership Program in order to pursue this option. The program requires fulfillment of the 16-semester-hour curriculum required to earn the Graduate Certificate in Engineering Leadership, which includes an industry-based challenge project with multiple mentors. The integrated 36-semester-hour degree and certificate will require fulfillment of the 12-semester-hour core curriculum and 8 semester hours of restricted electives from the sustainable building systems coursework. 

The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department encourages students pursuing a GIEL certificate to complete their MS coursework requirements in their first year and their GIEL certificate requirements in their second year. Students who prefer to complete their GIEL certificate requirements in their first year are asked to speak with their MS degree advisor beforehand.

Engineering Leadership

Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.

Core Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
ARCH 5210
and ARCH 5211
Environmental Systems
and Recitation for ARCH 5210
4
SBSY 5100Sustainable Design and Technologies in Construction4
SBSY 5200Sustainable Engineering Systems for Buildings4
Students must register for this 0 SH course every semester:
SBSY 5400
Sustainable Building Systems Seminar

Electives

Restricted Electives List

Course List
Code Title Hours
Complete 8 semester hours from the following:8
ARCH 5220
Integrated Building Systems
CIVE 5221
Construction Project Control and Organization
CIVE 5231
Alternative Project Delivery Systems in Construction
CIVE 5275
Life Cycle Assessment of Materials, Products, and Infrastructure
CIVE 7220
Construction Management
or EMGT 5220
Engineering Project Management
CIVE 7230
Legal Aspects of Civil Engineering
EMGT 6305
Financial Management for Engineers
SBSY 5250
Building Performance Simulation
SBSY 5300
Information Systems for Integrated Project Delivery

Other Electives List

Any restricted elective not used to meet the restricted elective requirement can be taken as another elective.

Course List
Code Title Hours
Complete 12 semester hours from the following:12
ACCT 6200
Financial Reporting and Managerial Decision Making 1
ACCT 6201
Financial Reporting and Managerial Decision Making 2
CIVE 7151
Urban Informatics and Processing
CIVE 7350
Behavior of Concrete Structures
CIVE 7351
Behavior of Steel Structures
CIVE 7388
Special Topics in Civil Engineering (Dynamics and Control of Infrastructure Systems)
FINA 6200
Value Creation through Financial Decision Making
FINA 6216
Valuation and Value Creation
FINA 6217
Real Estate Finance and Investment
LPSC 7312
Cities, Sustainability, and Climate Change
ME 5645
Environmental Issues in Manufacturing and Product Use

Program Credit/GPA Requirements

32 total semester hours required
Minimum 3.000 GPA required

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  • 2021-22 Undergraduate PDF

  • 2021-22 College of Professional Studies Undergraduate PDF

  • 2021-22 Graduate PDF

  • 2021-22 Course Descriptions PDF