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2024-2026 Graduate Catalog
Urban Transportation (MS), Program Information
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 Return to: Clarence M. Mitchell School of Engineering
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Program Faculty
Department Chair Celeste Chavis, PhD, PE | Professor CBEIS 102A; celeste.chavis@morgan.edu; (443) 885-5061 Graduate Program Director Dr. Young-Jae Lee, PhD | Professor CBEIS 239; youngjae.lee@morgan.edu; (443)885-1872 Other Faculty - Mansoureh Jeihani, PhD, PTP | Professor
- Anthony A. Saka, PhD, PTP, PE, PTOE | Professor
- Di Yang, PhD | Assistant Professor
Program Description
The Master of Science (MS) in Urban Transportation degree program provides an interdisciplinary curriculum in transportation that prepares students to assume professional positions in transportation engineering, planning, management, and analysis. Students can concentrate their studies on traffic operations engineering, transportation planning, transportation management, rail transportation engineering, or freight transportation and logistics. With the approval of the chair, students may use appropriate courses in other disciplines to supplement their program of study requirements. There are two options for the MS program: Thesis and Non-Thesis. In the Thesis Option, the students are required to take Thesis Guidance and Thesis Defense courses and defend their thesis successfully. Students in the Non-Thesis Option need to pass the comprehensive exam rather than compose a thesis. In both options, students may elect to enroll in the Rail Transportation Engineering Track. The track requires 12 credit hours (Thesis option) or 15 credit hours (Non-Thesis option) of rail-related courses. Program Objectives
The program objective is to produce diverse, well-trained transportation professionals who are skilled in the fields of transportation engineering, planning, management and logistics and capable of pursuing senior-level positions. The program graduate will: - Utilize a system approach to articulate, study, and mitigate transportation problems
- Apply the latest technology and sustainability paradigm to efficiently plan, implement, analyze, evaluate, and manage components of the transportation systems
- Utilize effective communication, team, leadership, and management skills to work productively within their professions and communities
- Pursue professional development and advanced studies to meet the emerging and evolving demands, and increasing responsibilities of a successful career
- Conduct themselves as responsible professionals and citizens.
General Requirements
Candidates for the Master of Science degree must complete a minimum of thirty (30) academic credit hours, pass the comprehensive exam or submit a committee- approved written thesis. C or lower grades are not accepted for satisfying the requirements of the core courses. In order to be considered in good academic standing, students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 and not obtain C or lower grades in more than twenty (20) percent of the total credit requirement for the degree. Students may retake courses in which they obtained a grade of C or lower to satisfy program requirements. Admission
To be eligible for admission to the Master of Science Program in Urban Transportation, an applicant must: -
Have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university, preferably in a transportation-related area. -
Possess an undergraduate cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) of 3.0 or better to be considered for regular admission. Students with a cumulative undergraduate G.P.A. of between 2.5 and < 3.0 may be considered for conditional admission. Post-bachelor’s undergraduate credits will not be used to enhance G.P.A. requirements for admission to graduate study. -
Submit all required documents for admission to the School of Graduate Studies. All required documents must be submitted as directed by the School of Graduate Studies. -
Submit a typed exposition regarding the candidate’s personal, academic, and professional plans and the reasons for selecting Morgan State University. Meeting the minimum eligibility requirements and submitting all the required documents does not guarantee that an offer of admission will be made to the applicant. Thesis Completion
The Thesis-Option requires students to form an advisory committee comprising of at least three tenured or tenure-track faculty members that guide the student’s research activities. The committee chair must be a tenured or tenure track faculty member from the Department of Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Studies. The student is required to form the thesis committee before completion of TRSP 797 Thesis Guidance. Students are encouraged to form their committee as soon as possible. Students must complete and successfully defend a thesis based on timely research in a relevant area of transportation and/or urban infrastructure. Additional Requirements
Academic dishonesty is a very serious offense in the School of Engineering. Under no circumstance(s) shall a student use the original words or ideas of others without appropriately citing the source. Any student found culpable of academic dishonesty will be asked to withdraw from the Program, and referred to the appropriate School of Engineering and University authorities for additional disciplinary actions which may result in expulsion from the University. The student has the right to appeal the action taken by submitting in writing to the School of Engineering Judicial Committee to request a hearing on the academic fraud allegation(s) within the same semester by emailing soesss@morgan.edu. Program Course Requirements
MS Urban Transportation 30 creditsA. Core Courses 15 credits
B. Track Requirements (12 or 15 credits)
B1. General Track
Thesis option: 12 credits1 Non-thesis option: 15 credits1 *Note*
- Other pre-approved electives may be selected from all other Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Studies courses, plus courses from other departments such as City and Regional Planning, Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. The Department encourages students to take courses from other departments that complement the degree program. However, for any course taken outside of the Department, it is necessary to gain approval from the student’s advisor to use a course for credit toward the degree.
- Repeatable for only 6 credits toward degree
B2. Rail Transportation Track
Thesis option: 9 credits of required courses + 3 credits of approved electives Non-thesis option: 9 credits of required courses + 6 credits of approved electives Required Rail Track Courses
All students in the rail track must take each of the following courses: Approved Rail Track Electives
Thesis option: 3 credits Non-thesis option: 6 credits *Note*
3 Internship must be rail-related C. Thesis Defense (3 or 0 credits)
TRSP 797 /TRSP 799 Thesis Guidance/Thesis Defense 3/9 credits4 *Note*
4. Upon achieving Master’s Candidacy, the student will continuously register in Fall and Spring terms for TRSP 797 (Thesis Guidance) until the Master’s Thesis is completed and submitted to the School of Graduate Studies for review. The course is used only when the curriculum is near completion, and the student is completing the research and writing of the thesis. The course registration maintains the student status as a matriculated, full-time student (student is registered for 3 credit hours and the system reports a full-time 9 credit hour load). After the Intent to Defend the Master’s Thesis form has been accepted by the School of Graduate Studies, this course registration will be changed to TRSP 799 (Thesis Defense) for the given semester and count for 3 credit hours of curricular coursework (TRSP 799 will also count for 9 credit hours of load). Other courses cannot be substituted for TRSP 797 (Thesis Guidance). The only eligible grade for TRSP 797 (Thesis Guidance) is the grade of “S” and the only acceptable grade for TRSP 799 (Thesis Defense) is “P/F” (Pass/Fail). Suggested Curriculum Sequence
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Return to: Clarence M. Mitchell School of Engineering
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