Students

Sustainable land development requires engineers who can integrate technical, environmental, economic, and community considerations. The Bowman Sustainable Land Development (BSLD) program prepares students to approach land development as an interconnected system, building knowledge across site planning and design, land use, grading, stormwater management, transportation, utilities, environmental systems, and sustainable infrastructure.

The curriculum emphasizes the ability to integrate competing objectives, evaluate alternatives, communicate across disciplines, and make informed decisions within real-world regulatory, financial, construction, and community contexts. Through interdisciplinary coursework, applied projects, research, and practitioner engagement, students develop the skills to plan and design land development and redevelopment that is technically sound, environmentally responsible, economically viable, and responsive to long-term community needs.

Program Information

• Bowman Sustainable Land Development M.S. Curriculum
• BSLD Information for Accelerated Undergraduate/Graduate (UG/GR) Students
• Plan of Study Templates for BSLD
  • Coursework Only
  • Project and Report
  • Thesis
• Graduate forms for degree completion

Core Courses

For a comprehensive list of CEE courses and course descriptions, please visit the CEE website.

• Sustainable Land Development (CEE 5264)
• Land Development Design Projects (CEE 5274)
• Adaptive Reuse (CEE 5004)
• Smart Sustainable Infrastructure (CEE 5034)
• Graduate Seminar (CEE 5944)

M.S. Civil Engineering Degree requirements

A M.S. in Civil Engineering requires 30 credit hours.  There are three exit options – coursework only, project and report, and thesis.

• Coursework only consists of 30 credits of coursework and a final presentation to the student’s graduate committee summarizing what they learned and their takeaways from the program.
• Project and Report consists of 27 credits of coursework  plus 3 credits of Project and Report (CEE 5904).  Students work with their graduate committee to define the scope of their project.  Deliverables include a written report with supporting appendices and figures plus a final presentation to the student’s graduate committee about the findings.
• Thesis consists of 24 credits of coursework  plus 6 credits of Research and Thesis (CEE 5994).  Similar to Project and Report, students work with their graduate committee to define the scope of their research.  Deliverables include a thesis with supporting appendices and figures plus a final presentation to the student’s graduate committee about their methods, data collection, and results.

Contact Information

To learn more about the BSLD graduate program, contact the BLSD graduate program coordinator, Dr. Tripp Shealy, at tshealy@vt.edu.