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A Professional Master's Program degree offers professionals new opportunities for career advancement and equips them with a broader skill set, enabling them to handle more responsibilities in their professions. This often leads to substantial increases in responsibilities and salary. Additionally, working professionals frequently benefit from financial support from their employers, with many companies covering a large portion of their employees’ master's degree expenses.

Costs vary depending on whether you are a Colorado resident and the number of credits you take each semester.  Visit this page for up-to-date information on tuition and fees. Be sure to check with your employer to see if they offer full or partial tuition reimbursement.

The deadline for Fall 2025 professional MS program has been extended to Feb. 1, 2025. However, if the MS application deadline has passed, it’s not too late to enroll in the certificate program —a flexible option requiring minimal commitment. Certificate credits can later be applied toward a full Professional Master’s degree, offering a seamless path to explore the program and expand your qualifications.

For those working full time, it’s common to take one to two courses per semester. Live courses are offered once a week for three hours via Zoom and are recorded for later viewing, providing flexibility for students who may have missed a session. Professionals employed by utilities can often incorporate their projects as three-hour courses, integrating their work into the program. 

Program completion ranges from three to five years, depending on the number of courses working students choose to take. Students who are not concurrently employed typically complete the program in about 1.5 years.

Students are roughly split between distance learners and those attending classes on the ����Vlog�ƽ�� campus. Among on-campus students, approximately 70 percent are employed full time.

Students have the flexibility to transfer between the PMP and the traditional research MS degree, ensuring that their academic path aligns with their evolving goals and preferences.

The graduate certificate in Water Engineering and Management (WE&M) typically has rolling admissions. You can consider enrolling in this distance course and later apply those credits towards an MS degree. 

Prerequisites vary depending on the enrollment option above. Generally, it is expected that prospective students will have a bachelor’s degree and an understanding of the water profession.

For acceptance into the professional MS degree, students must have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, natural science or mathematics from a college or university of recognized standing and an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better.

Students without an engineering degree will be considered on an individual basis but must have completed or successfully complete courses in math, statistics, chemistry and fluid mechanics.

All deficiencies must be completed before a graduate degree is awarded. Additionally, four letters of recommendation from qualified referees and a statement of purpose describing your academic/career goals and interests is required as part of the application process.

For a master’s of science degree in civil engineering, with an emphasis in water engineering and management, students have the option of three plans. Plan I includes a written thesis with reduced course work. Plans IIa and IIb focus on coursework with an option of including up to two semesters of independent study for a report. A vast majority of PMP students use plans IIa and IIb.

• Plan I (Thesis Option): This plan requires 24 hours of course credits and six hours of thesis credits. This is pursued under the direct supervision of a research advisor, and student must formally defend the thesis.
• Plan IIa (Coursework Option): This plan requires 30 credits. Thirty credits can be obtained with 10, three hour-credit courses. This plan has a wider variety of coursework.
• Plan IIb (Report Option): This plan requires 30 credits, but up to six hours of independent study may be included towards to 30-credit requirement. The independent study requires a report completed under the guidance of a faculty member.

Students enrolled in the professional MS program are required to take the following three three-credit (3) core courses:

• CVEN 5564 Water Profession: Communication and Utility Finance: Develops and improves the skills and tools needed for graduate students and young professionals in the water profession. This course covers communication techniques and considerations with stakeholders, both internal and external to your organization. The second half of the course focuses on understanding utility finance such as: reading financial statements, financial planning, capital improvement plans, and rate setting.
• CVEN 5574 Water Utility Management: Current Issues and Future Challenges: Develops the skills and tools for graduate students and young professionals to work in the water profession. Focuses on management, leadership, communication and utility finances in the new water profession era. The course focuses on using workshops to uncover future technology challenges, future regulatory challenges, and using leadership and communication to ensure ethics and governance in meeting current and future challenges.
• CVEN 5584 Water Profession: Leadership and Management: Develops the skills and tools for graduate students and young professionals to work in the water profession. Focuses on Emotional Intelligence, leadership skills, management skills, and interpersonal communication skills useful to advance careers in the water profession.

The Civil Engineering Professional Master’s Program with a Water Engineering & Management emphasis prides itself on delivering a “real-world” curriculum that students can immediately apply to their current roles in the water profession. Graduates of the WE&M Program will be equipped to apply their knowledge of the water profession, including its subsectors, organizations and working disciplines to:

1. Describe the water profession and its impact in the world;
2. Identify different types of water industry business models and organizations, explain their roles, general organizational structures, and key factors that drive their business success or failure;
3. Articulate clearly how return on investment and stakeholder interests drive effective tactical and strategic business decisions, and explain how and why business decisions may differ from technical and functional decisions;
4. Explain basic financial concepts, interpret key financial statements, and perform business unit or project level economic and financial analyses;
5. Articulate the importance of process and project management, and explain the basic concepts and tools;
6. Describe the role of the water professional in educating the public and other stakeholders about water issues;
7. Work effectively in functionally and culturally diverse teams to achieve tangible, practical results;
8. Recognize medium- and long-term career opportunities, identify career development processes and influencers, articulate personal success factors and challenges, and develop a personal career plan;
9. Apply the highest ethical standards and best business practices at all times.

To correlate this learning to company (current or future) expectations, WE&M has developed a competency model comprised of four areas: Core Competencies, Business Acumen, Leading and Managing, and Water Industry Knowledge. Within each of these areas are several competencies that detail expectations of WE&M graduates.

This is designed to integrate the competency expectations of a new WE&M graduate into corporate career development or succession planning processes for Senior Manager levels. Prospective or current students can use this model to get manager approval to attend the PMP or Certificate Program. Many students also find this useful for supporting tuition reimbursement needs. See your current company policy regarding tuition reimbursement.

Download the Competency Model Here 

If you need more information, please contact the Program Director Dick Kuchenrither.