Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering: Focal Area in Transportation Engineering
Part Time
The Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering: Focal Area in Transportation Engineering by full thesis focuses on the application of science and technology to the safe, efficient and sustainable movement of people and goods. Within the Department of Civil Engineering the main focus is on ground-based transportation, including road and rail-based transport. The Transportation programme is designed to immerse students in a wide range of transportation related subjects, including policy development, transportation planning, geometric design, traffic monitoring and management, and transportation safety. Specialist areas of note are Traffic and Transportation Engineering – including Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) – Public Transport, and Traffic Safety Engineering. Research projects in Transportation Engineering are fairly wideranging, given the scope of the field. Research topics are typically developed by the individual students, though occasionally topics may be developed by staff members as part of externally funded research projects. The typical research themes for this programme are:
• Road safety, notably to understand or mitigate road safety challenges within South Africa.
• Intelligent Transport Systems, including the development of technologies to manage traffic behaviour.
• Traffic Engineering, including issues related to traffic flow, travel demand, urban growth and geometric design.
• Transportation planning and public transport, considering the sustainable movement of people by various transport modes, including informal public transport.
• Non-motorised transport (NMT), especially the challenges faced by NMT users in SA and to develop responses to promote safe NMT travel.
Note: If you want to enrol part time, you must obtain approval from the departmental chairperson of your prospective home department. To get this approval, you must show that you will be a bona fide part-time student. Follow your prospective home department’s procedures for submitting your application to study part time.
Contact information
Programme overview
More information
When applying
Please note that selection for postgraduate programmes is highly competitive, and meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Research Master’s and PhD applicants are strongly advised to consult the relevant department before applying to discuss their proposed research topic and confirm the availability of a suitable supervisor.
Minimum admission requirements
To be considered for admission to the MEng (Research) and MEng (Structured) programmes, you must:
• hold at least a BEng, a BScHons, another relevant four-year bachelor’s degree, an MTech, or a PGDip (Eng); or
• hold other academic degree qualifications and appropriate experience that have been approved by the Faculty Board. The relevant department’s chairperson must make a recommendation regarding such qualification and experience to the Faculty Board.
Selection
Irrespective of the admission requirements above, you must be selected for an MEng programme by the
home department of the relevant field of study.
Supporting application documents
Curriculum vitae (CV)
A document that outlines your educational level, employment history, description of work experience, especially that is relevant to your application to study and contact details of three referees.
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Curriculum vitae (CV)
Departmental form
Download and fill in the following departmental form, and submit with your application:
https://files.su.ac.za/public/postgraduate-studies/documents/2026-03/ci…
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Dept-MEng(Civil Engineering) Research Transport (Part time)
Programme structure
The MEng (Research) consists of a research project, which must culminate in a satisfactory thesis about the research project.
For the MEng (Research) programme you must complete a thesis with a minimum credit value of 180 on NQF level 9.
Supplementary modules
In the following cases you must normally also complete supplementary modules:
• if you are admitted to any MEng (Research) programme without meeting the admission requirements.
• if supplementary modules are prescribed for all students in some MEng (Research) programmes (refer to the relevant department’s website).
Supplementary modules are prescribed by the chairperson of your home department on the basis of:
• the requirements of the specific field of study.
• the specific objectives of your studies, your academic background and your experience.
• the availability of lecturing personnel who can lead students in the specific fields of study and modules.
Supplementary modules are normally taken from MEng (Structured), PGDip (Eng) or even BEng programmes.
Thesis requirements
You must satisfactorily complete a research project that has been approved by the chairperson of the relevant home department and submit a thesis on this project. It must be evident from your thesis that you are capable of independent scientific and technical investigation and interpretation of the results. You must add a declaration to your thesis, stating that the thesis has not been submitted at another university for a
degree and that it is your own work. You must write the entire thesis yourself. The body of the thesis must form a coherent whole. This normally comprises an introduction, a background study, one or more chapters where the core contribution is developed or designed, a set of experiments by which the quality of the contribution is tested and a conclusion chapter. The thesis must also include a complete list of the
references used.
The thesis has to satisfy the length restrictions imposed by your home department and it will not be submitted to the examiners if it does not comply with these restrictions.