5/9/2013
Written by
Professor Bill Buttlar, Director of Online and Blended Programs in CEE, right, poses with Sean McIlwee, the first student to graduate with a CEE master's degree earned entirely online.
By Stephanie H. Kim
Sean McIlwee (BS 10), a structural engineer with Laramore, Douglass & Popham (LDP) Consulting Engineers in Chicago, Ill., is the first graduate of the CEE Online Program, having completed his M.S. degree in civil engineering this month.
After graduating in May 2010 with his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, McIlwee joined LDP Consulting. A year later, after reading about CEE Online in the CEE magazine, he contacted Professor William Buttlar, the Director of Online and Blended Programs, for additional information.
“The staff at CEE has always been very approachable, especially for such a large college and department, and that level of approachability really eased my concerns heading into what was previously uncharted territory,” McIlwee said.
The CEE department has offered an Environmental and Water Resources Engineering certificate online for many years, and the M.S. degree program was offered online for the first time in fall 2011. The M.S. program of CEE Online includes the Construction Management, Infrastructure, Transportation Engineering, and Structural Engineering concentrations and is the non-thesis M.S. option, which requires students to complete 36 credit hours.
With an interest in continuing his education to obtain an M.S. degree, McIlwee enrolled in the program in fall 2011.
“I wanted to jump at it because it was a unique opportunity that allowed me to pursue my graduate education while continuing to work as an engineer without having to leave a job I very much enjoyed doing. However, most importantly, I wanted to learn more. I felt that I was missing the student aspect of my life,” McIlwee said.
McIlwee completed the program within two years and took only online courses. Communication between classmates and instructors was primarily conducted via email or web conferencing, and McIlwee noted that although the program is online, students still feel connected to and part of the Urbana-Champaign campus.
“What really impressed me was the individual attention to students’ needs and desires from the entire department, but more specifically from Dr. Buttlar and Meg Griffin. For a new program that was sort of on a learning curve as far as the evaluation of students’ needs, as an off-campus participant, I thought it was well-organized and responsive to change or adjustment within the program,” he said.
McIlwee is confident that his graduate education has helped him to become a more fundamentally sound engineer. Based on his experience with the program, he recommends CEE Online to those interested in continuing their education while also gaining work experience.
“It is an opportunity … which is currently unrivaled from an institution of Illinois' caliber,” McIlwee said. “I hope that many others will join me as graduates from the program before long.”