Doctoral Program in Civil Engineering

The PhD degree is awarded for original research on a significant civil engineering problem. Graduate students who have completed their MS degrees work closely with individual faculty members (see Faculty Research Interests below). PhD dissertation research is usually supported by a research grant from a government agency or an industrial contract.

The full-time graduate academic program is closely associated with the research efforts of the faculty. The General (Aptitude) Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for applicants pursing full-time study.

Doctoral students normally take at least 45.0 credits, including research credits, beyond the master’s degree requirements. Full-time residency for one continuous academic year is required for the PhD degree to ensure students the opportunity for intellectual association with other scholars. Many doctoral students take two, three, or four years of full-time graduate study to complete their degrees. Involvement in the teaching activity of the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department is required of all PhD applicants.

After approximately one year of study beyond the master’s degree, doctoral students take a candidacy examination, consisting of written and oral parts. Each PhD candidate is supervised by a major professor and a doctoral committee chaired by the major professor.

PhD candidates submit a detailed proposal for dissertation research to the doctoral committee. The students then take a proposal examination; successful completion of this examination is required to become a PhD candidate. After approval of the proposal, the committee meets from time to time to review the progress of the research. The dissertation must be submitted to the doctoral committee at least 90 days before the graduation date. The committee schedules and conducts a final oral examination before approval of the dissertation.

Areas of research include:

• Structural
• Geotechnical/geoenviornmental/geosynthetics
• Water resources
• Sustainable engineering
• Building systems/energy