Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Civil Engineering - Transportation Engineering and Civil Infrastructure Systems Concentration (PhD)


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Please see the Program Policy Document  for more information.

Program Educational Goals:


Graduates obtaining a PhD from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering with a concentration in Transportation Engineering and Civil Infrastructure Systems will be able to:

  • Demonstrate a solid understanding of fundamental principles and advanced-level knowledge of transportation engineering and civil infrastructure systems concepts such as transportation system modeling, simulation, and management, railway engineering, system optimization, risk analysis and management, and engineering data analytics, and apply these concepts to new problems.
  • Understand and critically assess published literature and research findings in transportation engineering and civil infrastructure systems.
  • Formulate and execute a research plan to generate and defend new knowledge and publish findings in peer-reviewed literature.
  • Develop and/or apply new experimental, computational, or theoretical tools in transportation engineering and civil infrastructure systems research.
  • Communicate transportation engineering and civil infrastructure systems concepts effectively in writing, orally, and graphically.
  • Collaborate on interdisciplinary teams to address problems of societal significance.

Requirements for the PhD Degree


The Ph.D. in Civil Engineering offers a concentration in Transportation Engineering and Civil Infrastructure Systems.  The Ph.D. program is aimed at training the graduate student to achieve the highest degree in research within a chosen topic. Mathematics, fundamental sciences, and engineering sciences are combined to provide a personalized program of study and research. All graduate students work in close cooperation with the faculty in the chosen area. Although it is possible for students to study toward a Ph.D. directly upon entering graduate school, most students choose to obtain the MCE or MAS first. 

A student’s doctoral program, comprising 72 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree (including doctoral dissertation), is planned around a central objective in applied science and mathematics. If a student who already holds a master’s degree in the specific field of study is accepted directly into the Ph.D. program, the coursework from the master’s degree will be considered in the design of the doctoral program. All courses in the program are selected with the approval of the student’s dissertation advisor.

PhD Dissertation


9 credits

Research


Minimum of 9 credits

Seminar


All doctoral students are required to attend departmental or college seminars each semester in their fields of study. Students are expected to register for CIEG865 (0 credits) each semester.

Concentration Requirements


Coursework


  • Students who enter the doctoral program without a master’s degree are required to take a minimum of 36 credits of coursework.
  • Students who hold a master’s degree may have up to 30 credits of coursework considered in the design of the doctoral program. An additional 12 credits of coursework beyond the master’s degree is required. 

All courses in the program are selected with the approval of the student’s dissertation advisor.

Additional Research and/or Coursework


  • Students entering the doctoral program without a master’s degree are required to take a minimum of 18 credits of research and/or coursework chosen in consultation with their faculty advisor.
  • Students entering the doctoral program with a master’s degree are required to take a minimum of 12 credits of research and/or coursework chosen in consultation with their faculty advisor.

Credits to Total a Minimum of 72


Last Revised 2021-2022 Academic Year


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