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

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.

Program Policy Document:

Please see the Program Policy Document for more information.

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

CIEG 969 - Doctoral Dissertation Credit(s): 1-12

Research

Minimum of 9 credits

CIEG 868 - Research Credit(s): 1-6

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.

CIEG 865 - Civil Engineering Seminar Credit(s): 0

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.

BUAD 621 - Decision Analytics and Visualization Credit(s): 3
CIEG 601 - Introduction to the Finite Element Method Credit(s): 3
CIEG 608 - Highway Bridge Engineering Credit(s): 3
CIEG 611 - Structural Dynamics Design Credit(s): 3
CIEG 612 - Advanced Mechanics of Materials Credit(s): 3
CIEG 614 - Railroad Geotechnical Engineering Credit(s): 3
CIEG 617 - Introduction to Railroad Safety and Derailment Engineering Credit(s): 3
CIEG 618 - Railroad Engineering Credit(s): 3
CIEG 621 - Foundation Engineering Credit(s): 3
CIEG 641 - Risk Analysis Credit(s): 3
CIEG 642 - Advanced Data Analysis Credit(s): 3
CIEG 646 - Convex Optimization Credit(s): 3
CIEG 647 - Network Optimization Credit(s): 3
CIEG 652 - Transportation Facilities Design Credit(s): 3
CIEG 653 - Roadway Geometric Design Credit(s): 3
CIEG 654 - Urban Transportation Planning Credit(s): 3
CIEG 655 - Civil Infrastructure Systems Credit(s): 3
CIEG 657 - Contemporary Topics in Transportation Credit(s): 3
CIEG 658 - Pavement Analysis and Design Credit(s): 3
CIEG 659 - Optimization in Design and Construction Credit(s): 3
CIEG 662 - Transportation Sustainability Credit(s): 3
CIEG 663 - Traffic Engineering and Modeling Credit(s): 3
CIEG 675 - Matlab for Engineering Analysis Credit(s): 3
CIEG 686 - Engineering Project Management Credit(s): 3
DISA 650 - Overview of Disaster Science and Management Credit(s): 3
DISA 670 - Issues in Disaster Response Credit(s): 3
ECON 811 - Microeconomic Theory I Credit(s): 3
ECON 812 - Macroeconomic Theory I Credit(s): 3
GEOG 670 - Geographic Information Systems and Science Credit(s): 3
GEOG 671 - Advanced Geographic Information Systems Credit(s): 3
MAST 663 - Decision Tools for Policy Analysis Credit(s): 3
MAST 672 - Benefit-Cost Analysis Credit(s): 3
STAT 601 - Probability Theory for Operations Research and Statistics Credit(s): 3
STAT 602 - Mathematical Statistics Credit(s): 3
STAT 608 - Statistical Research Methods Credit(s): 3
STAT 609 - Regression and Experimental Design Credit(s): 3
STAT 611 - Regression Analysis Credit(s): 3
UAPP 611 - Regional Watershed Management Credit(s): 3
UAPP 691 - Quantitative Analysis in Public and Nonprofit Sectors Credit(s): 3
UAPP 701 - Public Policymaking Credit(s): 3
UAPP 707 - Public Policy Analysis Credit(s): 3

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.