Civil Engineering, Ph.D.

About the Civil Engineering Doctoral Program

Doctoral studies consist of selected courses and independent research culminating in a dissertation (minimum 60 coursework hours plus 12 dissertation hours). Each student’s degree plan is individually formulated through consultation with a faculty advisory committee. Recent dissertation research studies have included topics in the civil engineering specialty areas of structural engineering, engineering mechanics, geotechnical engineering, geoenvironmental engineering, water resources engineering, wind engineering, environmental engineering, and computational mechanics.

Typically, students with master’s degrees in engineering programs enter the civil engineering doctoral program. Students with graduate degrees in non-engineering sciences initially may be accepted subject to completing specified leveling courses in civil engineering. Students with master’s degrees in civil or environmental engineering who have not completed courses equivalent to the core courses required for the master’s degree in civil engineering will be required to complete the missing core courses satisfactorily at the earliest opportunity. Doctoral degree plans are individually prepared in consultation with a faculty advisor and usually comprise courses listed with CE or ENVE prefixes, but the degree plan often includes courses outside the Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering and the College of Engineering.