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David Waugh, Interim Chair

Overview

Civil and environmental engineers are involved with the systems that are essential to our modern way of life. For example, civil and environmental engineers plan, design, and construct roads, bridges and airports, buildings, water supply and wastewater treatment plants, waterways, ports, and dams. They also work to protect the environment by developing and applying remedial technologies to contaminated groundwater and soil. Civil and environmental engineers are well qualified to participate in public and private decision-making processes regarding infrastructure systems, and, as such, serve as technical and policy advisors or elected officials.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers programs leading to the Master of Science, Master of Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Students in the M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs specialize in at least one of the following program areas: environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering and water resources engineering. Students in the M.E. program may opt to specialize in one area of study or obtain a broad range of experience across the civil and environmental engineering discipline.

Areas of Specialization

Environmental Engineering focuses on sustainability and environmental applications and implications of nanotechnology, including water and wastewater reclamation, bioreactor landfills, waste conversion processes, treatment technologies for developing countries, application of nanamaterials for developing innovative remediation technologies, quantum modeling of nanomaterials, and understanding fate, transport, and toxicity of nanomaterials in the environment.

Geotechnical Engineering focuses on soil, rock and engineered geomaterials with specific concentrations on field and laboratory investigations using standard and novel testing technologies, design and performance of foundations and earth structures, slope stability analyses, soil dynamics and liquefaction, pavement design and performance, landfill design and instrumentation, and geoenvironmental studies.

Structural Engineering focuses on structural design, and analysis for buildings, bridges and other civil structures, materials characterization and modeling including concrete, steel and fiber reinforced polymers, multi-scale structural testing, advanced numerical simulations, structural health monitoring and prognosis, life-cycle and environmental performance analysis, and seismic engineering and design.

Transportation Engineering focuses on modeling transportation system operations, traffic sensing technologies and traffic data analyses, including intelligent transportation systems, modeling and simulation of large-scale transportation networks, weigh-in-motion systems, traffic studies, traffic signal simulation and pavement management systems and performance modeling.

Water Resources Engineering focuses on the study and computer modeling of natural and industrial flow and transport processes, both in the laboratory and in the field, including fluid mechanics, hydraulic transients, cardiovascular flow, river mechanics and marine sediment transport, scour, hydrology of landfills, storm water modeling and best management practices, and watershed scale hydrology.

M.S. and M.E. Degree Programs

Students with Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in civil or environmental engineering are eligible to enter the M.S. or M.E. degree programs. Outstanding students with nonengineering baccalaureate degrees may qualify for admission to the M.S. degree program with the understanding that they must take specified deficiency/prerequisite courses. At a minimum, the following deficiency/prerequisite courses or their equivalent will be required: MATH 141, 142, 242; CHEM 111; PHYS 211, 212; ECIV 200; ECIV 201; and STAT 509. Students will also be required to take all undergraduate courses that are listed as prerequisites for courses to be taken for graduate credit. In general, deficiency/prerequisite courses must be completed with a B average. Specific program areas may require additional course work.

An undergraduate GPA of 2.80 on a 4.00 scale, and 3.00 on a 4.00 scale for any graduate course work, is required for students wishing to enter the M.S. or M.E. degree programs with B.S. degrees in engineering. Exceptions to the minimum undergraduate GPA requirements for admission to the M.S. and M.E. degree programs may be made for students with special qualifications.

For students with nonengineering baccalaureate degrees, or engineering degrees from programs not accredited by ABET, a minimum GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale is required in any undergraduate and graduate course work. Additionally, these students must take the GRE general test. The GRE is required for all students requesting financial aid. Typically, successful applicants have scores of at least 1100 on the verbal and quantitative sections and 3.5 on the analytical section. Applicants whose native language is not English are also required to submit a satisfactory score on the TOEFL or the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam. The minimum acceptable score on the TOEFL is 230 (computer-based) or 570 (paper-based). The minimum acceptable overall band score on the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam is 6.5. In addition, students whose native language is not English are required to take a diagnostic test in English when they arrive at the University. Students with deficiencies are provided an opportunity for further study in reading, writing, and speaking English.

A combined B.S.E./M.S. or B.S.E./M.E. degree program is available to undergraduate civil or environmental engineering students with GPAs of 3.50 or above and 90 or more hours earned toward their baccalaureate degrees. Up to six credit hours at or above the 500-level may be applied toward both the B.S.E., M.S., or M.E. degree requirements. The approval of the student’s advisor and the CEE graduate director are required. Questions about this program may be directed to the CEE graduate director.

Ph.D. Degree Program

Students should have the equivalent of an M.E. or M.S. degree in civil or environmental engineering or a closely related engineering field. Exceptional students with B.S. degrees in these same fields may be eligible to enter directly into the Ph.D. program. Applicants must have superior grades and test scores for admission to the master’s degree programs. Outstanding students with nonengineering baccalaureate degrees may qualify for admission to the Ph.D. degree program, with the understanding that they must complete deficiency/prerequisite courses specified in the M.S. and M.E. admission requirements listed above.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

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