Civil & Environmental Engineering (Ph.D.) Program Details
Degree Requirements
❱ Required coursework
❱ Qualifying or comprehensive examination
❱ Graduate School writing proficiency requirement
❱ Graduate School Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement
❱ Dissertation
❱ Final oral examination/Dissertation defense
Research Specializations
❱ Environmental and water resources engineering
❱ Geotechnical engineering
❱ Structural and earthquake engineering
❱ Transportation engineering
Research Opportunities
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering houses several research initiatives and laboratories designed to support graduate research, including the Transportation Research Center (HUTRC), the Structural Simulation Laboratory (HUSSL), the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering (EWRE) group, the Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT), the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP), the Stout Infrastructure, Geotechnics and Materials Laboratory (SIGMa), and the Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory. Read more about our research initiatives below.
Research Areas & Interests
Faculty Research Interests
A sampling of research interests
- Developing membrane processes for environmental applications
- Physical-chemical processes for water and wastewater treatment
- Global drinking water quality and environmental justice
- Molecular biology for sustainable, cost-efficient urban water treatment
- Impact of sulfur on nitrogen cycling during wastewater treatment
- Impact of connected and automated vehicles on individuals’ daily lifestyle
- Development of protective systems to improve the performance of bridges, and buildings under extreme loads
- Remote sensing and hydrological models for forecasting
- Analysis of risk information derived from geospatial data
- Fostering sustainability and resilience in civil and marine infrastructure
- Estimating the performance of engineering systems using machine learning techniques
Research Subfields
Environmental and water resources engineering
Environmental and water resources engineering involves sustainable design to control and protect the environment and its resources. This area includes water quality and treatment research, hazardous waste management, treatment and control of air pollutants, flood control, and hydrology.
Geotechnical engineering
Geotechnical engineering encompasses the areas of soil mechanics and foundation engineering. It is concerned with the design and construction of structures built on or below the ground surface and the physical characteristics of soil and rocks or composite material (i.e., foundations of bridges and buildings, design of tunnels and dams) and the geological factors affecting these structures.
Structural and earthquake engineering
Structural and earthquake engineering includes designing all types of structures, including buildings, dams, bridges, and tunnels, and monitoring their construction. A primary concern of structural engineers is predicting the loads a structure will have to resist during its lifetime and ensuring that it will be both safe and valuable.
Transportation engineering
Transportation engineering deals with the planning, design, construction, operation, and performance management of highways, railways, air transportation systems and terminals, and safety considerations.
Program of Study (Environmental and Water Resources)*
CORE COURSES (18 CR)
CIEG 511 Environmental Chemistry
BIOL 424 Environmental Microbiology
CIEG 502 Physical/Chemical Process for Water Treatment
CIEG 501 Biological Processes for Wastewater Treatment
CIEG 557 Advanced Hydrology
CHEG 412 Transport Phenomena
ELECTIVE COURSES (42 CR)
CUGW CE 6505 Environmental Impact Assessment
CUGW CE 6509 Introduction to Hazardous Waste
CUGW CE 6601 Open Channel Flow
CHEM 251 General Biochemistry
BIOG 415 Molecular Genetics
CIEG 553 Environmental Engineering Project Research
*Other Electives or 24 credit hours from a master’s degree can be transferred to the Ph.D.
DISSERTATION (12 CR)
Program of Study (Geotechnical Engineering)*
CORE COURSES (15 CR)
CIEG 600 Advanced Soil Mechanics
CIEG 603 Advanced Foundation Engineering
CIEG 514 Finite Element Analysis
UMD ENCE741 Earth Retaining Structures
GMU CEIE 634 Groundwater and Geoenvironmental Design
ELECTIVE COURSES (45 CR)
UMD ENCE743 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering
PHYS 192 Math Methods in Physics I
UMD ENCE647 Slope Stability and Seepage
CIEG 616 Advanced Optimization
CIEG 605 Research Methods
CIEG 614 Special Topics in Geotechnical Engineering I
CIEG 615 Special Topics in Geotechnical Engineering II
*Other Electives or 24 credit hours from a master’s degree can be transferred to the Ph.D.
DISSERTATION (12 CR)
Program of Study (Structural Mechanics and Earthquake Engineering)*
CORE COURSES (15 CR)
CIEG 513 Advanced Structural Analysis (Matrix Structural Analysis)
CIEG 514 Finite Element Analysis
CE 6301 Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design
CE 6320 Advanced Steel Design
CIEG 555 Structures Research Project
ELECTIVE COURSES (45 CR)
CIEG 529 Introduction to Structural Protective Systems
CIEG 500 Special Topics in Structures
CIEG 603 Adv. Foundation Engineering
CUGW CE 6340 Structural Dynamics
CUGW CE 6302 Pre-stressed Concrete Structures
CIEG 509 Structures Research Project II
CIEG 622 Earthquake Engineering Research I
*Other Electives or 24 credit hours from a master’s degree can be transferred to the Ph.D.
DISSERTATION (12 CR)
Program of Study (Transportation Engineering)*
CORE COURSES (15 CR)
CIEG 579 Advanced Traffic Engineering
CIEG 507 Traffic Flow Theory
CIEG 504 Intelligent Transportation Systems
CIEG 466 Traffic Engineering II
CIEG 544 Transportation Engineering Research
ELECTIVE COURSES (45 CR)
CIEG 620 Transportation Systems Modeling and Analysis
CIEG 619 Urban Transit Planning
CIEG 567 Construction Project Management
CIEG 618 Transportation Engineering Project
EECE 502 Engineering Analysis A
HUDE 400 Intermediate Statistics
HUDE 500 Advanced Statistics
*Other Electives or 24 credits hours from a master’s degree can be transferred to the Ph.D.
DISSERTATION (12 CR)
*Courses included in the sample program of study are subject to change. Students should consult with their programs regarding their required program of study.
Admission to Candidacy
Students are admitted to formal candidacy by the Graduate School when they have completed the required coursework, passed the qualifying or comprehensive examination, submitted an approved topic for research, and been recommended by the Department. Candidates must also have satisfied the Graduate School writing proficiency requirement and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement.
Graduate Funding
Admitted students may be eligible to compete for Graduate School competitive awards, which provide tuition remission and a stipend during the academic year. Additionally, graduate research or teaching assistantships may be available at the department level. Research assistants and teaching assistants work no more than 20 hours a week under the program's direction, usually in support of faculty research (research assistants) or in support of assigned courses (teaching assistants). Please see the Funding website for more detailed information.