Program Structure and Requirements (with MSc Degree)
Overall Program Structure
The PhD CIVE consists of a minimum 60 credit hours, distributed as follows: 3 credit hours of Program Core courses, 21 credit hours of Program Technical Elective courses, 36 credit hours of Dissertation research and two zero credit PhD Research Seminar courses. The technical background of the student will be assessed by a Written Qualifying Examination (WQE), followed by a Research Proposal Examination (RPE) which the student must successfully complete in order to progress further in the program. The components of the PhD program are summarized in the table below.
| Program Component |
Credit Hours |
| Research Methods in Engineering |
3 |
| PhD Research Seminar I |
0 |
| PhD Research Seminar II |
0 |
| Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) |
0 |
| Research Proposal Examination (RPE) |
0 |
| Program Electives |
21 |
| PhD Research Dissertation |
36 |
| Total |
60 |
Program Requirements
Students seeking the degree of PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering must successfully complete a minimum 60 credit hours as specified in the program requirements detailed below, with a minimum CGPA of 3.0. Course selection should be made in consultation with the student’s Main Advisor and must be aligned to the chosen area(s) of research. All courses have a credit rating of three credits each, except the PhD Research Seminar, Written Qualifying Exam, Research Proposal Exam, and the PhD Dissertation.
Program Core (3 credit hours)
Students must complete the core courses listed below.
Core Courses
Program Electives (21 credit hours)
Students must complete a minimum of seven technical elective courses from the list below. Subject to the approval of the dissertation Main Advisor, up to two elective courses (6 credit hours) can be taken from another relevant PhD program in KU
Electives
| CIVE 703 | Groundwater Hydrology | 3 |
| CIVE 705 | Engineering Applied Mathematics | 3 |
| CIVE 707 | Environmental Remote Sensing and Satellite Image Processing | 3 |
| CIVE 712 | Remediation Engineering | 3 |
| CIVE 714 | Sustainable Desalination Processes | 3 |
| CIVE 717 | Membrane Technology | 3 |
| CIVE 718 | Advanced Topics in Applied Environmental Chemistry | 3 |
| CIVE 719 | Climate Dynamics | 3 |
| CIVE 720 | Nanotechnology in Water Purification | 3 |
| CIVE 721 | Aquatic Chemistry | 3 |
| CIVE 722 | Solid and Hazardous Waste Management | 3 |
| CIVE 730 | Public Transit Operations and Planning | 3 |
| CIVE 750 | Non-Linear Mechanics of Construction Materials | 3 |
| CIVE 751 | Non-Linear FE Analysis of Civil Engineering Structures | 3 |
| CIVE 755 | Geotechnical Natural Hazards Mitigation | 3 |
| CIVE 756 | Chemo-mechanical Modelling & Design of Flexible Pavements | 3 |
| CIVE 757 | Dynamic Loading and Design of Bridges | 3 |
| CIVE 760 | Construction Procurement Management | 3 |
| CIVE 761 | Productivity Improvement in Construction | 3 |
| CIVE 762 | Advanced Building Information Modeling | 3 |
| CIVE 780 | Advanced Urbanism: Urban Design Ideals and Action | 3 |
| CIVE 794 | Selctd Tps in CIE Eng | 3 |
PhD Research Dissertation (minimum 36 credit hours)
Students must complete a PhD Research Dissertation that involves novel, creative, research-oriented work under the direct supervision of at least one full-time faculty advisor from the College, and at least one other full-time faculty who acts as a co-advisor. The Main Advisor of a student who opts for a PhD must be a faculty member in the Department offering that particular program. The outcome of research should demonstrate the synthesis of information into knowledge in a form that may be used by others. The research findings must be documented in a formal Dissertation and defended successfully in a viva voce examination. Furthermore, the research must lead to publishable quality scholarly journal articles.
Dissertation
Total Credit Hours: 60