Civil Engineering (Ph.D.)

Civil Engineering

Students develop practical applications of Civil Engineering principles with entrepreneurial acumen and expertise in technology-enhanced infrastructure.

Program Overview

The Ph.D. in Civil Engineering prioritizes leadership, innovation, communication, and entrepreneurship in infrastructure. Environmental & Water Resources Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Structural & Materials Engineering, and Transportation Engineering are four sibling concentrations in the Civil Engineering Ph.D. program. The exclusive Ph.D. program aims to equip students with the skills necessary to thrive in diverse career landscapes. Notably, it will be the inaugural program in Texas to integrate the practical application of Civil Engineering principles with entrepreneurial acumen and expertise in technology-enhanced infrastructure (TEI). This forward-thinking initiative underscores the pressing need for infrastructure innovation and advances the university's commitment to fostering cutting-edge research and development in the field.

Course Work

The Ph.D. program requires a minimum of 54 semester credit hours (SCH) for students entering with the qualifications of a master’s degree in Civil Engineering or a related area. An additional 24 SCH of master’s level courses are required for students entering with the qualifications of a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or a related area. In addition to the 15 SCHs of required and prescribed elective courses, a student should take 15 SCHs of general elective courses. The culminating research activity is a dissertation of 24 SCHs. Students admitted with a bachelor's degree must take 54 SCHs of the above 7000-level courses plus 24 SCHs of 5000-level courses

Program Details

The Ph.D. program aims to foster the development of independent intellectual leaders by offering rigorous coursework and novel research opportunities in CE and TEI abilities. The program will train and cultivate interests and skills in adopting and applying innovative technologies for CE problems while retaining the main functions of a traditional CE program in that it tackles the same set of CE problems as other peer programs. In addition, the Ph.D. program emphasizes promoting students’ applied skills, research capabilities, commercialization initiatives, and communication and leadership skills.

Program Mission

The Ph.D. in Civil Engineering program prioritizes research, innovation, leadership, teamwork, communication, commercialization, and entrepreneurship in technology-enhanced infrastructure (TEI). The educational objectives of this program are designed to equip program graduates with:

• applied technical knowledge in corresponding areas of CE
• skills for conducting cutting-edge research in TEI that advances the state-of-the-art in CE
• leadership, innovation, communication, and entrepreneurial skills that prepare students to take on challenges in multi-disciplinary and diverse teams of academic and industrial organizations
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Career Options

Although students will be competitive for academic and research positions with the rigorous and intensive training in research and coursework preparation from the Ph.D. program, emphases on leadership, innovation, communication, and entrepreneurship in infrastructure will also prepare students for taking leadership roles in start-ups, established industries, governments, and other non-academic sectors. 

Program Faculty

The Civil Engineering faculty research areas include: 

• AI and machine learning
• hydrology and remote sensing
• infrastructure durability
• multifunctional materials and structures
• nature-inspired civil engineering
• sustainable and high-performance materials 
• transportation geotechnics
• transportation safety and operations, and asset management
• water and waste-water treatment 

The members of the Civil Engineering faculty notably publish in top civil and environmental engineering journals.