Civil Engineering - PHD

Degree Title and Name: Doctor of Philosophy in in Civil Engineering

Program Name and Number: Civil Engineering – PH7252

Department/Unit: Civil Engineering

Delivery Mode: Athens Campus

Term(s) of Entry: Fall, Spring, Summer

Program Overview: The Civil Engineering Department offers a Doctor of Philosophy degree program with focus areas of environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, and water resources. The Ph.D. candidate is challenged to become a leading expert in his/her research area, become competent in applying the scientific method to the discovery of engineering principles, be able to design and execute experiments, teach, demonstrate the ability to independently direct research, become conversant in the body of literature, and be able to defend his/her research work, which will stand as a significant and unique contribution to the body of civil engineering knowledge. This is a full-time program. Normative time to completion is three academic years.

Program Learning Outcomes:

Acquire knowledge of advanced principles of Civil Engineering and apply them to advanced technical problems in the Civil Engineering specialty areas of either environmental, geotechnical, structural, transportation, or water resources.
Become a subject matter expert through a combination of advanced coursework and focused research in one or more areas of technical specialization within the Civil Engineering discipline.
Independently plan and conduct a research program using prior published knowledge as a foundation.
Become proficient in state-of-the-art equipment and methods related to the student’s focus area.
Synthesize information from a variety of sources to develop proposals for productive novel directions for research and development.
Communicate advanced engineering knowledge and the results of novel research and development activities in professional venues.
Develop habits of collaboration, leadership, initiative, safe performance of work, and ethical conduct with an understanding of Civil Engineering’s role in improving society.

Opportunities for Graduates: The Ph.D. degree serves many purposes, first and foremost to prepare advanced students for careers in the CE profession, to convey the skills necessary to perform cutting-edge research, and to solve complex interdisciplinary problems concerning society. Graduates will go on to advanced positions in industry, government, or tenure-track faculty positions at other universities.

Link to Program: http://www.ohio.edu/engineering/civil/academics/graduate/phd.cfm

Graduation Requirements:

Students must obtain a minimum of 60 credit hours of approved graduate work, including 33 hours of Dissertation (CE 8950) and/or Doctoral Research (CE 8940) and 27 credit hours from courses. Courses should be selected in consultation with the student’s Major advisor and Dissertation Committee.

Courses required of all students:

CE 5200 - Finite Element Methods in Engineering (3 hr)
CE 6915 - Civil Engineering Seminar (1 hr) [Note: This course is required of Ph.D. students, even if they have already completed the course as part of an M.S. program.]
CE 8915 - Seminar in Teaching Civil Engineering (1 hr)
ET 6020 - Technical Writing (1 hr)

Courses required in Environmental Engineering focus area:

CE 7570 - Subsurface Remediation (3 hr)

Course required in Geotechnical Engineering focus area:

CE 5720 - Advanced Soil Mechanics (3 hr)

Courses required in Structural Engineering focus area:

CE 6310 - Structural Reliability (3 hr)
CE 6320 - Structural Dynamics (3 hr)

Courses required in Transportation Engineering focus area:

CE 6640 - Urban Transportation Planning or CE 6610 Environmental Analysis of Transportation Systems (3hr)
CE 8620 - Transportation System Design II (3 hr)
CE 8670 - Traffic Flow (3 hr)

Course required in Water Resources Engineering focus area:

CE 7430 - Stochastic Modeling (3 hr)

Complete list of courses:

CE 5100 - Applied Boundary Surveying (2 hr)
CE 5110 - Legal Principles in Boundary Location (2 hr)
CE 5150 - Geodetic Surveying (2 hr)
CE 5160 - Construction Estimates & Equipment (3 hr)
CE 5170 - Construction Planning & Scheduling (3 hr)
CE 5190 - Project Development, Contracts, & Law (3 hr)
CE 5200 - Finite Element Methods in Engineering (3 hr)
CE 5240 - Strength of Materials II (3 hr)
CE 5250 - Advanced Strength of Materials (3 hr)
CE 5260 - Theory of Stability (3 hr)
CE 5270 - Experimental Stress Analysis (3 hr)
CE 5280 - Theory of Elasticity (3 hr)
CE 5310 - Experimental Methods in Structural Dynamics (3 hr)
CE 5350 - Advanced Steel Design (3 hr)
CE 5360 - Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design (3 hr)
CE 5370 - Timber Design (3 hr)
CE 5380 - Prestressed Concrete Design (3 hr)
CE 5400 - Deterministic Approaches in Water Resources (3 hr)
CE 5410 - Stochastic Hydrology (3 hr)
CE 5420 - Applied Hydraulics & Hydrology (3 hr)
CE 5430 - Open Channel Hydraulics (3 hr)
CE 5450 - Design of Hydraulic Structures (3 hr)
CE 5510 - In-Situ Remediation (3 hr)
CE 5530 - Solid & Hazardous Waste Management (3 hr)
CE 5540 - Sustainable Construction (3 hr)
CE 5580 - Water Quality Engineering (3 hr)
CE 5630 - Introduction to Highway Safety (3 hr)
CE 5640 - Transportation Planning Fundamentals (3 hr)
CE 5670 - Traffic Engineering (3 hr)
CE 5680 - Traffic Signal Systems (3 hr)
CE 5700 - Geotechnical Engineering (3 hr)
CE 5720 - Advanced Soil Mechanics (3 hr)
CE 5740 - Soil Mechanics Laboratory (3 hr)
CE 5750 - Advanced Foundation Engineering (3 hr)
CE 5760 - Soil Stabilization (3 hr)
CE 5770 - Rock Mechanics and Design (3 hr)
CE 5820 - Bituminous Paving Materials and Mixes (3 hr)
CE 5830 - Principles of Pavement Design (3 hr)
CE 5860 - Plates and Shells (3 hr)
CE 5880 - Soil Dynamics (3 hr)
CE 6000 - Applied Statistics for Civil Engineers
CE 6150 - Heavy Construction Management (3 hr)
CE 6160 - Computer Aided Construction Management (3 hr)
CE 6170 - Construction Productivity (3 hr)
CE 6180 - Project Risk Management (3 hr)
CE 6230 - Continuum Mechanics I (3 hr)
CE 6250 - Finite Elements in Mechanics (3 hr)
CE 6310 - Structural Reliability (3 hr)
CE 6320 - Structural Dynamics (3 hr)
CE 6330 - Earthquake Engineering (3 hr)
CE 6340 - Bridge Engineering (3 hr)
CE 6345 - Bridge Design (3 hr)
CE 6500 - Chemical Fate and Transport (3 hr)
CE 6530 - Environmental Geotechnology I (3 hr)
CE 6550 - Advanced Water Treatment (3 hr)
CE 6560 - Advanced Wastewater Treatment (3 hr)
CE 6590 - Surface Water Quality Modeling (3 hr)
CE 6610 - Environmental Analysis of Transportation Systems (3 hr)
CE 6620 - Transportation System Design I (3 hr)
CE 6630 - Highway Safety and Risk Management (3 hr)
CE 6640 - Urban Transportation Planning (3 hr)
CE 6650 - Traffic Impacts (3 hr)
CE 6670 - Traffic Parameters (3 hr)
CE 6680 - Regulations, Control and Signal Design (3 hr)
CE 6700 - Computational Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (3 hr)
CE 6840 - Constitutive Equations (3 hr)
CE 6915 - Civil Engineering Seminar (1 hr)
CE 7100 - Energy Principles (3 hr)
CE 7230 - Continuum Mechanics II (3 hr)
CE 7290 - Mathematical Theory of Elasticity (3 hr)
CE 7300 - Finite Element Methods II (3 hr)
CE 7360 - Advanced Concrete Design (3 hr)
CE 7430 - Stochastic Modeling (3 hr)
CE 7510 - Sludge Treatment Processes (3 hr)
CE 7520 - Industrial Waste Treatment (3 hr)
CE 7530 - Biodegradation and Bioremediation (3 hr)
CE 7570 - Subsurface Remediation (3 hr)
CE 7630 - Advanced Highway Safety Studies (3 hr)
CE 7640 - Mass Transportation Systems (3 hr)
CE 7650 - Airport Planning and Design (3 hr)
CE 7680 - Advanced Traffic Signal Operations (3 hr)
CE 7710 - Engineering Behavior of Soils (3 hr)
CE 7740 - Experimental Soil Mechanics (3 hr)
CE 8530 - Environmental Geotechnology II (3 hr)
CE 8620 - Transportation System Design II (3 hr)
CE 8630 - Transportation Safety Analysis (3 hr)
CE 8640 - Transit Planning (3 hr)
CE 8670 - Traffic Flow (3 hr)
CE 8680 - Progressive Systems (3 hr)
CE 8850 - Soil-Structure Interactions (3 hr)
CE 8915 - Seminar on Teaching in Civil Engineering (1 hr)

Other requirements for the degree include:

The student must select one of the focus areas and identify his/her advisor by the end of the first semester of enrollment.
By the end of the first semester of course work towards the Ph.D., the student must submit his/her Program of Study and form the Dissertation Committee in close collaboration with the student’s major advisor. The make-up of the committee must follow the College’s guidelines and is recorded on the Committee Approval Form. The committee will include at least five members, including the major advisor, one college representative, and one member from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). The student’s Dissertation Committee and the Department Graduate Committee Chair must approve the Program of Study.
By the end of the second semester the student must take a written Qualifying Exam. This will test mastery of the necessary fundamentals to pursue the Ph.D. degree. The subject areas of the exam will be determined by the student’s Dissertation Committee, based on the student’s specialty area. A student who fails the exam will have one more opportunity to take and pass the exam. Remedial courses may be required before retaking the exam. Students who completed their M.S. degree at Ohio University may have the Qualifying Exam waived at the discretion of the student’s Dissertation Committee and the Department Graduate Committee Chair.
Of the 27 credit hours of courses, at least 18 credit hours must be from courses with numbers greater than or equal to 6000, including at least 9 credit hours from courses at the 7000 level or higher. No more than 3 credit hours may be from dual-listed 5000/4000 courses open to both graduate and undergraduate students. Some courses outside the Civil Engineering Department may be included in the Program of Study.
Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA to remain in the program. No credit hours below a C may be counted toward the Ph.D.
Following the completion of the majority of the coursework, a student is required to take and pass a written and oral Comprehensive Exam. This examination will test the candidate’s knowledge of advanced coursework, his/her ability to integrate knowledge from courses, and his/her ability to work independently in the specialty area. The examination will be prepared and administered by the student’s Dissertation Committee and recorded on a Comprehensive Examination Form.
After completion of the Comprehensive Exam, a written Research Proposal must be submitted and presented orally to the Dissertation Committee for evaluation and review via a Research Topic Approval Form.
A written dissertation must be prepared and defended at an oral examination that will occur at least two full semesters after the Dissertation Committee’s approval of the Research Proposal.
At least 14 days before the date of the dissertation defense, the College’s Oral Examination Arrangement Form must be submitted.
The student must provide, at least 14 days before the scheduled oral examination, each examination committee member a copy of the dissertation.
At the oral defense of the dissertation, the candidate will present his/her research findings and answer questions. The oral presentation will be open to the university community. Approval of the dissertation will not occur if either the Major advisor, the College Representative, or two members of the Dissertation Committee do not ratify the dissertation on the Oral Dissertation Defense Examination Form.

Culminating Experience: Following the completion of the majority of the coursework, a student is required to take and pass a written and oral Comprehensive Exam. After completion of the Comprehensive Exam, a written dissertation must be prepared and defended at an oral examination.

Admission Requirements: An M.S. in civil engineering or a closely related field is required for admission to the Ph.D. program. For admission, the student should have excellent academic records, demonstrated skills in oral and written English, and an aptitude for research. Students who are not native speakers of English must meet the university’s English proficiency requirement before starting the graduate program in Civil Engineering. GRE results, TOEFL score, transcripts from all previously attended universities, a resume, a statement of purpose, and at least three letters of recommendation must be submitted by the applicant for review by the Civil Engineering Department Graduate Committee. A majority vote of the Graduate Committee will determine whether the applicant will be admitted or denied admission.

International Students: This program permits full-time enrollment in residence at Ohio University, and an I-20 may be issued based on admission to this program.