Dual Award PhD Program in Civil Engineering

Program Overview

The Dual Award PhD Program in Civil Engineering is a collaborative program between the United Arab Emirates University and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. The program offers a rigorous education in civil engineering with a focus on innovative research and prepares graduates to lead in the field. Students benefit from the expertise and resources of both institutions, gaining a unique international experience and the opportunity to work with renowned researchers. Upon successful completion, graduates receive two separate certificates, one from each institution.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Dual Award PhD Program in Civil Engineering is a collaborative program offered by the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven). It leads to the award of a dual degree with two separate certificates, one from each institution.

Program Objectives:

• Offer a rigorous and innovative engineering education that promotes innovative research in engineering areas related to national priorities.
• Prepare graduates to be inquisitive, to reason critically, and to lead nationally and globally.
• Contribute to the advancement of the UAE knowledge-based economy and quality of life through community engagement, knowledge transfer, and industry partnership.

Program Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Identify gaps in the current state of knowledge and outline directions to produce new knowledge at the frontier of the civil engineering discipline.
• Apply advanced theories and research methodologies to critically analyze open research problems in civil engineering and develop innovative solutions.
• Produce and defend an original research work that advances the state of the art in the civil engineering discipline.
• Communicate research findings, orally and in writing, at a high level of proficiency to faculty, peers, and the lay public.
• Evaluate and manage complex professional engineering activities and diverse ethical issues within the work context.

Careers:

Graduates of the program are anticipated to meet the challenges in the Civil Engineering discipline and provide innovative solutions based on the most recent developments in Civil Engineering. The program provides students with excellent networking opportunities, which can result in more promising future job prospects.

Other:

• The program allows a student to receive academic training and to perform research work under the joint responsibility of a supervisor from UAEU and a supervisor from KU Leuven.
• The Doctoral student is required to satisfy the admission requirements of both institutions, comply with both institutions’ academic regulations, and defend a single dissertation that meets the requirements of both institutions.
• This program provides students with a unique opportunity to demonstrate innovation in a wide range of Civil Engineering research areas.
• The dual PhD degree in Civil Engineering is awarded to candidates who successfully complete a program of advanced courses, qualification and research requirements and dissertation defense.
• Students are expected to carry out an independent investigation in a Civil Engineering research area under supervision of experienced researchers.
• The total duration of the doctoral studies in the dual degree program normally takes between 4-7 years.
Shorter or longer periods can be agreed by the two institutions as long as all the requirements are met within this period.
• The student is required to spend a minimum of six months (preferably longer time) at each of the partner institutions.
• Upon successful completion, the candidate will receive two separate certificates, one from each of the two institutions, indicating that the program in which the student was enrolled is a dual degree program.
• The principle of “main-partner” institution will be applied for this Program.
Typically, the institution where the PhD student starts or where he/she will spend most of his/her time, will be indicated as the main institution. The other institution will be considered as the partner institution.
• This program enhances the academic training and research experience of Doctoral candidates.
Students will have access to the facilities, resources, professors and research environments of the two institutions, giving the doctoral candidate the full benefits of international experience. Dual supervision allows complementary approaches to research questions. Students will also gain knowledge and experience from research groups at both institutions, learn to be mobile, be willing to mediate between two supervisors who may have different institutional priorities, be able to adapt to the culturally-different approaches to research, and be able to fulfill the demands of two administrative systems.