Program Overview

---

Doctor of Philosophy - Civil and Environmental Engineering

About

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering & Construction (CEEC) at UNLV offers a number of areas of engineering leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) - Civil and Environmental Engineering. Specific areas of engineering that are currently available include Construction, Geotechnical, Structural, Transportation, and Water Resources/Environmental. The PhD degree in chosen area is awarded based on the scholarly contribution provided by the candidate in his/her area of research. It is expected that the PhD candidate should demonstrate in depth knowledge in the subject matter of his/her chosen area of expertise. PhD students should follow the graduate rules and milestones of the program mentioned in CEEC Graduate Student Handbook.

Available Options

• Post-Bachelor's Track
• Post-Master's Track

Accreditation

For information regarding accreditation at UNLV, please refer to Academic Program Accreditations.

Learning Outcomes

The student learning outcomes are:

• Demonstrate knowledge in the chosen area of their expertise (construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources/environmental).
• Acquire and apply appropriate research methodology to solve contemporary engineering problems related to the area of their expertise.
• Demonstrate an ability to generate, collect, compile, and interpret research data.
• Demonstrate that the dissertation contributes new and significant knowledge towards the area of expertise.
• Demonstrate technical communication skills.

Career Possibilities

The Ph.D. in Civil Engineering prepares the students to become university professors, Ph.D. level researchers in public or private research institutions, or advanced design engineers in the areas of construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, or water resource/environmental engineering.

Requirements

Plan Description

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering & Construction (CEEC) at UNLV offers a number of program degree options leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) - Civil and Environmental Engineering. Specific areas of emphasis that are currently available include Construction, Geotechnical, Structural, Transportation, and Water Resources/Environmental. Two subplans are available (1) Post-Master's subplan and (2) Post-Bachelor's subplan.

Plan Admission Requirements

Application Deadlines

Applications are available on the UNLV Graduate College website.

All domestic and international applicants must review and follow the Graduate College Admission and Registration Requirements.

Graduate College Admission Requirements

1. Completed application in the Application Portal and non-refundable application fee.
2. Bachelor's Degree – You must hold a four-year baccalaureate from a regionally accredited institution or an approved equivalent.
   • Post-Master's tracks require a regionally accredited Master's degree.
3. Grade Point Average – You must have a minimum overall grade point average of 2.75 (4.00=A) for the bachelor's degree or a minimum 3.00 (4.00=A) for the last two years (60 semester credits).
4. All applicants are required to submit an unofficial transcript from each postsecondary institution attended, showing all degrees and coursework, the dates awarded, and grades received. Official transcripts required upon admission.
   • Credentials not in English must be accompanied by an English translation certified as true by a university official, an official representative of a United States embassy or consulate, the United States Information Service, the United States Education Foundation, or an approved professional translating service. Notarized copies of originals or translations are not considered official.

Department Admission Requirements

Admission to the program leading to the Ph.D. in Engineering in the field of Civil and Environmental Engineering is open to those students completing the following requirements:

1. The applicant must have a regionally accredited Master of Science in Engineering degree or equivalent with a major in civil engineering or a closely allied field. Students with non-engineering backgrounds will be required to complete a set of coursework requirements that will ensure successful completion of the Ph.D. specialization.
2. Applicants must have a minimum post-baccalaureate GPA of 3.20 on a 4.00 scale (4.00=A) or equivalent.
3. The applicant must submit a Statement of Purpose (SOP) not exceeding two pages. Applicants should indicate their area of specialization (construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources/environmental) and highlight their reasons to pursue a Ph.D. degree.
4. A short resume (no more than 2 pages) must be submitted.
5. In addition, three letters of recommendation (LOR) must be submitted from individuals familiar with the applicant's knowledge, skills and abilities. The LOR documents must be created using official letterheads (e.g. academic advisor, academic faculty, professional supervisor). Also, applicants must provide professional email addresses of those sending an LOR.
6. Applicants are required to take GRE General Test and submit the scores to the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (code 4861). Successful applicants generally have a combined verbal and quantitative GRE score of at least 300 and analytical writing score of at least 3.
7. Applications are reviewed by the faculty in the specialty areas and the Graduate Coordinator.

Additional Requirements for the Post-Bachelor's Subplan

1. The applicant to this subplan must have earned a regionally accredited Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree or equivalent with a major in civil engineering or a closely allied field.
2. The applicant must have a minimum baccalaureate overall GPA of 3.20 on a 4.00 scale (4.00=A) and GPA of 3.5 for the last 60 credits.

Plan Requirements

Subplan 1: Post-Master's

Total Credits Required: 42

Course Requirements

Elective Courses - Credits: 24

Complete 24 credits of advisor approved electives, including at least 9 credits in one of the following concentrations.

Construction

• CEE 609 - Engineering Project Management
• CEE 672 - Construction Estimating for Infrastructure Projects
• CEE 673 - Construction Scheduling for Infrastructure Projects
• CEE 710 - Modular Construction
• CEE 720 - Information and Sensing Technology in Construction
• CEE 785 - Construction Engineering Management

Geotechnical

• CEE 710 - Modular Construction
• CEE 720 - Information and Sensing Technology in Construction
• CEE 731 - Pavement Materials and Design
• CEE 732 - Advanced Foundation Engineering
• CEE 734 - Advanced Soil Mechanics
• CEE 736 - Earth Slopes and Retaining Structures
• CEE 737 - Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering
• CEE 741 - Design of Highway Bridge Structures
• CEE 785 - Construction Engineering Management

Transportation

• CEE 725 - Freight Transportation
• CEE 726 - Railroad Operations
• CEE 727 - Transportation Safety
• CEE 760 - Transportation Planning
• CEE 761 - Transportation Demand Analysis
• CEE 762 - Operations Research Applications in Civil Engineering
• CEE 763 - Advanced Traffic Engineering
• CEE 764 - Air Transportation

Structure

• CEE 741 - Design of Highway Bridge Structures
• CEE 744 - Design of Prestressed/Post-Tensioned Concrete Structures
• CEE 746 - Advanced Concrete Engineering
• CEE 747 - Introduction to Analysis and Design of Plates and Shells
• CEE 748 - Advanced Design of Timber Structures
• CEE 762 - Operations Research Applications in Civil Engineering
• CEE 775 - Seismic Response of Structures
• CEE 780 - Advanced Reinforced Concrete Structures

Water Resources/ Environmental

• CEE 704 - Environmental & Water Systems
• CEE 707 - Life Cycle Assessment
• CEE 709 - Numerical Methods in Mechanics
• CEE 712 - Advanced Hazardous Waste Management
• CEE 750 - Urban Runoff Quality and Control
• CEE 751 - Water Reuse Principles and Design
• CEE 752 - Applied Environmental and Analytical Chemistry
• CEE 754 - Biochemical Wastewater Treatment Fundamentals
• CEE 755 - Advanced Physicochemical Methods for Water Treatment
• CEE 756 - Advanced Waste Treatment Design
• CEE 757 - Engineering Modeling of Natural Systems
• CEE 758 - Air Quality Modeling
• CEE 759 - Mass Transfer in Environmental Systems
• CEE 768 - Applied Geographic Information Systems

(Optional) Graduate Internship and Seminar Courses - Credits: 1 - 3

Students that opt to engage in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) must take 1 credit of CEE 793. This course can be taken a maximum of 3 times during their studies. However, the credits will not be counted towards the degree.

CEE 798 can be taken a maximum of three credits. However, these credits will not be counted towards the degree.

• CEE 793 - Graduate Internship for PhD Civil & Environmental Engineering
• CEE 798 - Engineering & Construction Seminar

Dissertation Proposal Preparation - Credits: 6

• CEE 794 - Preparation of Dissertation Research Proposal

Dissertation - Credits: 12

• CEE 799 - Dissertation Research

Degree Requirements

1. Complete 24 credits of advisor-approved elective graduate-level coursework.
2. Doctoral students who have not completed CEE 700, or its 3-credit equivalent, or did not write a thesis as part of their Master of Science studies, will be required to complete CEE 700. The CEE 700 course will be counted towards elective credits. In addition to CEE 700, all students must successfully complete a minimum of 21 credits of approved graduate-level coursework beyond the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. For students who have completed CEE 700, or equivalent, during their Master of Science studies, a minimum of 24 credits of approved graduate-level coursework is required.
3. A Doctoral Advisory Committee composed of at least five members of the UNLV graduate faculty is to be formed for the student. At least three of the committee members must be from tenured or tenure-track faculty of the CEEC Department and the fourth member from a related field. The fifth faculty member, the Graduate College Representative, is recommended by advisor/advisee and appointed by the Graduate College. It is strongly recommended that the Doctoral Advisory Committee collective expertise reflects the dissertation topic. The committee chair must be a tenured or tenure-track CEEC faculty from the area of expertise chosen for the dissertation topic.
4. In addition to the coursework requirements,
   • A dissertation research proposal preparation (CEE 794) consisting of at least 6 credits is required with one of the outcomes being a research proposal defense.
   • A dissertation research (CEE 799) consisting of at least 12 credits is required with one of the outcomes being manuscripts written for a specific indexed conference or journal. Dissertation credits may not be used towards program elective credits.
5. At least 50% of the courses (600 and 700 level) within the total coursework must be from the College of Engineering.
6. At least 50% of the courses within the total coursework must be 700 level.
7. Students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.00. A course in which a grade of less than C was earned will not be considered for use toward the degree.
8. Students must take the doctoral qualifying exam including a written component prepared by the student's Doctoral Advisory Committee. The committee shall provide the examination to the CEEC Department Graduate Coordinator who will administer the written qualifying exam for the CEEC Department on scheduled dates.
9. Students who have not passed the qualifying exam by their second attempt will be terminated from the Ph.D. program.
10. After passing the qualifying exam in one area of specialty, if the student moves to another area of specialty by changing the advisor; they must retake the qualifying exam in that new area of specialty.
11. After passing the qualifying exam, the doctoral student must pass a preliminary exam consisting of the preparation of a written proposal for the dissertation research followed by an oral defense of the proposal. The proposal must be approved by the student's Doctoral Advisory Committee.
12. All requirements for the PhD are met upon the satisfactory completion of the proposed research, the submission of a satisfactory dissertation, and the successful oral defense of the dissertation before the Doctoral Advisory Committee.

Graduation Requirements

The student must submit and successfully defend their dissertation by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.

After the dissertation defense, the student must electronically submit a properly formatted pdf copy of their dissertation to the Graduate College for format check. Once the dissertation format has been approved by the Graduate College, the student will submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest. Deadlines for dissertation defenses, format check submissions, and the final ProQuest submission can be found here.

Students may apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing their degree requirements. All required forms must be submitted to the graduate college via the Grad Rebel Gateway.

Subplan 2: Post-Bachelor's

Total Credits Required: 60

Course Requirements

Required Course - Credits: 3

• CEE 700 - Research Methods in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Elective Courses - Credits: 39

Complete 39 credits of advisor approved electives, including at least 9 credits in one of the following concentrations.

Construction

• CEE 609 - Engineering Project Management
• CEE 672 - Construction Estimating for Infrastructure Projects
• CEE 673 - Construction Scheduling for Infrastructure Projects
• CEE 710 - Modular Construction
• CEE 720 - Information and Sensing Technology in Construction
• CEE 785 - Construction Engineering Management

Geotechnical

• CEE 710 - Modular Construction
• CEE 720 - Information and Sensing Technology in Construction
• CEE 731 - Pavement Materials and Design
• CEE 732 - Advanced Foundation Engineering
• CEE 734 - Advanced Soil Mechanics
• CEE 736 - Earth Slopes and Retaining Structures
• CEE 737 - Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering
• CEE 741 - Design of Highway Bridge Structures
• CEE 785 - Construction Engineering Management

Transportation

• CEE 725 - Freight Transportation
• CEE 726 - Railroad Operations
• CEE 727 - Transportation Safety
• CEE 760 - Transportation Planning
• CEE 761 - Transportation Demand Analysis
• CEE 762 - Operations Research Applications in Civil Engineering
• CEE 763 - Advanced Traffic Engineering
• CEE 764 - Air Transportation

Structure

• CEE 741 - Design of Highway Bridge Structures
• CEE 744 - Design of Prestressed/Post-Tensioned Concrete Structures
• CEE 746 - Advanced Concrete Engineering
• CEE 747 - Introduction to Analysis and Design of Plates and Shells
• CEE 748 - Advanced Design of Timber Structures
• CEE 762 - Operations Research Applications in Civil Engineering
• CEE 775 - Seismic Response of Structures
• CEE 780 - Advanced Reinforced Concrete Structures

Water Resources/ Environmental

• CEE 704 - Environmental & Water Systems
• CEE 707 - Life Cycle Assessment
• CEE 709 - Numerical Methods in Mechanics
• CEE 712 - Advanced Hazardous Waste Management
• CEE 750 - Urban Runoff Quality and Control
• CEE 751 - Water Reuse Principles and Design
• CEE 752 - Applied Environmental and Analytical Chemistry
• CEE 754 - Biochemical Wastewater Treatment Fundamentals
• CEE 755 - Advanced Physicochemical Methods for Water Treatment
• CEE 756 - Advanced Waste Treatment Design
• CEE 757 - Engineering Modeling of Natural Systems
• CEE 758 - Air Quality Modeling
• CEE 759 - Mass Transfer in Environmental Systems
• CEE 768 - Applied Geographic Information Systems

(Optional) Graduate Internship and Seminar Courses - Credits: 1 - 3

Students that opt to engage in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) must take 1 credit of CEE 793. This course can be taken a maximum of 3 times during their studies. However, the credits will not be counted towards the degree.

CEE 798 can be taken a maximum of three credits. However, these credits will not be counted towards the degree.

• CEE 793 - Graduate Internship for PhD Civil & Environmental Engineering
• CEE 798 - Engineering & Construction Seminar

Dissertation Proposal Preparation - Credits: 6

• CEE 794 - Preparation of Dissertation Research Proposal

Dissertation - Credits: 12

• CEE 799 - Dissertation Research

Degree Requirements

1. Complete CEE 700 and 39 credits of advisor-approved elective graduate-level coursework.
2. A Doctoral Advisory Committee composed of at least five members of the UNLV graduate faculty is to be formed for the student. At least three of the committee members must be from tenured or tenure-track faculty of the CEEC Department and the fourth member from a related field. The fifth faculty member, the Graduate College Representative, is recommended by advisor/advisee and appointed by the Graduate College. It is strongly recommended that the Doctoral Advisory Committee collective expertise reflects the dissertation topic. The committee chair must be a tenured or tenure-track CEEC faculty from the area of expertise chosen for dissertation topic.
3. In addition to the coursework requirements,
   • A dissertation research proposal preparation (CEE 794) consisting of at least 6 credits is required with one of the outcomes being a research proposal defense.
   • A dissertation research (CEE 799) consisting of at least 12 credits is required with one of the outcomes being manuscripts written for a specific indexed conference or journal. Dissertation credits may not be used towards program elective credits.
4. At least 50% of the courses (600 and 700 level) within the total coursework must be from the College of Engineering.
5. At least 50% of the courses within the total coursework must be 700 level.
6. Students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.00. A course in which a grade of less than C was earned will not be considered for use toward the degree.
7. Students must take a doctoral qualifying exam including a written component prepared by the student's Doctoral Advisory committee. The committee shall provide the examination to the CEEC Department Graduate Coordinator who will administer the written qualifying exam for the CEEC Department on scheduled dates.
8. Students who have not passed the qualifying exam by their second attempt will be terminated from the Ph.D. program.
9. After passing the qualifying exam in one area of specialty, if the student moves to other area of specialty by changing the advisor, they must retake the qualifying exam in the new area of specialty chosen by the student.
10. After passing the qualifying exam, the doctoral student must pass a preliminary exam consisting of the preparation of a written proposal for the dissertation research followed by an oral defense of the proposal. The proposal must be approved by the student's Doctoral Advisory Committee.
11. All requirements for the PhD are met upon the satisfactory completion of the proposed research, the submission of a satisfactory dissertation, and the successful oral defense of the dissertation before the Doctoral Advisory Committee.

Graduation Requirements

The student must submit and successfully defend their dissertation by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.

After the dissertation defense, the student must electronically submit a properly formatted pdf copy of their dissertation to the Graduate College for format check. Once the dissertation format has been approved by the Graduate College, the student will submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest. Deadlines for dissertation defenses, format check submissions, and the final ProQuest submission can be found here.

Students may apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing their degree requirements. All required forms must be submitted to the graduate college via the Grad Rebel Gateway.

Plan Graduation Requirements

Refer to your subplan for Graduation Requirements.

Subplan 1: Post-Master's
Subplan 2: Post-Bachelor's

Documents/Downloads

Doctor of Philosophy - Civil and Environmental Engineering

• Plans of Study
• Syllabi
• Degree Worksheets
• Careers
• Graduate Handbooks
• Additional Downloads
• Related Links

Post-Bachelor's Track

• Plans of Study
• Syllabi
• Degree Worksheets
• Careers
• Graduate Handbooks
• Additional Downloads
• Related Links

Post-Master's Track

• Plans of Study
• Syllabi
• Degree Worksheets
• Careers
• Graduate Handbooks
• Additional Downloads
• Related Links

Contacts

Graduate Coordinator

Mohamed Kaseko, Ph.D.

Graduate Coordinator

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction offers a well-rounded education in areas ranging from environmental engineering to water resources. Our mission is to develop and advance knowledge, serve the community and the profession in civil and environmental engineering, and prepare students to stand out in the competitive workforce and excel in industry.

Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering

The College of Engineering provides students a well-rounded foundation in several engineering disciplines for a successful career in engineering and computer science. Through the hands-on, experiential education experience we offer, students are enabled to achieve excellence in their respective fields.