Program Overview

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Civil Engineering, Ph.D.

Overview

The Department of Civil Engineering offers programs of coursework and research leading to the Master of Science, Master of Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy in various fields, including environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, and water resources engineering.

Admission Information

Admission to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Application and Admission Procedures are found in the Academic Guide. Admission requirements for doctoral students are found in the Doctor of Philosophy General Regulations section of the Guide.

Civil Engineering Ph.D. Admission Requirements

Admission to the Ph.D. program is normally from the Master's degree level, i.e., M.Eng. or M.Sc. Students in a Master's program who have achieved an average GPA of 4.0 in their last 60 credit hours of undergraduate studies may be allowed to transfer to the PhD program without being required to write a Master's thesis provided they meet the following conditions:

• Completion of 6 graduate courses (18 credits) with a grade of A or better in each;
• Satisfactory progress in the research program;
• Written recommendation from the supervisor, the thesis advisory committee, and a selection committee (appointed by the head);
• Approval by the department and Faculty of Graduate Studies.

The transfer must take place within 20 months of initial registration in the Master's program. Following transfer, all the requirements of the doctoral program apply, including the completion of an additional 12 credit hours at the 7000 level.

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. program consists of coursework, original research, and thesis. A minimum of 12 credit hours of coursework (all at the 7000 level) is required beyond the Master's degree or its equivalent. The program of study must be approved by the student's advisor, the advisory committee, and the Department Head.

It is the department's policy that graduate students shall take at least 6 credit hours in their core area of research within Civil Engineering with no more than 6 credit hours of graduate level courses from one professor.

Expected Time to Graduate

4 years

Progression Chart

All students must register in GRAD 8020 each term (Fall, Winter & Summer) as long as they are in the program.

• Year 1:
  • GRAD 7300: Research Integrity Tutorial (0 credits)
  • GRAD 7500: Academic Integrity Tutorial (must be completed first term) (0 credits)
  • COURSE 7XXX: Courses designated 7000 level or above (12 credits)
  • GRAD 8010: Doctoral Candidacy Examination (0 credits)
• Year 2:
  • GRAD 8000: Doctoral Thesis (0 credits)
• Years 3-4:
  • GRAD 8000: Doctoral Thesis (0 credits)

Registration Information

Students should familiarize themselves with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies 'GRAD' courses applicable to their program.

Regulations

Students must meet the requirements as outlined in both Supplementary Regulation and BFAR documents as approved by Senate.

Supplementary Regulations

Individual units may require specific requirements above and beyond those of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and students should consult unit supplementary regulations for these specific regulations.

Bona Fide Academic Requirements (BFAR)

Bona Fide Academic Requirements (BFAR) represent the core academic requirements a graduate student must acquire in order to gain, and demonstrate acquisition of, essential knowledge and skills.

All students must successfully complete:

• GRAD 7300 prior to applying to any ethics boards which are appropriate to the student's research or within the student's first year, whichever comes first;
• GRAD 7500 within the first term of registration;

unless these courses have been completed previously.

Courses

Civil Engineering

• CIVL 7010: Modern Railway Engineering (3 credits)
• CIVL 7040: Analysis and Design of Freight Transport Systems (3 credits)
• CIVL 7050: Transportation Engineering in Developing Regions (3 credits)
• CIVL 7060: Analysis and Design of Passenger Transport Systems (3 credits)
• CIVL 7090: Water Resources Systems (3 credits)
• CIVL 7100: Prestressed Concrete (3 credits)
• CIVL 7140: Structural Masonry (3 credits)
• CIVL 7190: Solid Mechanics (3 credits)
• CIVL 7200: Topics in Environmental Engineering (3 credits)
• CIVL 7210: Solid Waste Composting and Disposal (3 credits)
• CIVL 7260: Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Members (3 credits)
• CIVL 7300: Use of Fibre-Reinforced Polymers (FRP) in Structural Design (3 credits)
• CIVL 7340: Sustainability in Construction (3 credits)
• CIVL 7350: Topics in Advanced Structural Engineering (3 credits)
• CIVL 7360: Landslides and Slope Failures: Identification, Causes, and Control (3 credits)
• CIVL 7370: Advanced Construction Management (3 credits)
• CIVL 7400: Finite Element Method in Engineering Mechanics (3 credits)
• CIVL 7430: Special Topics in Geotechnical Engineering (3 credits)
• CIVL 7450: Soil Properties and Behaviour (3 credits)
• CIVL 7460: Geotechnical Design with Geosynthetics (3 credits)
• CIVL 7480: Soils Engineering (3 credits)
• CIVL 7610: Special Topics in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (3 credits)
• CIVL 7650: Selected Topics in Water-Resources Development (3 credits)
• CIVL 7652: River Ice Engineering (3 credits)
• CIVL 7654: Advanced Hydraulics (3 credits)
• CIVL 7656: Advanced Fluid Mechanics (3 credits)
• CIVL 7658: Computational Hydraulics (3 credits)
• CIVL 7660: River Engineering (3 credits)
• CIVL 7680: Soil/Ground Improvement Techniques (3 credits)
• CIVL 7700: Water Resources Planning (3 credits)
• CIVL 7710: Coastal Hydraulics (3 credits)
• CIVL 7720: Groundwater and Solute Transport Modelling (3 credits)
• CIVL 7730: Groundwater Engineering (3 credits)
• CIVL 7740: Special Topics in Hydrology (3 credits)
• CIVL 7750: Advanced Civil Engineering Systems (3 credits)
• CIVL 7760: Recent Developments in Bridge Engineering and Structural Health Monitoring (3 credits)
• CIVL 7770: Hydrological Processes (3 credits)
• CIVL 7776: Advanced Concrete Technology (3 credits)
• CIVL 7778: Durability of Concrete (3 credits)
• CIVL 7780: Advanced Behaviour and Design of Steel Structures (3 credits)
• CIVL 7790: Pavement Evaluation and Performance (3 credits)
• CIVL 7800: Design of Light Industrial Steel Buildings (3 credits)
• CIVL 7810: Flow and Transport in Fractured Rock (3 credits)
• CIVL 7820: Operational Hydrology (3 credits)
• CIVL 7840: Traffic Systems Analysis (3 credits)
• CIVL 7850: Advanced Structural Dynamics (3 credits)
• CIVL 7870: Advanced Engineering Analysis (3 credits)
• CIVL 7920: Theory of Water Treatment (3 credits)
• CIVL 7930: Theory of Waste Treatment (3 credits)
• CIVL 7950: Environmental Engineering Laboratory (3 credits)
• CIVL 7960: Environmental Engineering Design (3 credits)
• CIVL 7990: Special Topics in Transportation (3 credits)