Program Overview

Irrigation Engineering - PhD

The irrigation engineering program at USU has long been recognized as the best program of its kind in the nation, and possibly the world. Many of the prominent irrigation engineers in the United States and around the world are graduates of the USU program, and the program's faculty continues a tradition of leadership in international development projects in several dozen countries across the globe. Projects have been conducted in Latin America, the Caribbean region, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

About This Degree

At USU, irrigation engineering students are exposed to classroom instruction, laboratory work in hydraulics, remote-sensing, and more. They also have the opportunity to conduct field work. Students may study in the following areas:

• Integrated Water Management: In this area, students study a broad range of topics related to irrigation, including the use of treated wastewater in irrigation, conjunctive use of surface and ground water, water policy, training tools for improving water management, and many others.
  • Topics include:
    • Use of treated wastewater in irrigation
    • Conjunctive use of surface and ground water
    • Water policy
    • Training tools for improving water management
• Crop Water Requirements: Students studying crop water requirements focus on the evapotranspiration (ET) of agricultural crops and other vegetation based on weather station instrumentation and or lysimeter measurements or flux systems, such as eddy covariance and Bowen ratio.
  • Topics include:
    • Evapotranspiration (ET) of agricultural crops
    • Weather station instrumentation
    • Lysimeter measurements
    • Flux systems
• Irrigation System Operation and Maintenance: This area focuses on the operation and maintenance of irrigation systems, which sometimes includes organizational development and institutional strengthening of water users' associations.
  • Topics include:
    • Specific procedures
    • Operational plans
    • Maintenance plans
    • Irrigation system administration
• Remote Sensing and Spatial Apps: This is the application of ground-based, airborne, and satellite remote-sensing technologies with Geographical Information Systems for evapotranspiration estimation, irrigation system mapping, crop identification, crop yield estimation, water balance and efficiency estimations, and many others.
  • Topics include:
    • Evapotranspiration estimation
    • Irrigation system mapping
    • Crop identification
    • Crop yield estimation
• On-farm Irrigation Methods: Students will learn to design and evaluate on-farm irrigation methods, including surface (furrows, borders, and basins) and pressurized (sprinkler and micro-irrigation) methods.
  • Topics include:
    • Surface irrigation methods
    • Pressurized irrigation methods
    • Design and evaluation of on-farm irrigation methods

Program Requirements

PhD Qualifying Exams

PhD qualifying exams are written exams on subject areas related to the student's dissertation research topic, usually administered by the student's graduate committee members. Qualifying exams are usually taken after the student has completed most or all of the coursework in their program of study. If the student has a sufficiently high GPA, the committee can recommend an oral exam at a committee meeting in lieu of a written exam, or the committee may require the exam in both oral and written formats. If the student is the main author of a significant research grant proposal, or has published at least one refereed journal article on his or her research topic while at USU, the qualifying exams may be waived by the committee.

Plan Options

Students can receive the MS or the ME by pursuing one of three options:

• MS Plan A: Students complete graduate-level coursework, are involved in research, and must write a thesis.
• MS Plan B: Students complete graduate-level coursework, work on a project, and are required to produce a report.
• ME Plan C: This option does not involve a thesis or a defense meeting and is comprised of coursework only.

Admission Requirements

Students without civil and environmental engineering backgrounds may be required to complete select undergraduate courses prior to admission as a graduate student. This is determined by the committee on a case-to-case basis. Application requirements include:

• Completing the online application
• Paying the application fee
• Scoring at or above the 40th percentile on the GRE
• Having a 3.0 or higher GPA on the last 60 semester or 90 quarter credits
• Providing transcripts of all college/university credits
• Providing three contacts for letters of recommendation International students have additional admissions requirements.

Deadlines

The department has the following application deadlines:

• Fall semester: March 15 for full financial consideration, final application deadline is May 15
• Spring semester: October 15

Career and Outcomes

Career Opportunities

Graduates in irrigation engineering work primarily in the following careers:

• Irrigation system design, construction, and installation
• Consulting and technical advising
• Teaching and training
• Research Irrigation engineers also perform various projects, including:
• Designing farm irrigation and drainage systems
• Designing irrigation conveyance, distribution, and drainage systems
• Managing the operation and maintenance of irrigation systems
• Developing manuals on operation, design, and evaluation
• Evaluating and analyzing the performance of irrigation systems
• Building irrigation and drainage systems
• Designing and building center pivots, linear moves, and other pressurized systems
• On-farm irrigation system sales
• Developing and applying flow measurement methods and devices
• Developing automation techniques, devices, and systems
• Developing and applying mathematical models
• Developing and applying remote sensing technologies
• Management transfer of irrigation projects to farmer organizations
• Training farmers, technicians, engineers, and others working with irrigation systems
• Teaching irrigation engineering courses
• Performing research in irrigation engineering
• Agricultural extension
• Providing guidance to environmental preservation efforts and water sharing
• Managing fresh-water resources
• Helping develop irrigation development policies
• Working on agricultural development projects