The Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering requires 24 hours of course work, plus 2 one-hour seminars beyond the Masters Degree, or 36 hours of course work, plus 2 one-hour seminars if student has a Bachelors degree only.
The student first begins as a pre-PhD student until they pass the Qualifying Examination, they are then Ph.D. students. Once the student passes the Candidacy Exam, they are considered Ph.D. Candidates. During the period of study, the students are expected to carry out original research, which must be written up in a dissertation and defended before a committee.
Generally, Ph.D. students are offered financial aid in the form of teaching and/or research assistantship. Financial support includes medical insurance and qualifies the student for the lower, Texas-Resident Tuition. A tuition scholarship may also be awarded that covers up to nine hours of tuition per semester.
Ph.D. Course Requirements
The following are minimum requirements that may be exceeded in any case:
- Course requirements:
- M.S. to Ph.D.— A total of at least 24-credit hours of course work (8 courses) beyond the M.S. (excluding prerequisites and remedial courses) is required for the Ph.D. degree. A minimum of 12 hours of credit (4 graduate-level courses) in Civil Engineering Courses in the student’s major and supporting areas. No Civil Engineering course with a grade of less than a "B-" shall count within the degree program and a maximum of six hours of courses outside Civil Engineering with a grade of "C+" shall be counted within the degree program.
- B.S. to Ph.D.— A total of at least 36-credit hours of course work (12 courses) (excluding prerequisites and remedial courses) is required for you going directly from the B.S. degree to the Ph.D. degree. A minimum of 18 hours of credit (6 graduate-level courses) in Civil Engineering Courses in the student's major and supporting areas. No Civil Engineering course with a grade of less than a "B-" shall count within the degree program and a maximum of six hours of courses outside Civil Engineering with a grade of "C+" shall be counted within the degree program.
- Two seminars: CIVE 6111
- At least 30-credit hours in research and dissertation; this includes a minimum of 18 Ph.D. research hours (any combination of CIVE 8198 through 8598) and a minimum of 12 hours of dissertation hours (any combination of CIVE 8399, 8699, or 8999).
- Pass the qualifying examination (See the qualifying exam policy).
- Pass the research proposal examination (at the time to form the dissertation committee)
- Achieve a final GPA of at least 3.25/4.0 over all courses attempted in the Ph.D. program.
- Successfully defend a dissertation
Additional important information related to the Civil PhD program can be found by clicking here.