Graduate Program

Director of Graduate Program
Dr. John Stormont
jcstorm@unm.edu

Degrees Offered

The Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering offers the following graduate programs:

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.)
Concentration: Entrepreneurship and Technology Management.
Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering (M.Eng.)
Master of Construction Management (M.C.M.)
Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering (Ph.D.)
Concentrations: Architectural Engineering; Civil Engineering

Persons with a bachelor’s degree in a field other than civil engineering may be admitted to the graduate program, but they may be required to take undergraduate civil engineering courses to eliminate deficiencies in their background. Each case is considered individually.

Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program

Undergraduate students in the School of Engineering may seek admission to the M.S. in Civil Engineering or the M.Eng. in Civil Engineering under the Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program. See the School of Engineering section of this Catalog for specific admission information and requirements.

Dual Degree Program

Master of Construction Engineering and Master of Business Administration: The Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering department and the Anderson School of Management offer a Dual Degree Program leading to the M.C.M. and the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.). See the Graduate and Professional Dual Degree Programs section of this Catalog.

Interdisciplinary Programs

Computational Science and Engineering: The Computational Science and Engineering interdisciplinary graduate certificate program prepares students to effectively use high-performance computing within their disciplines and is open to graduate students in this department. See the School of Engineering section of this Catalog.

Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering: This department participates in the interdisciplinary Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering M.S. and Ph.D. programs; for more information, see the Graduate Interdisciplinary Studies section of this Catalog.

Admission Information

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required of all applicants for graduate study in Civil Engineering. The Master of Construction Management requires either the GRE or the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). The Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering requires either the GRE or evidence of passage of the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. See the department Web site for more information about applying to the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering graduate programs.

Application Deadlines

	Domestic Students	International Students
Fall semester:	July 15	March 1
Spring semester:	November 10	August 1
Summer session:	April 29	January 1

Applicants wishing to be considered for funding, including fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships should submit their applications by February 1. Early application is recommended.

Master of Science in Civil Engineering

The Master of Science (M.S.) in Civil Engineering student may take courses in construction engineering, environmental engineering, hydraulics, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering/ structural mechanics, transportation or water resources. The primary difference between the M.S. degree and the M.Eng. degree is that the M.S. degree is Plan I (Thesis Option) which requires a written thesis and an oral defense. Masters students financially supported as Teaching or Research Assistants usually complete an M.S. degree.

Requirements

30 credit hours total, plus 2 credit hours of CE 691 (Seminar).
A minimum of 24 credit hours of coursework.
6 credit hours of CE 599 (Master’s Thesis).
A maximum 6 credit hours of Problems and Independent Study courses.
A minimum 9 credit hours of 500-level courses.
A maximum 12 credit hours taken in non-degree status.
General University of New Mexico limits, including transfer credit, coursework from a single professor and time of completion.
No credit is allowed for experiential learning.

Concentration in Entrepreneurship and Technology Management: For information and requirements, see the School of Engineering section of this Catalog.

Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering

The Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Civil Engineering degree is offered under Plan III (Coursework Only) with a focus on professional practice. Graduate study leading to the M.Eng. in Civil Engineering is offered within, or by combining, six focus areas of civil engineering: construction engineering, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering and material science, transportation engineering, and water resources and hydraulic engineering.

Requirements

33 credit hours of graduate coursework.
15 credit hours of practice-oriented civil engineering classes.
12 additional credit hours of coursework that supports the student's area of interest.
6 additional credit hours that advance the student's management skill set.
A maximum of 12 credit hours can be taken in transfer and/or in non-degree graduate student status.
At least 18 credit hours must be numbered 500 or higher.
Not more than 15 credit hours can be taken from a single instructor.
General UNM limits, including transfer credit, coursework from a single professor, and time of completion.

Master of Construction Management

The Master of Construction Management (M.C.M.) program is designed to accommodate students with interest or experience in all aspects and sectors of the construction industry. Prospective students need not have an undergraduate degree in engineering; rather, they are more likely to have a degree from a related field such as management or architecture. Many classes are offered either online or in the late afternoon/early evening to accommodate practicing professionals.

It is expected that all students in the M.C.M. program complete the Project Option (Plan II) or the Coursework Option (Plan III). Under certain circumstances, students showing exceptional research skills are allowed to complete the Thesis Option (Plan I). Students wishing to complete the Thesis Option should consult their advisor early in their program.

Thesis Option (Plan I)

30 credit hours total.
6 credit hours of CE 599 (Master’s Thesis).
A maximum 6 credit hours Problems and Independent Study courses.
A minimum 9 credit hours of 500-level courses.
A maximum 12 credit hours taken in non-degree status.

Project Option (Plan II)

33 credit hours total.
3 credit hours of CE 588 (Master’s Project).
A maximum 6 credit hours of Problems.
A minimum 12 credit hours of 500-level courses.
A maximum 12 credit hours taken in non-degree status.

Coursework Only Option (Plan III)

30 credit hours total.
A maximum 6 credit hours of Problems.
A minimum 12 credit hours of 500-level courses.
A maximum 12 credit hours taken in non-degree status.

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering

General requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree are given in the Graduate Program section of this Catalog. In addition, students must take a distribution of graduate courses that support their dissertation research.

Architectural Engineering Concentration

The Architectural Engineering concentration is offered in cooperation with the Architecture or Landscape Architecture departments in the School of Architecture and Planning. See the School of Architecture and Planning: Architecture and the School of Architecture and Planning: Landscape Architecture sections of this Catalog for course information. In addition to the general University doctoral degree general requirements, students pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering with a concentration in Architectural Engineering must meet the following criteria:

Choose an emphasis and complete its associated core course requirements.
Complete 2 credit hours of CE 691 Graduate Seminar.

The areas of emphasis are:

Architectural and Structural Engineering: CE 501; CE 511 or 524; ARCH 634; ARCH 635.
Landscape Architecture and Water Resources: CE 541; CE 542; LA 556; LA 563.

Qualifying Examination: The Ph.D. qualifying examination will consist of both written and oral components and is intended to examine the student's preparedness for graduate work at the advanced level. This test is typically an eight hour written exam followed within nominally ten days by an oral exam that lasts between two and three hours. The qualifying exam committee will consist of four members and will include at least 2 department faculty members and at least 1 faculty member from the Architecture or Landscape Architecture departments.

Committee On Studies: The Committee on Studies (COS) will serve as the students’ doctoral comprehensive examination committee and their dissertation committee. The COS will consist of at least four faculty members, of whom at least two, including the committee Chair, must be full-time Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering faculty members. At least one faculty member on the COS must be from the Architecture or Landscape Architecture departments. The COS must be approved by both the department Graduate Program Director and the Architecture or Landscape Architecture Department Chair.

Application for Candidacy: The COS will meet with the candidate to plan and approve the program of coursework, including leveling courses as needed. All COS members must be present at this meeting. The candidate will draft an Application for Candidacy form and submit it to the COS for approval. The full COS, the department Graduate Program Director, the Architecture or Landscape Architecture Department Chair, and Graduate Studies must approve the Application for Candidacy form. The signed and approved Application for Candidacy form formally establishes the requirements that the student must complete in order to receive the Ph.D. in Engineering.

Comprehensive Examination: When the candidate has substantially completed the coursework indicated on the approved Application for Candidacy form, the candidate will take the Comprehensive Exam. Students will submit a written dissertation proposal to the Comprehensive Examination Committee (CEC) one month before the exam. It is suggested that the proposal should be supplemented with visual content created by the student to demonstrate important concepts the student intends to explore. CEC members will prepare written examination questions related to the proposal to examine the student’s preparation for the proposed work. The student will be given the written exam questions and asked to prepare a written response, with visual content created by the student if appropriate. The oral exam will consist of the student providing a brief presentation summarizing their proposed dissertation research. The CEC will follow the presentation with oral exam questions related to the student’s research.

Dissertation Hours: The Ph.D. in Engineering requires a minimum of 18 credit hours of CE 699 Dissertation. Dissertation enrollment may not begin before the semester in which the Comprehensive Examination is passed. Enrollment for dissertation may be for 3, 6, 9, or 12 credit hours per semester, with 9 credit hours the maximum in the summer session. Continuous enrollment for dissertation is expected in subsequent semesters (exclusive of summer terms) after initial enrollment until the dissertation is accepted by Graduate Studies.

Dissertation Content and Format: A dissertation must reflect original and significant scientific study meriting publications in leading journals. It is expected the dissertation should also include design or analytical visualization strategies comparable in quality to graduate architecture or landscape architecture work. The Graduate Studies Manuscript Coordinator arranges workshops on the “preparation of a dissertation.” Contact Graduate Studies for more information.

Dissertation Defense: The Ph.D. dissertation must be defended before the student's Dissertation Committee. The Dissertation Committee will consist of at least four members approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies for committee service:

At least two members must hold regular, full-time, tenure or tenure-track faculty appointments in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering department.
At least one member must hold regular, full-time, tenure or tenure-track faculty appointments in the Architecture or Landscape Architecture departments.
The Dissertation Director must hold a regular, full-time faculty appointment in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering department or must be employed in the department with the title of: Research Professor, Research Associate Professor, or Research Assistant Professor. Usually, this individual is the student’s major advisor.
One member may be a recognized expert in the field if other requirements for committee composition are met.

The student must notify the department Graduate Programs Director and the Architecture or Landscape Architecture Department Chair at least two weeks before the dissertation defense is held and no later than November 1 and April 1 for students expecting to graduate in the fall and spring semesters, respectively. The student must provide each member of the Dissertation Committee with a complete copy of the dissertation in ample time for review prior to the examination. The student must provide the department with an announcement of the defense which includes an abstract of the dissertation that is suitable for posting on department bulletin boards.

Final Dissertation Approval: The candidate must revise the dissertation as instructed by the Dissertation Committee. The Committee Chair must confirm that the dissertation is in final form, and Graduate Studies must approve the Dissertation format.

Civil Engineering Concentration

In addition to the general University doctoral degree general requirements, students pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering with a concentration in Civil Engineering must meet the following criteria:

Choose an emphasis and complete its associated core course requirements.
Complete 2 credit hours of CE 691 Graduate Seminar.

The areas of emphasis are:

Construction Engineering and Management: CE 577; MGMT 502 or 503; STAT **345.
Environmental Engineering: CE 531, 534, 536.
Water Resources Engineering: CE 541, 542, 545, 547.
Structural Engineering and Mechanics: CE 501, 502, 562.
Transportation: CE 581, 582.

Equivalent graduate-level courses taken at another institution may be used to satisfy some requirements, but this must be decided on a case-by-case basis by the Graduate Advisor or Graduate Committee in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering department.

Examinations

Candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy degree with a concentration in Civil Engineering must demonstrate a competence in basic areas of the field by satisfactorily completing the departmental qualifying examination. Doctoral students must take the qualifying exam during their first or second semester as a Ph.D. student. After a student has substantially completed his/her coursework, the prospective candidate takes a comprehensive exam to demonstrate an ability to conduct Ph.D.-level research. A student is advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree after satisfactory completion of the comprehensive examination with approval of the doctoral committee, submission of the Application for Candidacy, and approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies. The Application to Candidacy is submitted to Graduate Studies by the end of the semester in which the Comprehensive Exam is passed. The Ph.D. Dissertation must be defended in an oral examination before the student’s Dissertation Committee.

Keys and Symbols Reference