Doctor of Philosophy Degree Requirements
The doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree program has two components: (1) the course work component, and (2) the research component. The course work component requires a qualifying examination early in the Ph.D. program and not less than 60 semester credits of course work (beyond the bachelor's degree) approved by the student's committee. After successfully completing the qualifying exam, the student may concentrate on the remaining course work and the research planning leading to the preliminary examination, the doctoral research, dissertation preparation, and the final defense. Specific requirements are as follows:
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A minimum of 72 semester credits of approved course work and research beyond the B.S. degree is required, at least 24 of which must be in regular graduate-level civil engineering courses. (Regular graduate-level civil engineering courses are those with a CE prefix which are numbered 500 and above with the last two digits from 00 through 82). A master's degree from an approved university may he accepted for 30 credits.
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A minimum of 32 credits must be earned at Colorado State University after admission to the doctoral program.
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A minimum of 21 semester credits beyond the M.S. degree or 37 semester credits beyond the B.S. degree must be earned in graduate level courses (500 and above).
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A qualifying examination (oral and/or written at the discretion of the student's committee) must be passed (department requirement).
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A preliminary examination must be passed.
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A dissertation must be written. Up to 12 credits may be applied to a combination of dissertation research (CE799), supervised college teaching (CE584 or 684), and seminar (CE592).
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A final defense must be successfully conducted.
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Refer to the Research Publication Policy below.
Research Publication Policy
- Candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Civil Engineering, before scheduling their final defense, must have had the results of their research submitted for publication to refereed journal of international prominence. The paper(s) may be co-authored, but the candidate must be first (principal or senior) author of at least one paper.
