Civil and Environmental Engineering
Application to the Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering programs is open to qualified graduates of universities and colleges of recognized standing. In addition to the Graduate School admission requirements, the applicant must have adequate preparation in civil engineering. A Master’s degree in civil engineering is preferred for applicants to the Ph.D. program.
Financial Assistance
Research and/or teaching assistantships may be available. Applicants are considered based on scholarship, potential to undertake advanced study and research, and financial need. To be considered for an assistantship, a completed Graduate School application, official transcripts, and three letters of reference (and English test results for international applicants) must be submitted to the Graduate School.
For teaching assistantships, refer to the English tests and additional requirements for eligibility
In addition to the stipend, graduate assistants receive a graduate tuition waiver. Tuition waivers cover base tuition for NDSU graduate credits only. Students are responsible for differential tuition, student fees, and tuition for non-graduate level credits taken or Cooperative Education credits.
Master of Science
The Master of Science degree is a Plan A - Master's Thesis option. This format emphasizes research, the ability to analyze and interpret data, and to prepare a scholarly thesis. The student and adviser develop a program of study consisting of at least 30 credit hours of graduate level material to meet individual educational goals. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better is required. An oral defense of the research-based thesis is required.
Accelerated Master's Program
Curriculum for the Accelerated (4+1) program
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| *Required Courses | 12 | |
| Management/Business/Communication | 5 | |
| Leadership in Organization | ||
CE 740 | (**) | |
| Pavement Evaluation and Rehabilitation (**) | ||
| Scheduling and Project Control | ||
| Infrastructure Management | ||
| Communication Theory | ||
| Theories of Persuasion | ||
| Information Resources Management | ||
| Natural Resources Management Planning | ||
| Engineering Tool | 6 | |
| Finite Element Analysis | ||
| Computational Methods for Engineering (**) | ||
| Machine Learning for Engineers | ||
| Remote Sensing of the Environment | ||
| Quality Assurance and Control | ||
| Total Quality In Industrial Management | ||
| Reliability Engineering | ||
| Data Analysis | ||
| Advanced Engineering Analysis | ||
| Applied Regression Models | ||
| Applied Regression and Analysis of Variance | ||
| CE 790 | Graduate Seminar | 1 |
| CE 798 | Master's Thesis | 6 |
| *Focus Area Courses - Select at least 12 credits from one of the following focus areas. | 12 | |
| Focus Area 1 - Civil Infrastructure | ||
| Structure | ||
| CE 611 | Design of Pre-stressed Concrete | 2 |
| CE 625 | Bridge Evaluation and Rehabilitation | 3 |
| CE 630 | Timber and Form Design | 3 |
| CE 645 | Advanced Steel Design | 2 |
| CE 646 | Basic Dynamics of Structures | 3 |
| CE 647 | Stability of Structures | 3 |
| CE 720 | Continuum Mechanics | 3 |
| CE 793 | Individual Study/Tutorial (Deep Learning for Engineers) | 2 |
| CM&E 665 | Bridge Engineering and Management | 3 |
| Transportation | ||
| CE 619 | Pavement Design | 3 |
| CE 652 | Fundamentals of Oil & Gas Pipeline: Design, Operation, Inspection & Maintenance | 3 |
| CE 654 | Geometric Highway Design | 3 |
| CE 656 | Railroad Planning and Design | 3 |
| CE 782 | Introduction to Intelligent Infrastructure | 3 |
| Geotechnical | ||
| CE 617 | Slope Stability and Retaining Walls | 3 |
| CE 661 | Foundation Engineering | 3 |
| CE 662 | Designing with Geosynthetics | 2 |
| CE 663 | Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering | 3 |
| CE 664 | Advanced Soil Mechanics | 2 |
| Focus Area 2 - Water Environmental | ||
| Environmental | ||
| CE 610 | Water & Wastewater Engineering | 3 |
| CE 671 | Environmental Nanotechnology | 3 |
| CE 672 | Solid and Hazardous Waste Management | 3 |
| CE 673 | Air Pollution | 3 |
| CE 679 | Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment | 3 |
| CE 790 | Graduate Seminar (Small Community Water Supply and Sanitation) | 3 |
| CE 696 | Special Topics (Environmental Engineering Design) | 3 |
| Water Resources | ||
| CE 621 | Open Channel Flow | 3 |
| CE 674 | Groundwater Sustainability Design | 3 |
| CE 676 | Watershed Modeling | 3 |
| CE 677 | Applied Hydrology | 3 |
| CE 776 | Ground Water and Seepage | 3 |
| CE 793 | Individual Study/Tutorial (Advanced Fluid Mechanics) | 3 |
* The above course list will be updated as new courses are considered or to be offered.
** Courses can be taken either in Category A or B but cannot be double counted.
*** Courses to be developed when the program starts.
Doctor of Philosophy
The Doctor of Philosophy degree requires 90 credits beyond the baccalaureate degree in civil engineering with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (60 credits beyond an M.S. degree in Civil Engineering or a sub-area of Civil Engineering) for graduation. A dissertation supervisory committee should be formed and a plan of study be filed by the end of first year of study. A minimum of 30 hours of additional course work chosen by the student and the supervisory committee from appropriate existing Civil Engineering graduate courses, new courses, and courses outside the department must be completed.
An M.S. degree from another institution may substitute for up to 30 credits of the 90 credits required; however, suitability of transfer or use of courses and research credits in the plan of study would be decided by the adviser and supervisory committee.
A comprehensive preliminary examination is administered after completion of the greater portion of the course work. The committee chair will coordinate the examination. The format and duration will be determined by the committee. The student will present a research proposal within one year after the preliminary examination. A minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40 credit hours can be earned for research, preparation, and defense of a dissertation in Civil Engineering. A minimum of 12 credit hours in a minor or cognate area as deemed appropriate by the student and the supervisory committee may be completed by the student. The student will defend the dissertation in a final examination attended by the supervisory committee members and other academics.
FACULTY
Achintya N. Bezbaruah, Ph.D.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2002
Research Interests: Environmental Sensors, Recalcitrant and Micro Pollutants, Contaminant Fate and Transport, Small Community Water and Wastewater Treatment, Environmental Management
Xuefeng Chu, Ph.D.
University of California, Davis, 2002
Research Interests: Watershed Hydrologic and Environmental Modeling, Overland Flow and Infiltration, Integrated Modeling of Flow and Contaminant Transport
Surya Congress, Ph.D.
University of Texas at Arlington, 2018
Research Interests: Transportation Infrastructure, Design and Stabilization of Geo-Materials, Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Design and Monitoring, Site Characterization and Visualization Models, Slope Stabilization, Dam and Bridge Inspections, Airport Pavement Inspections, Artificial Intelligence, Image Analysis, Digital Twins, Disaster Response, Traffic Safety, and Smart City Concepts.
Ying Huang, Ph.D.
Missouri University of Science & Technology, 2012
Research Interests: Structural Health Monitoring/Smart Structures for Transportation Infrastructure, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Applications of Adaptive and Smart Materials, Finite Element Modeling and Multi-Hazard Assessment and Mitigation
Syeed Md Iskander, Ph.D.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2019
Research Interests: Sustainable Waste Management: Food Waste Treatment, Landfill Leachate Treatment, Environmental Health: Disinfection Byproducts, Antibiotic Resistance Genes, Microplastics, Water-Energy Nexus: Desalination, Membrane Fabrication, Advanced Oxidation, Environmental Biotechnology: Anaerobic Biotechnology, Bioelectrochemical Systems
Dinesh Katti, Ph.D., P.E.
University of Arizona, 1991
Research Interests: Geotechnical Engineering, Constitutive Modeling of Geologic Materials, Expansive Soils, Multiscale Modeling, Steered Molecular Dynamics, Computational Mechanics, Nanocomposite, and Bio-nanocomposites. Computational Biophysics
Kalpana Katti, Ph.D.
(Graduate Coordinator)
University of Washington, 1996
Research Interests: Advanced Composites, Nanomaterials, Biomaterials, Biomimetics, Materials Characterization and Modeling, Analytical Electron Microscopy, and Microspectroscopy, Bone Tissue engineering
Trung B. Le, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota
Research Interests: Hydraulics, Fluid Mechanics, Numerical Methods for Fluid-Structure Interaction
Zhibin Lin, Ph.D., P.E.
University of Wisconsin, 2010
Research Interests: Advanced Materials, High-Performance, Resilient and Sustainable Bridge Systems, Structural Durability and Structural Health Monitoring in Bridges and Earthquake Engineering
Kelly Rusch, Ph.D., P.E.
Louisiana State University, 1992
Research Interests: Microbial System Design and Modeling, Biofuels and Bioproducts, Engineering Education Research, Aquaculture Engineering, and Water and Wastewater Treatment.
David R. Steward, Ph.D., P.E., PG, F.ASCE
University of Minnesota
Research Interests: Engineering Mathematical and Computational Methods, Groundwater Flow and Analysis, Interdisciplinary Water Resources: Water and Society
Wenjie Xia, Ph.D.
Northwestern University, 2016
Research Interests: Multiscale Modeling of Structural Materials, Polymer and Nanocomposites, Granular and Soft Matters, Bioinspired Materials, Mechanobiology, Computational Mechanics, Data-Enabled Design of Multifunctional Materials
Jiale Xu, Ph.D.
State University of New York at Buffalo, 2020
Research Interests: Wastewater and Water Treatment, Wastewater Reuse, Photochemical Processes, Electrochemical and Membrane Technologies, and Disinfection Byproducts
Mijia Yang, Ph.D., P.E.
University of Akron, 2006
China University of Mining and Technology, 1999
Research Interests: Advanced Materials, Structural Assessment, Solid Mechanics
Adjunct & Emeritus
Ravi Kiran Yellavajjala, Ph.D. P.E. (adjunct)
University of Notre Dame, 2014
Interests: Experimental and Theoretical Mechanics, Constitutive Modeling of Materials, Numerical Methods, Sensitivity Analysis of Structural Response, Forensic Failure Analysis and Advanced Visualization Techniques.
Eakalak Khan, Ph.D. (adjunct)
University of California, Los Angeles, 1997
Research Interests: Water and Wastewater Quality, Water and Wastewater Treatment, and Storm Water and Non-point Source Pollution
Denver D. Tolliver, Ph.D. (adjunct)
Virginia Polytechnic University, 1989
Research Interests: Transportation, Planning and Economics
Robert Zimmerman, Ph.D. (adjunct)
North Dakota State University, 1991
Research Interests: Water and Wastewater Treatment, Solid Waste
G. Padmanabhan, Ph.D. (emeritus)
Purdue University, 1980
Research Interests: Stochastic Hydrology, Water Resource Systems, and Hydrologic Modeling