Academic Advising

Academic Advising

Undergraduate Academic Advisors

 

 

Major Advisor(s) Email Phone Location
Civil Engineering Dr. Mark A. Newman mark.newman@essie.ufl.edu (352) 294-7813 370C Weil Hall
Schedule an Advising Appointment
Civil Engineering George “Chip” Johnson chip.johnson@essie.ufl.edu (352)-294-6696 370A Weil Hall
Schedule an Advising Appointment
Civil Engineering Dr. Robert Thieke robert.thieke@essie.ufl.edu (352) 294-7783 370B Weil Hall
Schedule an Advising Appointment
Environmental Engineering Dr. Elliot Douglas elliot.douglas@essie.ufl.edu (352) 846-2836 217 Black Hall
Schedule an appointment
Environmental Engineering Barbi Jackson barbi.jackson@essie.ufl.edu (352) 392-8450 Schedule an

appointment

Academic Advisors are available to help you plan your program of study, resolve problems and provide valuable career guidance. Engineering students are required to meet with their Academic Advisors at least once per semester. Here’s how to keep the process simple and easy:

  • Check your Gatorlink e-mail account. We’ll send a message to let you know holds have been placed.
  • Complete the Academic Planning assignments on your First Year Engineering Canvas page.
  • Check Student Self Service to determine your registration date.
  • See your advisor BEFORE your registration time. Don’t wait until the last minute.

Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Program

Civil and Coastal Engineering


The Department of Civil & Coastal Engineering presently offers two variations of a Masters degree: the Master of Engineering (M.E.) and the Master of Science (M.S.). Effective Fall of 1999, the Department of Civil Engineering offers a combined B.S./Master program to qualified undergraduate students seeking M.S. or M.E. degrees.

In this program, qualified undergraduate students will be allowed to shorten the time required for their master’s degree by completing nine (9) credits of graduate level courses in their final two semesters of their B.S. program or when they have achieved a 5EG classification. The combined B.S./Master program will provide a fast track for qualified undergraduate students to obtain both their B.S. and Master degrees (e.g., M.S. or M.E. degrees), thereby allowing these students an earlier entrance to their professional careers. The program will provide incentive to encourage good undergraduate Civil Engineering students to pursue graduate education at the University of Florida.

To qualify for this program, students must complete a Combined Bachelors/Master Degree Program application, attain an upper division GPA of 3.30 at the time of graduation with the B.S. degree, and must satisfy the graduate school and departmental graduate admission requirements. The courses (maximum of 9 credits) that would be double-counted in the B.S. and Master programs must be graded graduate level courses offered by the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering (or by another acceptable department). The student must achieve a grade of ‘B’ or better in order for the courses to be transferred into the graduate degree program.

Students should complete 9 hours of graduate course work appropriate to their intended graduate area of study (see the pool of most common acceptable courses identified under the various graduate specialties in the table below). These courses will satisfy 9 of the 15 advanced undergraduate elective credits. All special requirements of the electives as outlined in the undergraduate catalog (capstone design, design and laboratory experience) must also be satisfied.

Combined Bachelors and Masters Degree “4-1 Program” for Civil Engineering Acceptable Course Substitutions for 4-1 Credit

(Other course substitutions may be possible – check with graduate faculty in area of interest)

 

Undergraduate Course
  
Graduate Course Substitution
Construction
CEG 4111 Foundation Design
CEG 5115 Foundation Design (F)
CEG 4104 Retaining Wall Design*
CEG 6515 Earth Retaining Walls* (S)
CGN 4503 Pavement Design*
CGN 6905 Pavement Design* (F,S)
Elective
CGN 6905 Building Codes* (S)
Elective
CGN 6155 Construction Engineering 1 (F)
Elective
CGN 5125 Legal Aspects Civ. Eng. (S)
Elective
CGN 6156 Construction Engineering 2 (S)
Elective
CCE 5035 Const. Planning and Sched. (F)
Elective
CGN 6150 Eng. Project Mgmt. (Summer)+
Elective
CES 6571 Design of Temp. Struct. (Summer)+
Elective
ARC 6912 LEEDs
Geotechnical
CEG 4111 Foundation Design
CEG 5115 Foundation Design (F)
CEG 4104 Retaining Wall Design*
CEG 6515 Earth Retaining Walls* (S)
CGN 4503 Pavement Design*
CGN 6905 Pavement Design* (F,S)
Hydrology and Water Resources
CWR 4114 Surface Hydrology*
CWR 6115 Surface Hydrology* (S)
CWR 4114 Surface Hydrology*
ENV 6932 Adv. Env. Hydrology 1* (F)
CWR 4120 Groundwater
CWR 5125 Groundwater Flow 1 (F)
Elective
CWR 5235 Open Channel Hydraulics (F)
Elective
EOC 5860 Port and Harbor Engineering (S)
Structures
CES 4704, CES 4608 or Elective
CES 5835 Masonry Design (S)
CES 4704, CES 4608 or Elective
CES 5715 Prestressed Concrete (S)
CES 4704, CES 4608 or Elective
CES 5325 Design of Highway Bridges (F)
CES 4704, CES 4608 or Elective
CES 5801 Timber Design (F)
Elective
CGN 6905 Building Codes* (S)
Elective
CES 6571 Design of Temp. Struct. (Summer)+
Transportation
TTE 4106 Urban Transp. Planning*
TTE 5006 Adv. Urban Transp. Plan.* (F)
TTE 4300 Transp. Systems Analysis*
TTE 5305 Adv. Transp. Systems* (F)
TTE 4201 Traffic Engineering*
TTE 5256 Traffic Engineering* (S)+
TTE 4203 Highway Capacity Analysis*
TTE 6207 Highway Capacity Analysis* (F)+
CGN 4503 Pavement Design*
CGN 6905 Pavement Design* (F)
Elective
CGN 5606 Public Works Management (F)
Elective
CGN 5605 Public Works Planning (S)

* These courses are “dual-listed”: parallel undergraduate and graduate sections are dual-taught in the same lecture room.

+ These courses are also offered online through the EDGE program

Environmental Engineering Sciences

The Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences presently offers two variations of a Masters degree: the Master of Engineering (M.E.) and the Master of Science (M.S.). Effective Fall of 1999, the Department of Environmental Engineering offers a combined B.S./Master program to qualified undergraduate students seeking M.S. or M.E. degrees.

In this program, qualified undergraduate students will be allowed to shorten the time required for their master’s degree by completing twelve (12) credits of graduate level courses in their final two semesters of their B.S. program or when they have achieved a 5EG classification. The combined B.S./Master program will provide a fast track for qualified undergraduate students to obtain both their B.S. and Master degrees (e.g., M.S. or M.E. degrees), thereby allowing these students an earlier entrance to their professional careers. The program will provide incentive to encourage good undergraduate Environmental Engineering students to pursue graduate education at the University of Florida.

To qualify for this program, students must complete a Combined Bachelors/Master Degree Program application, attain an upper division GPA of 3.30 at the time of application. Student must still apply for and satisfy the graduate school and departmental graduate admission requirements for their Master program. The courses (maximum of 12 credits) that would be double-counted in the B.S. and Master programs must be graded graduate level courses offered by the Department of Environmental Engineering (or by another acceptable department). The student must achieve a grade of ‘B’ or better in order for the courses to be transferred into the graduate degree program.

Undergraduate Course Substitution
Graduate Course Substitution
EES 3008 Energy and Environment
EES 6007 Adv. Energy and Environment
EES 4005C Ecological Engineering
EES 6307 Advanced Energy and Environment
EES 4050 Envir. Planning and Design
EES 6051 Adv. Envir. Planning & Design
EES 4102 Wastewater Microbiology
EES 5105 Adv. Wastewater Microbiology
EES 4103 Applied Ecology
EES 5315 Ecology and the Environment
EES 4201 Water Chemistry
EES 6208 Principles of Water Chemistry 1
EMA 4353 Sustainable Nanotechnology
EES 6425 Environmental Nanotechnology
ENV 4101 Elements of Atmospheric Pollution
ENV 5105 Foundations of Air Pollution
ENV 4121 Air Pollution Control Design
ENV 6126 Air Pollution Control Design
ENV 4300 Solid Waste Containment Design
ENV 6301 Adv. Solid Waste Containment Des.
ENV 4351 Solid/Hazardous Waste
ENV5306 Municipal Refuse Disposal
ENV4353 Solid Waste System Design
ENV 6932 Solid Waste System Design
ENV 4411 Stormwater Control Systems
ENV 6416 Adv. Stormwater Control Systems
ENV4430C Water Treatment Process Design
ENV6435C Adv. Water Treatment Process Des.
ENV 4432 Potable Water Systems Design
ENV 6438 Adv. Potable Water Systems Design
ENV 4501 Env Hydrology I
CWR 6116 Adv. Env Hydrology 1
ENV 4514C Water and Wastewater Treatment
ENV 6932 Water and Wastewater Treatment
ENV 4532 Wastewater Systems Design
ENV 6437 Adv. Wastewater Systems Design

ADVANCE REGISTRATION HOLDS

Engineering students must meet with their Academic Advisors before they can register for classes. Registration holds will be lifted by the advisors, provided that all requirements are met. Plan to see your advisor well in advance of the registration time assigned to you. Honors students must have their holds removed prior to honors registration to register for honors classes.

graduate Administration

Department Contact(s) Title Phone Location
ESSIE Ms. Nancy McIlrath Graduate Academic Coordinator (352) 294-7801 370C Weil Hall
Environmental Engineering Dr. Elliot Douglas Department Head and Grad Coordinator (352) 846-2836 217 Black Hall
Schedule an appointment
Email
Civil & Coastal Engineering Dr. Dennis R. Hiltunen ESSIE EDGE Program Director and Graduate Coordinator (352) 294-7767 265J Weil Hall

At the graduate level, students are advised by the faculty in their chosen department and/or within a specific specialization area if it applies. Graduate students generally take 9 credits per semester during the Fall and Spring and 6 credits in the summer. Graduate level courses are always ###5000 or higher. For work outside the major, courses numbered 3000 or above (not to exceed 6 credits) may be taken if they are part of an approved plan of study. There are some exceptions to this so check with the appropriate personnel under ESSIE Graduate Administration for clarification.

All Graduate students are required to complete a program plan of study (PPS) form. This form includes supervisory committee information (for Master’s thesis, PhD students or if a minor is selected) and all of the courses that a student will take throughout the degree program.. If a student has graduate-level coursework completed outside of the current UF degree program (from an outside institution, as part of the UF 4/1 program, taken as a non-degree student or was taken as an undergraduate but did not count toward bachelor’s degree requirements and the grade(s) was a B or higher, the request to transfer the coursework into the UF degree program is indicated on this form. This transfer of credit request is typically processed during the semester when the program plan is submitted. The student should check his/her unofficial transcript page in ONE.UF to see if the transfer credits are indicated there. If they are not, the student should contact the appropriate personnel under ESSIE Graduate Administration. Please note that the Graduate School processes the transfer of credit request after the department submits it for processing. The processing times are not immediate as the requests are placed in a queue and processed in the order that they were received. Also note that all requested credits may not be approved for transfer after the Graduate School reviews the request. Students are encouraged to view the Departmental Graduate Handbook for information pertaining to transfer of credit and all other all graduate student processes. This program plan of study can be revised at any time as long as the student’s advisor signs off on the changes.

Submission Deadlines

  • Master’s non-thesis students – mid-term of the first semester
  • Master’s thesis students – mid-term of the second semester
  • Ph.D. students – mid-term of the third semester

The appropriate forms are found on the Resources for Students page.

For all Graduate program requirements, students should view the individual departmental requirements found in the appropriate handbook below:

Specialization Program Degree Requirements

Each Specialization area has its own requirements established for both the Master’s and Ph.D. degree programs. Please click on the program within your intended research area to view your specific requirements based on your specialization and degree level:

  • Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics
    • Master's (Expand for requirements)

      Master of Engineering (ME) or Master of Science (MS) Degree with the Department of  Civil & Coastal Engineering (CCE) or the Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences (EES) Specialization: Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics

      Introduction

      Graduates with a master’s degree specialization in Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics are equipped with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge to confront the challenges facing coastal ecosystems with sustainable solutions that will benefit both nature and human society. They develop a well-rounded background in oceanography, ecology, and engineering to implement ecosystem design, mitigation, adaptation, and restoration projects and to evaluate the physical and biological processes controlling the rates and patterns of coastal ecosystem change. Our well-rounded and well-trained graduates are in demand to fill advanced positions in industry, academics, NGOs, and governmental agencies. We offer a specialization in Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics through Civil Engineering, Coastal Engineering or Environmental Engineering Sciences. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements established by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

      Course Requirements

      Master’s students specializing in Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics are expected to satisfy the following minimum coursework requirements and procedures. Upon admission, a Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics faculty member is assigned as the student’s advisor.

      Whether pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, students must complete the Master’s Program Plan of Study (PPS) located on the Resources page.Requests to apply transfer credits toward the degree program must be made on the PPS and approved by the on the PPS. Students will have an advising hold until an approved PPS has been submitted by the relevant deadline: midterm of the first semester for Non-Thesis Master’s students, and midterm of the second semester for Thesis Master’s students. Students should contact their advisor for prior to the registration period of the upcoming semester, and upload any revisions in the PPS at this time. Students need to submit the PPS (both the original and any subsequent revisions).

      Additional requirements may be established by the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, or the University of Florida Graduate School; therefore, the student should consult the or Environmental Engineering Graduate Student Handbook for additional information.

      Non-thesis MS or ME Degree (Coursework Only)

      (Non-thesis option is only available if the student has not received an assistantship from ESSIE)

      Coursework Requirements

      Students in these programs much complete a minimum of 30 total semester hours of coursework composed of a minimum of 15 hours of core coursework in the student’s major department (Civil Engineering, Coastal Engineering or Environmental Engineering Sciences) (Group A) with the remaining hours from elective courses (Groups B and C) as outlined below.

      Additional Requirements

      Non-thesis students obtaining a Master of Science degree must also satisfy the final exam requirements by submitting a completed design or analysis term project that earned a grade of B or better from one of the Group A core courses listed below. Projects from outside the ESSIE curriculum will not be considered. Projects are to be submitted to the student’s advisor, in addition to the course instructor, for approval and must be comprehensive in nature. Master of Engineering students are not required to complete this final examination requirement, as per the Graduate Catalog.

      Thesis master’s degree

      Coursework Requirements

      Students in this track must complete a minimum of 30 total semester hours. Of these 30 total semester hours, a minimum of 15 hours must be in departmental courses (Group A, see below). The student must also submit a written master’s thesis to their supervisory committee and complete an oral defense of the thesis that is approved by all members of the supervisory committee prior to graduation. The parameters of the master’s thesis, including length and content, are to be decided by the student’s advisor. Enrollment of 3 credit hours (Fall/Spring) or 2 credit hours (Summer) of Masters Research is required during the final/graduating semester.

      Additional Requirements

      Thesis students obtaining a or Master of Engineering thesis degree are required to have a supervisory committee. That committee must consist of a minimum of two members, a chair (usually the advisor), and another member from either Civil Engineering, Coastal Engineering or Environmental Engineering Sciences. The students may include a third committee member from any department at UF, any other academic institution, or relevant non-academic institution (e.g. Naval Research Lab, US Geological Survey).

      Grades & Graduation

      Per the University of Florida Graduate School Policy, students must have a minimum 3.00 GPA overall and a 3.00 GPA within home departmental courses to be eligible for graduation.

      CESD Coursework

      The courses below are selected to ensure that CESD students, including those enrolled in both the CCE and EES degree programs, obtain a minimum level of competency in ecological engineering, coastal engineering geosytsems engineering. Students are strongly advised to enroll in EOC 6934 CESD Seminars and Professional Development in their first Fall semester on campus and to enroll in EOC 6939 Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics Seminars for all semesters thereafter as these courses are essential for gaining disciplinary breadth and exposure to CESD faculty and students. In addition, students are advised to take courses that are both within and outside of their disciplinary degree program (e.g. Civil and Coastal Engineering students should take 1 or more courses focused on ecological systems or environmental engineering, and EES student should take at least 1 course in Coastal Engineering, Oceanography, Physical Processes and/or Geosystems Engineering to support their development in multi-disciplinary science and engineering.

      Elective Notes

      • Other classes in Civil, Coastal, Environmental engineering or courses with an EGN prefix taught by the College of Engineering may be taken upon approval of advisor
      • Other courses may be taken as electives, including a maximum of 6 credits of 3000-4000 level courses outside the School (ESSIE), subject to the approval of the student’s advisor

      Group A: ESSIE Core Courses (15 credits required):

      • CEG 5205C InSitu Measurement of Soil Properties
      • CEG 6015 Advanced Soil Mechanics
      • CEG 6405 Seepage in Soils
      • CWR 6240 Mixing and Transport in Turbulent Flow
      • EGM 5816 Intermediate Fluid Dynamics
      • EES 6307 Advanced Ecological Engineering
      • EES 6309 Wetland Restoration and Design
      • EES 6932 Ecosystem Engineers
      • ENV 5518 Field Methods in Environmental Hydrology
      • ENV 6508 Wetland Hydrology
      • ENV 6932 Advanced Engineering Hydrology I
      • ENV 6932 Ecosystems Engineers
      • ENV 6932 Environmental Systems Dynamics
      • ENV 6932 Coastal Systems
      • ENV 6935 Wetland Seminar
      • EOC 6934 Mathematical models for riverine, estuarine and coastal geomorphology
      • EOC 6934 Hydrodynamic models for estuarine and coastal waters
      • EOC 6934 CESD Seminars and professional development
      • OCP 6298 Coastal Sediment Transport Processes
      • OCP 6165 Ocean Waves I
      • EOC 6934 Nearshore Circulation

       

      Group B: ESSIE Elective Courses:

      • CEG 5115 Foundation Design
      • CGN 6905 Computational Poromechanics
      • CGN 6905 Urban Stormwater Systems Design
      • CGN 6905 Water Resources Engineering
      • CWR 5125 Groundwater Flow I
      • CWR 5127 Evaluation of Groundwater Quality
      • CWR 5235 Open Channel Hydraulics
      • CWR 6116 Advanced Surface Hydrology
      • CWR 6537 Contaminant Subsurface Hydrology
      • ENV 5565 Hydraulic Systems Design
      • ENV 5518 Field Methods in Environmental Hydrology
      • ENV 6050 Advanced Pollutant Transport
      • ENV 6441 Water Resources Planning and Management
      • ENV 6050 Advanced Pollutant Transport
      • ENV 6052 Immiscible Fluids
      • ENV 6416 Advanced Stormwater Control Systems
      • ENV 6435 Advanced Water Treatment Process Design
      • ENV 6437 Advanced Wastewater System Design
      • ENV 6438 Advanced Potable Water Systems Design
      • ENV 6511 Biological Wastewater Treatment
      • ENV 6617 Principles of Green Engineering Design and Sustainability
      • ENV 6932 Global Environmental Policies and Institutions
      • ENV 6932 Absorption Phenomenon
      • ENV 6932 Stormwater Systems
      • ENV 6935 System Ecology Seminar
      • ENV 6439 Activated Carbon: Environmental Design and Application
      • EOC 6939 Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics Seminars

      Group C: Non ESSIE Elective Courses:

      • ABE 6252 Advanced Soil and Water Management
      • ABE 6265 Vadose Zone Water and Solute Transport Modeling
      • GLY 5827 Ground Water Geology
      • GLY 5245 Hydrogeochemistry
      • GLY 5247 Surface and Ground Water Interaction
      • GLY 6075 Global Climate Change
      • GLY 6826 Hydrogeologic Modeling
      • SUR 5625 Geographical Information Systems Analysis
      • SWS 5234 Environmental Soil, Water, and Land Use
      • SWS 5235 South Florida Ecosystems
      • SWS 5245 Water Sustainability
      • SWS 5248 Wetlands and Water Quality
      • SWS 5208 Sustainable Agricultural and Urban Land Management
      • SWS 5308 Waterborne Pathogens
      • SWS 5551 Soils, Water, and Public Health
      • SWS 5721C GIS Land Resource Management
      • SWS 6366 Biodegradation and Bioremediation
      • SWS 6448 Biogeochemistry of Wetlands and Aquatic Systems
      • SWS 6932 Florida Lake Management
      • URP 6276 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

      View program page

    • Ph.D. (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      The Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering Program of the Civil and Coastal Engineering Department grants Master’s and Ph.D. Degrees in Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering. The basic requirements for graduate degrees in Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering are outlined in the Civil and Coastal Engineering Graduate Student Handbook (and the UF Graduate Catalog). Material in this supplement defines additional requirements as dictated by the Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering Program.

      DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

      The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A Ph.D. student does the major work in an academic unit specifically approved for offering doctoral courses and supervising dissertations. At least a B (3.00 truncated) is needed for courses included in the major (overall and major/departmental courses).

      ADVISING

      Students will arrange to meet with their committee chair/advisor in order to complete the Program Plan of Study (PPS) found on the ESSIE website under the forms area. The student will also be provided with information about the completion of the Individual Development Plan (IDP). The PPS is done one time unless changes are made, but the IDP, which is found in Canvas, is done annually in conjunction with a scheduled advisement meeting with your Chair.

      Program PLan of Study (PPS)

      The program plan of study includes supervisory committee member approvals, course advisement, transfer credit requests, and optional minor and certificate request information. Your program plan is due by the mid-point of your third semester. If it is not received by that point, you will have a hold placed on your record and you will not be permitted to register for subsequent terms until the form is submitted and processed by the ESSIE Graduate Academic Student Records staff.

      Supervisory Committee Establishment and guidelines

      Membership: The supervisory committee for a doctoral student comprises at least four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two members, including the chair, must be from the academic unit recommending the degree. At least one member serves as external member and should be from a different educational discipline, with no ties to the home academic unit. One regular member may be from the home academic unit or another unit. A co-chair may also be appointed.

      Co-chair: To substitute for the chair of the committee at any examinations, the co-chair must be in the same academic unit as the candidate.

      External member:

      • Represents the interests of the Graduate School and UF
      • Knows Graduate Council policies
      • Serves as an advocate for the student at doctoral committee activities.

      If the academic unit’s committee activity conflicts with broader University policies or practices, the external member is responsible for bringing such conflicts to the attention of the appropriate governing body. Therefore, the external member is prohibited from holding any official interest in the doctoral candidate’s major academic unit. Faculty holding joint, affiliate, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit cannot be external members on a student’s committee.

      Minor member: The Graduate Faculty member who represents a minor on a student’s committee may be appointed as the external member if he/she does not have a courtesy graduate appointment in the student’s major academic unit.

      Retired faculty: Graduate Faculty members who retire may continue their service on supervisory committees for 1 year. With approval of the academic unit, retired faculty may continue serving on existing or new committees beyond this period.

      Special appointments: People without Graduate Faculty status may be made official members of a student’s supervisory committee through the special appointment process. Appropriate candidates for special appointments include

      • Individuals from outside UF with specific expertise who contribute to a graduate student’s program of study
      • Tenure-track faculty not yet qualified for Graduate Faculty status
      • Non-tenure-track faculty or staff at UF who do not qualify for Graduate Faculty status

      Limitations for special appointments:

      • They do not hold Graduate Faculty appointments
      • They have a special appointment that is specific only to an individual student’s committee
      • They may not serve as a supervisory committee chair, co-chair, external member, or minor representative.

      The student’s supervisory committee chair requests the special appointment, briefly explaining what the special appointment contributes to the supervisory committee. A special appointment is made for a specific supervisory committee. If a student changes to a new degree or major and the committee chair wishes to include the special member on the new supervisory committee, another request must be submitted to the Graduate School for the new committee.

      Transfer of Credit

      No more than 30 credits of a master’s degree from another institution will be transferred to a

      doctoral program. If a student holds a master’s degree in a discipline different from the doctoral program, the master’s work will not be counted in the program unless the academic unit petitions the Dean of the Graduate School. All courses beyond the master’s degree taken at another university to be applied to the Ph.D. degree must be taken at an institution offering the doctoral degree and must be approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of the University of Florida. All courses to be transferred must be graduate-level, letter-graded with a grade of B or better and must be demonstrated to relate directly to the degree being sought. (NOTE: Research hours are not included because they are not letter-graded.) All such transfer requests must be made by petition of the supervisory committee no later than the third term of Ph.D. study. The total number of credits (including 30 for a prior master’s degree) that may be transferred cannot exceed 45, and in all cases the student must complete the qualifying examination at the University of Florida. In addition, any prior graduate credits earned at UF (e.g., a master’s degree in the same or a different discipline) may be transferred into the doctoral program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and by petition to the Graduate School. The petition must show how the prior course work is relevant to the current degree. All master’s degrees counted in the minimum 90 credit hours must be earned in the last 7 years.

      Minors

      Minor work must be in an academic unit other than the major. If an academic unit contributes more than one course (as specified in the curriculum inventory and/or the Graduate Catalog) to the major, the student is not eligible to earn a minor from the contributing academic unit. A 3.00 (truncated) GPA is required for minor credit. In order to obtain a minor in another department area, the student will need approval from that department and to check on what the requirements are for that program. If a minor is chosen, the supervisory committee includes at least one Graduate Faculty member representing the student’s minor. If the student elects more than one minor, each minor area must be represented on the supervisory committee. Therefore, committees for students with two minors must have a minimum of five members.

      Certificates

      A list of available certificates is located on the Graduate School website. If a student is interested in a certificate, an application for admission for the certify cate must be completed and submitted. It is best to do this prior to enrolling in the first course which should be counted toward the certificate. In order to obtain the certificate, an application must also be submitted in order to graduate with the certificate. This should be done during the semester when the last course is completed or thereafter.

      Coursework Requirements

      The Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics program does not have any specific requirements for PhD coursework. Students enrolled in the Coastal PhD Program after earning a masters degree will design their study program and choose their courses in consultation with, and with the approval

      of, their adviser. However, students enrolled in the PhD program directly from undergraduate studies are required to observe the Coastal coursework requirements for a Master’s degree first. Students in the PhD program must enroll in one letter-graded graduate course at the minimum in the home department in order to establish a GPA.

      If a student holds an assistantship, the student should be registered for 9 credit hours during the Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours during the summer in order to maintain the appointment. If the student registers for more than that, the student will have to pay out of pocket based on the student’s residency. Anything less than 9 credit hours is considered part-time in the Fall and Spring and anything less than 6 is considered part-time in the summer. Advanced Research (7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy (classified as 7 and 8). Students enrolled in 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy (classified as 9). During the student’s final term, the student must be registered for research hours (a minimum of 3 in the Fall and Spring and 2 in the summer). If the graduating student is on an appointment, the student must be registered full-time based on the appointment requirements.

      QUALIFYING EXAMINATION: All Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given. The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units, is both written (sometimes referred to as a preliminary exam) and oral (sometimes referred to as the oral defense) and covers the major and minor subjects. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must attend the oral part. The student and chair or co-chair must be in the same physical location. With approval of the entire committee, other committee members may attend remotely using modern technology. At this time the supervisory committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree.

      The Qualifying Examination consists of a written test and an oral qualifying examination (defense).

      The goal of the written test is to determine the student’s ability to conduct PhD research.

      The goal of the oral qualifying examination (defense) is to gauge the suitability of the student’s proposed research plan within the Coastal PhD Program.

      Graduate students in the Coastal PhD Program should take the written portion of the qualifying examination no later than their third semester after entering the program, although they are encouraged to take the examination during their second semester. Students who take the qualifying exam must meet two eligibility requirements:

      1. The student holds cumulative GPA of 3.5;
      2. The student has the advisor’s permission to take the qualifying examination.

      Written Examination: The graduate coordinator administers the written test on campus in months 2-3 of each semester, as needed. The test consists of a written research prospectus prepared by the student. At the beginning of the written test week, the student will receive specific guidelines on the

      prospectus format. In general, the prospectus will review the state-of-the-art of the topic that the student intends to pursue. The student will then have one week to complete the prospectus and deliver it to the graduate coordinator.

      The student’s written answer to the test is evaluated, within two weeks after completion, by a panel composed of Coastal Faculty. The outcome of the written test is Pass or Fail. Students who pass proceed to schedule the oral qualifying exam (defense). Students who fail the written test are required to withdraw from the Coastal PhD Program.

      Oral qualifying examination (defense): The oral qualifying examination provides guidance to the students that have passed the written test and will determine whether the student should be promoted to PhD Candidacy.

      The oral qualifying examination (defense) is scheduled within one year after completion of the evaluation of the written test. The oral qualifying examination (defense) is administered by the student’s PhD committee. The format is at the discretion of the committee, but should consist of a brief presentation of the student’s plan for doctoral research, followed by questions. The topics of the questions are at the discretion of the PhD committee. They can relate to the presentation or focus on other topics the PhD committee deems important. The PhD committee will evaluate the answers and provide a Pass or Fail decision.

      If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School should be notified. A re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee. At least one term of additional preparation is needed before re-examination.

      *Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.

      ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY: A student is admitted to candidacy upon completion of the qualifying exam when all committee members have approved the candidacy form and approved the dissertation topic.

      FINAL TERM REQUIREMENTS: A student about to graduate should check the Graduate School website for deadlines and final term requirements. This would include the Editorial Office’s guidelines as well.

      • Apply for the degree/certificate (found on the Office of the University Registrar website or in ONE.UF)
      • Transmittal Letter (Request from the ESSIE Graduate Records staff.) This is submitted by the student’s chair for processing.
      • First Submission
      • Final Exam (Packet found on the ESSIE website under the forms area.) This is submitted by the student’s chair for processing.
      • Final Submission
      • Degree Certification

      View program page

  • Coastal & Oceanographic Engineering
    • Master's (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      The Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering Program of the Civil and Coastal Engineering Department grants Master’s Degree and Ph.D. Degree in Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering. The basic requirements for graduate degrees in Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering are outlined in the Civil and Coastal Engineering Graduate Student Manual (and the UF Graduate Handbook). Material in this supplement defines additional requirements as dictated by the Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering Program.

      Course Requirements

      Regardless of whether you are pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, you must complete the Master’s Program Plan of Study (PPS) located on the Resources page.  You must request the use of transfer credits toward your degree program on the PPS and obtain approval, as indicated by the advisor’s signature on the PPS. You will have an  advising hold until your first PPS has been submitted based on these timeframes:  Masters non-thesis submission is required by midterm of the first semester; Master’s thesis by midterm of the second semester.  Before the registration periods of subsequent semesters, contact your advisor for approval of your proposed course selection for the upcoming semester, along with any changes in your PPS. You or your advisor need to  submit your PPS (original or revised) for processing.

      The Master’s program requires a minimum of 30 semester credit hours, and is formulated as either a thesis option (in which up to 6 credit hours of Master’s Research – EOC 6971) can be counted toward the degree, or a non-thesis option (coursework only). Students on a research assistantship must complete a thesis.

      Candidates are required to complete a minimum of 18 credit hours within the Coastal Program. Of these, 9 credits will include enrollment in the following core required courses:

      1. OCP 6165 Ocean Waves I (Linear Theory) (3 credits),
      2. EGM 5816 Intermediate Fluid Dynamics (3 credits),
      3. MAP 5304 Intermediate Differential Equations (3 credits),

      In addition to the core courses, 9 credit hours of elective courses within the Coastal Program are required. The remaining 12 credit hours toward the minimum of 30 hours for degree completion may include courses outside the program. All course selections must be approved by the student’s advisor.

      Thesis Master’s degree-seeking students

      A thesis master’s degree-seeking student is required to have a supervisory committee. That committee must consist of a minimum of two members, a chair (usually the advisor) and at least one additional member. The full committee should be formed by the mid-term of the second semester. If a minor is designated, the committee must include a graduate faculty member from the minor department.

      Grades and Graduation

      Per the University of Florida Graduate School Policy, students must have an overall GPA of 3.00 and an overall 3.00 GPA within the departmental courses to be eligible for graduation.

      View program page

    • Ph.D. (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      The Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering Program of the Civil and Coastal Engineering Department grants Master’s and Ph.D. Degrees in Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering. The basic requirements for graduate degrees in Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering are outlined in the Civil and Coastal Engineering Graduate Student Handbook (and the UF Graduate Catalog). Material in this supplement defines additional requirements as dictated by the Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering Program.

      degree Requirements

      The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A Ph.D. student does the major work in an academic unit specifically approved for offering doctoral courses and supervising dissertations. At least a B (3.00 truncated) is needed for courses included in the major (overall and major/departmental courses).

      ADVISING

      Students will arrange to meet with their committee chair/advisor in order to complete the Program Plan of Study (PPS) found on the ESSIE website under the forms area. The student will also be provided with information about the completion of the Individual Development Plan (IDP). The PPS is done one time unless changes are made, but the IDP, which is found in Canvas, is done annually in conjunction with a scheduled advisement meeting with your Chair.

      Program Pan of Study (PPS)

      The program plan of study includes supervisory committee member approvals, course advisement, transfer credit requests, and optional minor and certificate request information. Your program plan is due by the mid-point of your third semester. If it is not received by that point, you will have a hold placed on your record and you will not be permitted to register for subsequent terms until the form is submitted and processed by the ESSIE Graduate Academic Student Records staff.

      Supervisory Committee Establishment and guidelines

      Membership: The supervisory committee for a doctoral student comprises at least four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two members, including the chair, must be from the academic unit recommending the degree. At least one member serves as external member and should be from a different educational discipline, with no ties to the home academic unit. One regular member may be from the home academic unit or another unit. A co-chair may also be appointed.

      Co-chair: To substitute for the chair of the committee at any examinations, the co-chair must be in the same academic unit as the candidate.
      External member:

      • Represents the interests of the Graduate School and UF
      • Knows Graduate Council policies
      • Serves as an advocate for the student at doctoral committee activities.If the academic unit’s committee activity conflicts with broader University policies or practices, the external member is responsible for bringing such conflicts to the attention of the appropriate governing body. Therefore, the external member is prohibited from holding any official interest in the doctoral candidate’s major academic unit. Faculty holding joint, affiliate, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit cannot be external members on a student’s committee.

      Minor member: The Graduate Faculty member who represents a minor on a student’s committee may be appointed as the external member if he/she does not have a courtesy graduate appointment in the student’s major academic unit.

      Retired faculty: Graduate Faculty members who retire may continue their service on supervisory committees for 1 year. With approval of the academic unit, retired faculty may continue serving on existing or new committees beyond this period.

      Special appointments: People without Graduate Faculty status may be made official members of a student’s supervisory committee through the special appointment process. Appropriate candidates for special appointments include

      • Individuals from outside UF with specific expertise who contribute to a graduate student’s program of study
      • Tenure-track faculty not yet qualified for Graduate Faculty status
      • Non-tenure-track faculty or staff at UF who do not qualify for Graduate Faculty status

      Limitations for special appointments:

      • They do not hold Graduate Faculty appointments
      • They have a special appointment that is specific only to an individual student’s committee
      • They may not serve as a supervisory committee chair, co-chair, external member, or minor representative.
        The student’s supervisory committee chair requests the special appointment, briefly explaining what the special appointment contributes to the supervisory committee. A special appointment is made for a specific supervisory committee. If a student changes to a new degree or major and the committee chair wishes to include the special member on the new supervisory committee, another request must be submitted to the Graduate School for the new committee.

        Transfer of Credit

        No more than 30 credits of a master’s degree from another institution will be transferred to a doctoral program. If a student holds a master’s degree in a discipline different from the doctoral program, the master’s work will not be counted in the program unless the academic unit petitions the Dean of the Graduate School. All courses beyond the master’s degree taken at another university to be applied to the Ph.D. degree must be taken at an institution offering the doctoral degree and must be approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of the University of Florida. All courses to be transferred must be graduate-level, letter-graded with a grade of B or better and must be demonstrated to relate directly to the degree being sought. (NOTE: Research hours are not included because they are not letter-graded.) All such transfer requests must be made by petition of the supervisory committee no later than the third term of Ph.D. study. The total number of credits (including 30 for a prior master’s degree) that may be transferred cannot exceed 45, and in all cases the student must complete the qualifying examination at the University of Florida. In addition, any prior graduate credits earned at UF (e.g., a master’s degree in the same or a different discipline) may be transferred into the doctoral program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and by petition to the Graduate School. The petition must show how the prior course work is relevant to the current degree. All master’s degrees counted in the minimum 90 credit hours must be earned in the last 7 years.

        Minors

        Minor work must be in an academic unit other than the major. If an academic unit contributes more than one course (as specified in the curriculum inventory and/or the Graduate Catalog) to the major, the student is not eligible to earn a minor from the contributing academic unit. A 3.00 (truncated) GPA is required for minor credit. In order to obtain a minor in another department area, the student will need approval from that department and to check on what the requirements are for that program. If a minor is chosen, the supervisory committee includes at least one Graduate Faculty member representing the student’s minor. If the student elects more than one minor, each minor area must be represented on the supervisory committee. Therefore, committees for students with two minors must have a minimum of five members.

        Certificates

        A list of available certificates is located on the Graduate School website. If a student is interested in a certificate, an application for admission for the certify cate must be completed and submitted. It is best to do this prior to enrolling in the first course that should be counted toward the certificate. In order to obtain the certificate, an application must also be submitted in order to graduate with the certificate. This should be done during the semester when the last course is completed or thereafter.

        Coursework Requirements

        The Coastal program does not have any specific requirements for PhD coursework. Students enrolled in the Coastal PhD Program after earning a Master’s degree will design their study program and choose their courses in consultation with, and with the approval of, their adviser. However, students enrolled in the PhD program directly from undergraduate studies are required to observe the Coastal coursework requirements for Master’s degree first. Students in the PhD program must enroll in one letter graded departmental/in major course at the minimum in the PhD program in order to establish a GPA.

        If a student holds an assistantship, the student should be registered for 9 credit hours during the Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours during the summer in order to maintain the appointment. If the student registers for more than that, the student will have to pay out of pocket based on the student’s residency. Anything less than 9 credit hours is considered part-time in the Fall and Spring and anything less than 6 is considered part-time in the summer. Advanced Research (7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy (classified as 7 and 8). Students enrolled in 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy (classified as 9). During the student’s final term, the student must be registered for research hours (a minimum of 3 in the Fall and Spring and 2 in the summer). If the graduating student is on an appointment, the student must be registered full-time based on the appointment requirements.

        QUALIFYING EXAMINATION: All Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given. The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units, is both written (sometimes referred to as a preliminary exam) and oral (sometimes referred to as the oral defense) and covers the major and minor subjects. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must attend the oral part. The student and chair or co-chair must be in the same physical location. With approval of the entire committee, other committee members may attend remotely using modern technology. At this time the supervisory committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree.

        The Qualifying Examination consists of a written test and an oral qualifying examination (defense).

        The goal of the written test is to determine the student’s ability to conduct PhD research.

        The goal of the oral qualifying examination (defense) is to gauge the suitability of the student’s proposed research plan within the Coastal PhD Program.

        Graduate students in the Coastal PhD Program should take the written portion of the qualifying examination no later than their third semester after entering the program, although they are encouraged to take the examination during their second semester. Students who take the qualifying exam must meet two eligibility requirements:

        1. The student holds cumulative GPA of 3.5;
        2. The student has the advisor’s permission to take the qualifying examination.

        Written Examination: The graduate coordinator administers the written test on campus in months 2-3 of each semester, as needed. The test consists of a written research prospectus prepared by the student. At the beginning of the written test week, the student will receive specific guidelines on the prospectus format. In general, the prospectus will review the state-of-the-art of the topic that the student intends to pursue. The student will then have one week to complete the prospectus and deliver it to the graduate coordinator.

        The student’s written answer to the test is evaluated, within two weeks after completion, by a panel composed of Coastal Faculty. The outcome of the written test is Pass or Fail. Students who pass proceed to schedule the oral qualifying exam (defense). Students who fail the written test are required to withdraw from the Coastal PhD Program.

        Oral qualifying examination (defense): The oral qualifying examination provides guidance to the students that have passed the written test and will determine whether the student should be promoted to PhD Candidacy.

        The oral qualifying examination (defense) is scheduled within one year after completion of the evaluation of the written test. The oral qualifying examination (defense) is administered by the student’s PhD committee. The format is at the discretion of the committee, but should consist of a brief presentation of the student’s plan for doctoral research, followed by questions. The topics of the questions are at the discretion of the PhD committee. They can relate to the presentation or focus on other topics the PhD committee deems important. The PhD committee will evaluate the answers and provide a Pass or Fail decision.

        If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School should be notified. A re-exam-ination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee. At least one term of additional preparation is needed before re-examination.

        *Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.

        ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY

        A student is admitted to candidacy upon completion of the qualifying exam when all committee members have approved the candidacy form and approved the dissertation topic.

        FINAL TERM REQUIREMENTS

        A student about to graduate should check the Graduate School website for deadlines and final term requirements. This would include the Editorial Office’s guidelines as well.

        • Apply for the degree/certificate (found on the Office of the University Registrar website or in ONE.UF)
        • Transmittal Letter (Request from the ESSIE Graduate Records staff.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to the graduate department for processing.
        • First Submission
        • Final Exam (Packet found on the ESSIE website under the forms area.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to the graduate department for processing.
        • Final Submission
        • Degree Certification and Final Clearance

        View program page

  • Geosystems Engineering
    • Master's (Expand for requirements)
      View program pageMaster of Engineering (ME) or Master of Science (MS) Degree in Civil Engineering with Specialization in Geosystems Engineering

      Introduction

      Within the geosystems engineering field, employers often seek out our graduates with master’s degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them into industry. Consequently, we offer a specialization in geosystems engineering within the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

      Course Requirements

      Master’s students specializing in Geosystems Engineering (GE) are expected to satisfy the following minimum coursework requirements and procedures. Upon admission, a GE faculty member is assigned as your advisor.

      Regardless of whether you are pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, you must complete the Master’s Program Plan of Study (PPS), which is posted on the ESSIE website.  You must request the use of transfer credits toward your degree program on the PPS and obtain approval, as indicated by the advisor’s signature on the PPS. You will have an advising hold until your first PPS has been submitted based on these timeframes:  Masters non-thesis submission is required by midterm of the first semester; Master’s thesis by midterm of the second semester.  Before the registration periods of subsequent semesters, contact your advisor for approval of your proposed course selection for the upcoming semester, along with any changes in your PPS. You or your advisor need to  submit your PPS (original or revised) for processing.

      Additional requirements may be imposed by the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering or the University of Florida Graduate School; therefore, the student should consult the Civil and Coastal Engineering Graduate Student Handbook for additional information.

      Non-thesis Master’s degree

      Non-thesis students obtaining a Master’s of Science degree must satisfy the final exam requirements by submitting a completed term project that earned a grade of B or better from any of the GE courses (core or elective) listed in the coursework requirements. Projects from outside the curriculum will not be considered. Projects are to be submitted to the student’s advisor for approval and must be comprehensive in nature. Master of Engineering students are not required to complete the final examination per the Graduate Catalog.

      Thesis Master’s degree-seeking students:

      A thesis master’s degree-seeking student is required to have a supervisory committee. That committee must consist of a minimum of two members, a chair (usually the advisor) and at least one additional member. The full committee should be formed by the mid-term of the second semester. If a minor is designated, the committee must include a graduate faculty member from the minor department.

      Grades & Graduation

      Per the University of Florida Graduate School Policy, students must have an overall GPA of 3.00 and an overall 3.00 GPA within the departmental courses to be eligible for graduation.

      Coursework Requirements

      Courses are selected to ensure students obtain a minimum level of competency in geosystems engineering. After the ESSIE core course requirements are met for geosystems, additional ESSIE core and/or elective courses must be chosen in consultation with advisors.

      MS or ME with Thesis

      A minimum of 30 credit hours with a minimum of 24 hours of course work and 6 hours Masters Research (CGN 6971) with a written master’s thesis and final oral defense. Enrollment of 3 credit hours (Fall/Spring) or 2 credit hours (Summer) of Masters Research (CGN 6971) is required during the final/graduating semester. Coursework should satisfy the ESSIE core and electives and other electives criteria indicated below.

      MS or ME with Coursework Only (non-thesis)

      Minimum 30 total semester hours of coursework. Coursework should satisfy the ESSIE core, electives and other electives criteria indicated below.

      ESSIE Core Courses (15 credits required)

      • CEG6117 Advanced Deep Foundation Design
      • CEG5114 Advanced Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design
      • CEG6015 Advanced Soil Mechanics
      • CEG6116 Advanced Shallow Foundation Design
      • CGN 6905 Computational Poromechanics
      • CGN 6905 Computational Inelasticity
      • CEG6515 Earth Retaining Systems and Slope Stability
      • CEG5115 Foundation Design
      • CEG6405 Seepage in Soils
      • CEG5205C In situ Measurement of Soil Properties
      • CGN 6905 Nondestructive Testing & Geophysics Methods
      • CGN 6905 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
      • CGN 6905 Ground Modification Design

      ESSIE Electives

      • ENV 6932 Applied Practice in Beneficial Use of Waste Materials
      • ENV 5306 Municipal Refuse Disposal
      • ENV 6617 Principals of Green Engineering and Sustainability
      • ENV 6052 Immiscible Fluids
      • ENV 6932 Absorption Phenomenon
      • CES 5116 Finite elements in Civil Engineering

      Non ESSIE Electives

      As geosystems engineering is highly interdisciplinary, the graduate students are encouraged to choose electives from other branches of civil and environmental engineering and a variety of other disciplines including but not limited to: Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Geology, Soil Sciences and Physics. Students must choose non ESSIE electives in consultation with their advisors.

      Non availability of courses:

      If any of the courses are not available for reasons such as faculty members’ sabbatical the GE faculty will recommend appropriate alternatives on a case-by-case basis.

    • Ph.D. (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      Within the geosystems engineering field, employers often seek out our graduates with a Ph.D. degree. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them into industry and academia. Consequently, we offer a specialization in geosystems engineering within the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

      DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

      The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A Ph.D. student does the major work in an academic unit specifically approved for offering doctoral courses and supervising dissertations. At least a B (3.00 truncated) is needed for courses included in the major (overall and major/departmental courses).

      ADVISING

      Students will arrange to meet with their committee chair/advisor in order to complete the Program Plan of Study (PPS) found on the ESSIE website under the forms area. The student will also be provided with information about the completion of the Individual Development Plan (IDP). The PPS is done one time unless changes are made, but the IDP, which is found in Canvas, is done annually in conjunction with a scheduled advisement meeting with your Chair.

      Program Pan of Study (PPS)

      The program plan of study includes supervisory committee member approvals, course advisement, transfer credit requests, and optional minor and certificate request information. Your program plan is due by the mid-point of your third semester. If it is not received by that point, you will have a hold placed on your record and you will not be permitted to register for subsequent terms until the form is submitted and processed by the ESSIE Graduate Academic Student Records staff.

      Supervisory Committee Establishment and guidelines

      Membership: The supervisory committee for a doctoral candidate comprises at least four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two members, including the chair, must be from the academic unit recommending the degree. At least one member serves as external member and should be from a different educational discipline, with no ties to the home academic unit. One regular member may be from the home academic unit or another unit. A co-chair may also be appointed.

      Co-chair: To substitute for the chair of the committee at any examinations, the co-chair must be in the same academic unit as the candidate.

      External member:

      • Represents the interests of the Graduate School and UF
      • Knows Graduate Council policies
      • Serves as an advocate for the student at doctoral committee activities.

      If the academic unit’s committee activity conflicts with broader University policies or practices, the external member is responsible for bringing such conflicts to the attention of the appropriate governing body. Therefore, the external member is prohibited from holding any official interest in the doctoral candidate’s major academic unit. Faculty holding joint, affiliate, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit cannot be external members on a student’s committee.

      Minor member: The Graduate Faculty member who represents a minor on a student’s committee may be appointed as the external member if he/she does not have a courtesy graduate appointment in the student’s major academic unit.

      Retired faculty: Graduate Faculty members who retire may continue their service on supervisory committees for 1 year. With approval of the academic unit, retired faculty may continue serving on existing or new committees beyond this period.

      Special appointments: People without Graduate Faculty status may be made official members of a student’s supervisory committee through the special appointment process. Appropriate candidates for special appointments include

      • Individuals from outside UF with specific expertise who contribute to a graduate student’s program of study
      • Tenure-track faculty not yet qualified for Graduate Faculty status
      • Non-tenure-track faculty or staff at UF who do not qualify for Graduate Faculty status

      Limitations for special appointments:

      • They do not hold Graduate Faculty appointments
      • They have a special appointment that is specific only to an individual student’s committee
      • They may not serve as a supervisory committee chair, co-chair, external member, or minor representative.

      The student’s supervisory committee chair requests the special appointment, briefly explaining what the special appointment contributes to the supervisory committee. A special appointment is made for a specific supervisory committee. If a student changes to a new degree or major and the committee chair wishes to include the special member on the new supervisory committee, another request must be submitted to the Graduate School for the new committee.

      Transfer of Credit

      No more than 30 credits of a master’s degree from another institution will be transferred to a doctoral program. If a student holds a master’s degree in a discipline different from the doctoral program, the master’s work will not be counted in the program unless the academic unit petitions the Dean of the Graduate School. All courses beyond the master’s degree taken at another university to be applied to the Ph.D. degree must be taken at an institution offering the doctoral degree and must be approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of the University of Florida. All courses to be transferred must be graduate-level, letter-graded with a grade of B or better and must be demonstrated to relate directly to the degree being sought. (NOTE: Research hours are not included because they are not letter-graded.) All such transfer requests must be made by petition of the supervisory committee no later than the third term of Ph.D. study. The total number of credits (including 30 for a prior master’s degree) that may be transferred cannot exceed 45, and in all cases the student must complete the qualifying examination at the University of Florida. In addition, any prior graduate credits earned at UF (e.g., a master’s degree in the same or a different discipline) may be transferred into the doctoral program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and by petition to the Graduate School. The petition must show how the prior course work is relevant to the current degree. All master’s degrees counted in the minimum 90 credit hours must be earned in the last 7 years.

      Minors

      Minor work must be in an academic unit other than the major. If an academic unit contributes more than one course (as specified in the curriculum inventory and/or the Graduate Catalog) to the major, the student is not eligible to earn a minor from the contributing academic unit. A 3.00 (truncated) GPA is required for minor credit. In order to obtain a minor in another department area, the student will need approval from that department and to check on what the requirements are for that program. If a minor is chosen, the supervisory committee includes at least one Graduate Faculty member representing the student’s minor. If the student elects more than one minor, each minor area must be represented on the supervisory committee. Therefore, committees for students with two minors must have a minimum of five members.

      Certificates

      A list of available certificates is located on the Graduate School website. If a student is interested in a certificate, an application for admission for the certify cate must be completed and submitted. It is best to do this prior to enrolling in the first course that should be counted toward the certificate. In order to obtain the certificate, an application must also be submitted in order to graduate with the certificate. This should be done during the semester when the last course is completed or thereafter.

      Coursework Requirements

      The PhD students should seek to take at least two classes from the ESSIE core courses of the geosystem group as listed below. The courses must be chosen in consultation with the faculty advisor and considering past classes taken (if any) at a previous graduate-degree program (see also section on Transfer of Credits). Upon completion of the qualifying exam, the faculty may recommend students to take additional geotechnical classes to enhance their breadth of knowledge. Once the requirements of the qualifying exam are satisfied, the students can

      complete the remaining coursework (credit requirements) by choosing courses from any department in UF so as to best suit their dissertation work. This overall program of work will be developed by the student in consultation with the faculty advisor.

      ESSIE Core Courses (6 credits required)

      • CEG6117 Advanced Deep Foundation Design
      • CEG5114 Advanced Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design
      • CEG6015 Advanced Soil Mechanics
      • CEG6116 Advanced Shallow Foundation Design
      • CGN 6905 Computational Poromechanics
      • CGN 6905 Computational Inelasticity
      • CEG6515 Earth Retaining Systems and Slope Stability
      • CEG5115 Foundation Design
      • CEG6405 Seepage in Soils
      • CEG5205C In situ Measurement of Soil Properties
      • CGN 6905 Nondestructive Testing & Geophysics Methods
      • CGN 6905 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
      • CGN 6905 Ground Modification Design

      If a student holds an assistantship, the student should be registered for 9 credit hours during the Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours during the summer in order to maintain the appointment. If the student registers for more than that, the student will have to pay out of pocket based on the student’s residency. Anything less than 9 credit hours is considered part-time in the Fall and Spring and anything less than 6 is considered part-time in the summer. Advanced Research (7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy (classified as 7 and 8). Students enrolled in 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy (classified as 9). During the student’s final term, the student must be registered for research hours (a minimum of 3 in the Fall and Spring and 2 in the summer). If the graduating student is on an appointment, the student must be registered full-time based on the appointment requirements.

      QUALIFYING EXAMINATION (Oral Proposal Defense): All Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given. The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee is oral (sometimes referred to as the oral defense) and covers the major and minor subjects.

      Once the student has made adequate progress towards his/her dissertation, the student in consultation with the advisor will schedule the oral proposal defense (1.5 – 2 hours in duration). This exam is evaluated by the full supervisory committee. The student should provide the entire supervisory committee a written proposal at least two weeks in advance of this exam. The student will present his/her work to the committee and answer questions from the members. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must attend the oral part. The student and chair or co-chair must be in the same physical location. With approval of the entire committee, other committee members may attend remotely using modern technology. At this time the supervisory committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree. If the student passes, he/she advanced to candidacy. If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School should be notified. A re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee. At least one term of additional preparation is needed before re-examination.

      *Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination (proposal defense) and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.

      ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY

      A student is admitted to candidacy upon completion of the qualifying exam when all committee members have approved the candidacy form and approved the dissertation topic.

      FINAL TERM REQUIREMENTS

      • A student about to graduate should check the Graduate School website for deadlines and final term requirements. This would include the Editorial Office’s guidelines as well.
      • Apply for the degree/certificate (found on the Office of the University Registrar website or in ONE.UF)
      • Transmittal Letter (Request from the ESSIE Graduate Records staff.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
      • First Submission
      • Final Exam (Packet found on the ESSIE website under the forms area.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
      • Final Submission
      • Degree Certification and Final Clearance

      View program page

  • Materials & Pavements
    • Master's (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      Master of Engineering (ME) or Master of Science (MS) Degree in Civil Engineering with Specialization in Materials & Pavements

      Within the materials and pavement engineering fields, employers often seek out our graduates with master’s degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them into industry. Consequently, we offer a specialization in materials and pavement engineering within the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

      Course Requirements

      Master’s students specializing in Materials and Pavement Engineering (MPE) are expected to satisfy the following minimum coursework requirements and procedures. Upon admission, a MPE faculty member is assigned as your advisor. Regardless of whether you are pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, you must complete the coursework requirements outlined on the following page for the MPE specialization.  You will also be required to complete the Master’s Program Plan of Study (PPS), which is posted on the ESSIE website. You must also have it approved by your advisor during the first week of classes in your first semester. You must request the use of transfer credits toward your degree program on the PPS and obtain approval, as indicated by the advisor’s signature on the PPS. Prior to the registration periods of subsequent semesters, contact your advisor for approval of your proposed course selection for the upcoming semester along with any changes in your PPS. Once your course selection has been approved by your advisor, you will then send (via email) your course selection along with your updated and approved PPS to your advisor with a copy submission to ESSIE’s graduate department. Your advising hold will then be removed, allowing you to register.

      Additional requirements may be imposed by the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering or the University of Florida Graduate School; therefore, the student should consult the Civil and Coastal Engineering Graduate Student Handbook for additional information.

      Non-thesis Master’s degree

      Non-thesis students obtaining a Master’s of Science degree must satisfy the final exam requirements by submitting a completed design or analysis term project that earned a grade of B or better from one of the core competency courses listed in the coursework requirements. Projects from outside the curriculum will not be considered. Projects are to be submitted to the student’s advisor for approval and must be comprehensive in nature. Master of Engineering students are not required to complete the final examination per the Graduate Catalog.

      Thesis Master’s degree-seeking students:

      A thesis master’s degree-seeking student is required to have a supervisory committee. That committee must consist of a minimum of two members, a chair (usually the advisor) and at least one additional member. The full committee should be formed by the mid-term of the second semester. If a minor is designated, the committee must include a graduate faculty member from the minor department.

      Grades & Graduation

      Per the University of Florida Graduate School Policy, students must have an overall GPA of 3.00 and an overall 3.00 GPA within the departmental courses to be eligible for graduation.

      Coursework Requirements

      Courses are selected to ensure students obtain a minimum level of competency in materials and pavement engineering. After the course requirements for the categories are met, remaining coursework must be selected from approved electives.

      MS or ME with Thesis

      Minimum 30 total semester hours; min. 24 hours coursework permitted; min.  and max. 6 hours Masters Research (CGN6971) permitted OR 27 hours coursework recommended; and; min 3 hours Masters Research (CGN6971) required; min. 15 hours coursework in Civil and Coastal Engineering, written master’s thesis; oral defense. Enrollment of 3 credit hours (Fall/Spring) or 2 credit hours (Summer) of Masters Research (CGN 6971) is required during the final/graduating semester. The student must take a minimum of 21 credits of coursework from the college of engineering.

      MS or ME with Coursework Only (non-thesis)

      Minimum 30 total semester hours of coursework; (only available if the student has not received financial aid from the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering), min. 15 hours coursework in Civil and Coastal Engineering. The student must take a minimum of 21 credits of coursework from the college of engineering.

      Core Materials and Pavement Courses – students must take at least four (4) of the following courses:

      • CGN 5715 Experimentation and Instrumentation in Civil Engineering Materials Research
      • CGN 6505 Properties, Design and Control of Concrete
      • CGN 6506 Bituminous Materials
      • CGN 6905 Pavement Design
      • CGN 6905 Superpave Technology
      • TTE 5837 Pavement Management Systems
      • CGN 6905 Concrete Durability
      • CGN 6905 Concrete Structural Rehabilitation
      • CGN 6905 Microstructural Analysis of Cementitious Systems
      • CGN 6525 Sustainable Materials

      Electives (18 credits):

      • CGN 6971 Master’s Research (3 to 6 credits required only for thesis option)
      • BCN 6748 Construction Law
      • CEG 5115 Foundation Design
      • CES 5010 Probabilistic and Stochastic Methods in Civil Engineering
      • CES 5116 Finite Elements in Civil Engineering
      • CES 5235 Design of Highway Bridges
      • CES 5606 Topics in Steel Design
      • CES 5715 Prestressed Concrete
      • CES 5801 Design and Construction in Timber
      • CES 6106 Advanced Structural Analysis
      • CES 6706 Advanced Reinforced Concrete
      • CES5835 Design of Reinforced Masonry Structures
      • CES6108 Structural Dynamics
      • CES6855 Condition Assessment of Structures
      • CGN6905 Advanced Instrumentation
      • CGN 6905 Design of Temporary Structures
      • EAS 6242 Advanced Structural Composites
      • ECH 6126 Thermodynamics of Reaction and Phase Equilibria
      • ECH 6851 Impedance Spectroscopy
      • EGM 6570 Principles of Fracture Mechanics
      • EGN 6039 Engineering Leadership
      • EGN 6640 Entrepreneurship for Engineers
      • EGN 6642 Engineering Innovation
      • EMA 5008 Particle Science and Technology: Theory and Practice
      • EMA 6136 Diffusion, Kinetics, and Transport Phenomena
      • EMA 6316 Materials Thermodynamics
      • EMA 6319 Applied Colloid and Interfacial Chemistry for Engineers
      • EMA 6507 Scanning Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis
      • EMA 6507 Scanning Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis Lab
      • EMA 6510 Survey of Materials Analysis Techniques
      • EMA 6516 X-Ray Methods of Material Characterization
      • EMA 6516L X-Ray Methods Laboratory for Materials Characterization
      • EMA 6715 Fracture of Brittle Materials
      • EMA 6803 Classical Methods in Computational Materials Science
      • EMA 6804 Quantum Methods in Computational Materials Science
      • EMA 6808 Error Analysis and Optimization Methodologies in Materials Science
      • EMA 6938 Monte Carlo Methods
      • ENV 5306 Sustainable Materials Management (Municipal Refuse Disposal)
      • ENV 6617 Prin. Green Eng. Design & Sustainability
      • ENV 6932 Beneficial Use of Waste Materials
      • ENV 6932 Construction and Demolition Debris Management
      • GLY 3200C Principles of Mineralogy

      Elective Notes

      • Classes listed in core materials and pavement courses taken above the credit hour requirement in that competency may count toward the elective credit requirement
      • Other classes in Civil, Coastal, Environmental engineering or with a prefix of EGN may be taken upon approval of advisor
      • Other electives outside of the college of engineering may be taken upon approval of advisor
      • A maximum of 9 credits outside of engineering may be used to satisfy degree requirements.View program page
    • Ph.D. (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      Within the civil engineering field, employers often seek out our graduates with doctoral degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them into industry and academia. Our students use their deep knowledge of material chemical processes and engineering mechanics to engineer sustainable materials, develop new performance tests for material study and quality control during construction, and develop material construction processes that are constructible and durable. Consequently, we offer a specialization in Civil Engineering Materials within the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

      DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

      The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A Ph.D. student does the major work in an academic unit specifically approved for offering doctoral courses and supervising dissertations. At least a B (3.00 truncated) is needed for courses included in the major (overall and major/departmental courses).

      ADVISING

      Students will arrange to meet with their committee chair/advisor in order to complete the Program Plan of Study (PPS) found on the ESSIE website under the forms area. The student will also be provided with information about the completion of the Individual Development Plan (IDP). The PPS is done one time unless changes are made, but the IDP, which is found in Canvas, is done annually in conjunction with a scheduled advisement meeting with your Chair.

      Program Pan of Study (PPS)

      The program plan of study includes supervisory committee member approvals, course advisement, transfer credit requests, and optional minor and certificate request information. Your program plan is due by the mid-point of your third semester. If it is not received by that point, you will have a hold placed on your record and you will not be permitted to register for subsequent terms until the form is submitted and processed by the ESSIE Graduate Academic Student Records staff.

      Supervisory Committee Establishment and guidelines

      Membership: The supervisory committee for a doctoral student comprises at least four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two members, including the chair, must be from the academic unit recommending the degree. At least one member serves as external member and should be from a different educational discipline, with no ties to the home academic unit. One regular member may be from the home academic unit or another unit. A co-chair may also be appointed.

      Co-chair: To substitute for the chair of the committee at any examinations, the co-chair must be in the same academic unit as the candidate.

      External member:

      • Represents the interests of the Graduate School and UF
      • Knows Graduate Council policies
      • Serves as an advocate for the student at doctoral committee activities.

      If the academic unit’s committee activity conflicts with broader University policies or practices, the external member is responsible for bringing such conflicts to the attention of the appropriate governing body. Therefore, the external member is prohibited from holding any official interest in the doctoral candidate’s major academic unit. Faculty holding joint, affiliate, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit cannot be external members on a student’s committee.

      Minor member: The Graduate Faculty member who represents a minor on a student’s committee may be appointed as the external member if he/she does not have a courtesy graduate appointment in the student’s major academic unit.

      Retired faculty: Graduate Faculty members who retire may continue their service on supervisory committees for 1 year. With approval of the academic unit, retired faculty may continue serving on existing or new committees beyond this period.

      Special appointments: People without Graduate Faculty status may be made official members of a student’s supervisory committee through the special appointment process. Appropriate candidates for special appointments include

      • Individuals from outside UF with specific expertise who contribute to a graduate student’s program of study
      • Tenure-track faculty not yet qualified for Graduate Faculty status
      • Non-tenure-track faculty or staff at UF who do not qualify for Graduate Faculty status

      Limitations for special appointments:

      • They do not hold Graduate Faculty appointments
      • They have a special appointment that is specific only to an individual student’s committee
      • They may not serve as a supervisory committee chair, co-chair, external member, or minor representative.

      The student’s supervisory committee chair requests the special appointment, briefly explaining what the special appointment contributes to the supervisory committee. A special appointment is made for a specific supervisory committee. If a student changes to a new degree or major and the committee chair wishes to include the special member on the new supervisory committee, another request must be submitted to the Graduate School for the new committee.

      Transfer of Credit

      No more than 30 credits of a master’s degree from another institution will be transferred to a doctoral program. If a student holds a master’s degree in a discipline different from the doctoral program, the master’s work will not be counted in the program unless the academic unit petitions the Dean of the Graduate School. All courses beyond the master’s degree taken at another university to be applied to the Ph.D. degree must be taken at an institution offering the doctoral degree and must be approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of the University of Florida. All courses to be transferred must be graduate-level, letter-graded with a grade of B or better and must be demonstrated to relate directly to the degree being sought. (NOTE: Research hours are not included because they are not letter-graded.) All such transfer requests must be made by petition of the supervisory committee no later than the third term of Ph.D. study. The total number of credits (including 30 for a prior master’s degree) that may be transferred cannot exceed 45, and in all cases the student must complete the qualifying examination at the University of Florida. In addition, any prior graduate credits earned at UF (e.g., a master’s degree in the same or a different discipline) may be transferred into the doctoral program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and by petition to the Graduate School. The petition must show how the prior course work is relevant to the current degree. All master’s degrees counted in the minimum 90 credit hours must be earned in the last 7 years.

      Minors

      Minor work must be in an academic unit other than the major. If an academic unit contributes more than one course (as specified in the curriculum inventory and/or the Graduate Catalog) to the major, the student is not eligible to earn a minor from the contributing academic unit. A 3.00 (truncated) GPA is required for minor credit. In order to obtain a minor in another department area, the student will need approval from that department and to check on what the requirements are for that program. If a minor is chosen, the supervisory committee includes at least one Graduate Faculty member representing the student’s minor. If the student elects more than one minor, each minor area must be represented on the supervisory committee. Therefore, committees for students with two minors must have a minimum of five members.

      Certificates

      A list of available certificates is located on the Graduate School website. If a student is interested in a certificate, an application for admission for the certify cate must be completed and submitted. It is best to do this prior to enrolling in the first course that should be counted toward the certificate. In order to obtain the certificate, an application must also be submitted in order to graduate with the certificate. This should be done during the semester when the last course is completed or thereafter.

      Coursework Requirements

      Class requirements needed to provide the student with a practical and theoretical knowledge base will vary widely based on the area of specialization in civil engineering materials. Because of this, classes will be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor and approved by the doctoral committee.

      If a student holds an assistantship, the student should be registered for 9 credit hours during the Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours during the summer in order to maintain the appointment. If the student registers for more than that, the student will have to pay out of pocket based on the student’s residency. Anything less than 9 credit hours is considered part-time in the Fall and Spring and anything less than 6 is considered part-time in the summer. Advanced Research (7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy (classified as 7 and 8). Students enrolled in 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy (classified as 9). During the student’s final term, the student must be registered for research hours (a minimum of 3 in the Fall and Spring and 2 in the summer). If the graduating student is on an appointment, the student must be registered full-time based on the appointment requirements.

      QUALIFYING EXAMINATION: All Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given. The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units, is both written (sometimes referred to as a preliminary exam) and oral (sometimes referred to as the oral defense) and covers the major and minor subjects. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must attend the oral part. The student and chair or co-chair must be in the same physical location. With approval of the entire committee, other committee members may attend remotely using modern technology. At this time the supervisory committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree.

      The written portion of the qualifying examination contains a proposal for the doctoral thesis that the student will carry out. The proposal should include an introduction chapter that gives a background for the topic, project objectives, a description of the expected advancement in science and engineering that will result from this project, and an outline of the remainder of the document. The document should also include a literature review chapter, methodology chapter, and if any preliminary results are available they should also be included.

      The oral portion of the qualifying examination shall be an oral defense of the proposal. The student will present the problem to be studied, give background information on the topic including the state of the art on the subject, explain the project objectives, describe the methodology to be used, and summarize any preliminary data collected if available. The candidate will answer questions about the novelty of the work, the methodology to be used, any results to date, and expected contribution to science and engineering. The student may also be asked questions related to background knowledge of the student’s area of specialization.

      If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School should be notified. A re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee. At least one term of additional preparation is needed before re-examination.

      *Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.

      ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY

      A student is admitted to candidacy upon completion of the qualifying exam when all committee members have approved the candidacy form and approved the dissertation topic.

      FINAL TERM REQUIREMENTS

      A student about to graduate should check the Graduate School website for deadlines and final term requirements. This would include the Editorial Office’s guidelines as well.

      • Apply for the degree/certificate (found on the Office of the University Registrar website or in ONE.UF)
      • Transmittal Letter (Request from the ESSIE Graduate Records staff.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
      • First Submission
      • Final Exam (Packet found on the ESSIE website under the forms area.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
      • Final Submission
      • Degree Certification and Final Clearance

      View program page

  • New Infrastructure Planning and Management
    • Master's (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      Master of Engineering (ME) or Master of Science (MS) Degree in Civil Engineering with Specialization in New Infrastructure Planning and Management

      Within the public works arena, employers almost exclusively seek out our graduates with an area of specialization master’s degrees in “New Infrastructure Planning, and Engineering Management (NIPEM)”.  Consequently, we offer a specialization in NIPEM within the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering.  It alerts prospective employers that the students they are considering for employement will be able to meet their expectations for training and competence in the field. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for a student to receive a specializationin “New Infrastructure Planning and Engineering Management/Best Practices.”

      Course Requirements

      Master’s students specializing in “New Infrastructure Planning and Engineering Management” are  expected to satisfy the coursework requirements and procedures as outlined below. Upon admission, a NIPEM faculty member is assigned as an advisor.

      Regardless of whether you are pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, you must complete the Master’s Program Plan of Study (PPS), which is posted on the ESSIE website.  You must request the use of transfer credits toward your degree program on the PPS and obtain approval, as indicated by the advisor’s signature on the PPS. You will have an  advising hold until your first PPS has been submitted based on these timeframes:  Masters non-thesis submission is required by midterm of the first semester; Master’s thesis by midterm of the second seesmter.  Before the registration periods of subsequent semesters, contact your advisor for approval of your proposed course selection for the upcoming semester, along with any changes in your PPS. You or your advisor need to  submit your PPS (original or revised) for processing.

      All courses in the executed PPS must be completed with the minimum grade noted below for the student to be considered eligible for graduation with a specialization in “New Infrastructure Planning and Engineering Management.”  The Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering or the University of Florida Graduate School may impose additional requirements. Therefore, the student should consult the Civil and Coastal Engineering Graduate Student Handbook for additional information.

      Non-thesis Master’s degree

      Non-thesis students obtaining a Master’s of Science degree must satisfy the final exam requirements by submitting a completed design or analysis term project that earned a grade of B or better from one of the Group A or (see courses requirement below). The NIPEM Non- thesis Master’s degree does not consider projects from outside the NIPEM curriculum. Projects are to be submitted to the student’s advisor for approval and must be comprehensive. Master of Engineering students is not required to complete the final examination per the Graduate Catalog.

      Thesis Master’s degree-seeking students

      A thesis master’s degree-seeking student is required to have a supervisory committee. That committee must consist of a minimum of two members, a chair (usually the advisor), and at least one additional member. The full committee should be formed by the mid-term of the second semester. If a minor is designated, the committee must include one member as the representative for the proposed minor.

      Grades & Graduation

      Per the University of Florida Graduate School Policy, students must have an overall GPA of 3.00 (truncated for the courses listed in their executed PPS) and a 3.00 in their major coursework to be eligible for graduation.

      Coursework Requirements

      A minimum of 30  total semester hours are required to graduate with a master’s degree. There is a non-thesis or thesis option and those requirements are noted separately

      In the NIPEM program, if a student chooses non-thesis, then the student is required to take a minimum of nine credit hours of graduate courses listed under group B and another fifteen credit hours of graduate-level course work from Group C depending on your career goals and objectives. 

      Required Courses

      • CGN 5605 New Infrastructure Planning/Best Practices (3 credit hours)
      • CGN 5606 New Infrastructure Engineering and Management/Best Practices (3 credit hours)
      1. Additional NIPEM courses- Students must take nine credit hours of the following courses (non-thesis only)
      • CCE 5035 Construction Planning and Scheduling
        • CGN 5125 Legal Aspect of Civil Engineering
        • CES 6585 Wind Engineering
        • TTE 5256 Traffic Flow Theory
      • CES 6588 Protective Structures
        • TTE 5006 Advanced Urban Transportation Planning
        • CGN 6905 Urban Stormwater Design
        • CEG 5105 Geotechnical Engineering
        • TTE 5255 Traffic Signal Operation
        • CEC 5115 Foundation Design
        • CES 5801 Design and Construction in Timber
      1. Additional NIPEM courses- Students must take at least fifteen credit hours of the following courses:
      • Any additional course taught within ESSIE  advisor approval
      • ENG 5036 Municipal Refuse Disposal
      • MAN 6149 Developing Leadership Skills
      • ACG 5995 Financial Accounting
      • SUR 6935 Topics in Geographic Information Systems
      • ENV 5105 Foundation of Air pollution
      • EGS 6039 Engineering Leadership
      • EGS 6626 Fundamentals of Engineering Project Management
      • BCN 5778 Facilities Operation and Maintenance
      • BCN 6748 Construction Law
      • ENV 5305 Advanced Solid Waste Treatment Design
      • EGN 6642 Engineering Innovation
      • REE 6045 Introduction to Real Estate
      • BCN 6585 Sustainable Construction
      • BCN 6621 Bidding Strategies
      • BUL 6841 Employment Law
      • BCN 5754 Site Planning and Scheduling
      • FES 6827 Business Continuity and Disaster Planning
      • FES 6836 Impacts of Natural & Manmade Disasters
      • EES 5306 Energy Analysis

      Or courses from the following  programs with advisor pre-approval:

      College of Journalism and Communication, College of Law, Design Construction and Planning, Fisher School of Business (Accounting), Agriculture and Life Sciences, Construction Management, Arts, Education, Health and Human Performance, Liberal Art and Sciences, Public Health and Health Profession, and Natural Resources and Environment.

      1. If a student decides to complete a thesis, then the student must take a combination of nine credit hours of the following courses in lieu of Group B coursework.
      • CGN 6905 – Graduate “Special Problems” – Departmental assigned course / Max 10 credit
        • toward the degree (letter grade assigned).
      • CGN 6971 – Research for a written Master’s Thesis and oral defense. Maximum 6 credit
        • toward the degree (S/U assigned). CGN 6971 offered during Fall and Spring semesters.

      Note: Enrollment of 3 credit hours (Fall/Spring) or two credit hours (Summer) of Masters Research (CGN 6971) required during the final/graduating semester. MS or ME with Coursework Only Minimum 30 total semester hours of coursework; (only available if the student has not received financial aid from the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering). The NIPEM graduate student should take CGN 6905 and CGN 6971 with the faculty advisor Dr. Najafi or must receive approval from the advisor to complete the coursework with another faculty member.

      View program page

  • Structural Engineering
    • Master's (View PDF for requirements)
    • Ph.D. (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      The structural engineering faculty have a complementary set of expertise in theoretical, analytical, computational, experimental and field investigation techniques well suited to address critical infrastructure issues. The structures program includes infrastructure system response to extreme-event loading (e.g. blast, wind, impact), durability of infrastructure and materials, health monitoring, evaluation and strengthening of existing structures, and the development of construction methods to improve long-term sustainability of new infrastructure.

      Within the structural engineering area of specialization, we offer a concentration in structural engineering within the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. This feature recognizes the rigorous academic requirements that our students are required to achieve. In addition, it alerts prospective employers that the students they are considering will be able to meet their expectations for training and competence in the field. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for a student to receive a concentration in structural engineering.

      DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

      The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A Ph.D. student does the major work in an academic unit specifically approved for offering doctoral courses and supervising dissertations. At least a B (3.00 truncated) is needed for courses included in the major (overall and major/departmental courses).

      ADVISING

      Students will arrange to meet with their committee chair/advisor in order to complete the Program Plan of Study (PPS) found on the ESSIE website under the forms area. The student will also be provided with information about the completion of the Individual Development Plan (IDP). The PPS is done one time unless changes are made, but the IDP, which is found in Canvas, is done annually in conjunction with a scheduled advisement meeting with your Chair.

      Program Pan of Study (PPS)

      The program plan of study includes supervisory committee member approvals, course advisement, transfer credit requests, and optional minor and certificate request information. Your program plan is due by the mid-point of your third semester. If it is not received by that point, you will have a hold placed on your record and you will not be permitted to register for subsequent terms until the form is submitted and processed by the ESSIE Graduate Academic Student Records staff.

      Supervisory Committee Establishment and guidelines

      Membership: The supervisory committee for a doctoral candidate comprises at least four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two members, including the chair, must be from the academic unit recommending the degree. At least one member serves as external member and should be from a different educational discipline, with no ties to the home academic unit. One regular member may be from the home academic unit or another unit. A co-chair may also be appointed.

      Co-chair: To substitute for the chair of the committee at any examinations, the co-chair must be in the same academic unit as the candidate.

      External member:

      • Represents the interests of the Graduate School and UF
      • Knows Graduate Council policies
      • Serves as an advocate for the student at doctoral committee activities.

      If the academic unit’s committee activity conflicts with broader University policies or practices, the external member is responsible for bringing such conflicts to the attention of the appropriate governing body. Therefore, the external member is prohibited from holding any official interest in the doctoral candidate’s major academic unit. Faculty holding joint, affiliate, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit cannot be external members on a student’s committee.

      Minor member: The Graduate Faculty member who represents a minor on a student’s committee may be appointed as the external member if he/she does not have a courtesy graduate appointment in the student’s major academic unit.

      Retired faculty: Graduate Faculty members who retire may continue their service on supervisory committees for 1 year. With approval of the academic unit, retired faculty may continue serving on existing or new committees beyond this period.

      Special appointments: People without Graduate Faculty status may be made official members of a student’s supervisory committee through the special appointment process. Appropriate candidates for special appointments include

      • Individuals from outside UF with specific expertise who contribute to a graduate student’s program of study
      • Tenure-track faculty not yet qualified for Graduate Faculty status
      • Non-tenure-track faculty or staff at UF who do not qualify for Graduate Faculty status

      Limitations for special appointments:

      • They do not hold Graduate Faculty appointments
      • They have a special appointment that is specific only to an individual student’s committee
      • They may not serve as a supervisory committee chair, co-chair, external member, or minor representative.

      The student’s supervisory committee chair requests the special appointment, briefly explaining what the special appointment contributes to the supervisory committee. A

      special appointment is made for a specific supervisory committee. If a student changes to a new degree or major and the committee chair wishes to include the special member on the new supervisory committee, another request must be submitted to the Graduate School for the new committee.

      Transfer of Credit

      No more than 30 credits of a master’s degree from another institution will be transferred to a doctoral program. If a student holds a master’s degree in a discipline different from the doctoral program, the master’s work will not be counted in the program unless the academic unit petitions the Dean of the Graduate School. All courses beyond the master’s degree taken at another university to be applied to the Ph.D. degree must be taken at an institution offering the doctoral degree and must be approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of the University of Florida. All courses to be transferred must be graduate-level, letter-graded with a grade of B or better and must be demonstrated to relate directly to the degree being sought. (NOTE: Research hours are not included because they are not letter-graded.) All such transfer requests must be made by petition of the supervisory committee no later than the third term of Ph.D. study. The total number of credits (including 30 for a prior master’s degree) that may be transferred cannot exceed 45, and in all cases the student must complete the qualifying examination at the University of Florida. In addition, any prior graduate credits earned at UF (e.g., a master’s degree in the same or a different discipline) may be transferred into the doctoral program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and by petition to the Graduate School. The petition must show how the prior course work is relevant to the current degree. All master’s degrees counted in the minimum 90 credit hours must be earned in the last 7 years.

      Minors

      Minor work must be in an academic unit other than the major. If an academic unit contributes more than one course (as specified in the curriculum inventory and/or the Graduate Catalog) to the major, the student is not eligible to earn a minor from the contributing academic unit. A 3.00 (truncated) GPA is required for minor credit. In order to obtain a minor in another department area, the student will need approval from that department and to check on what the requirements are for that program. If a minor is chosen, the supervisory committee includes at least one Graduate Faculty member representing the student’s minor. If the student elects more than one minor, each minor area must be represented on the supervisory committee. Therefore, committees for students with two minors must have a minimum of five members.

      Certificates

      A list of available certificates is located on the Graduate School website. If a student is interested in a certificate, an application for admission for the certify cate must be completed and submitted. It is best to do this prior to enrolling in the first course that should be counted toward the certificate. In order to obtain the certificate, an application must also be submitted in order to graduate with the certificate. This should be done during the semester when the last course is completed or thereafter.

      Coursework Requirements

      The structural engineering PhD program requires a minimum of 90 total credits hours which includes a minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework. The remaining 60 credit hours can be a combination of courses and/or research hours. Students must take all four (4) Group A courses below, and at least four (4) Group B courses. The remaining courses required to reach 30 credit hours may be selected from Group B or Group C. However, there is considerable flexibility beyond the first eight (8) courses, to be determined in consultation with the student advisor and committee. The courses listed are subject to periodic updates as offerings fluctuate.

      A. Students must take all of the following courses:

      • CES 6106 Advanced Structural Analysis (Fall)
      • CES 6706 Advanced Reinforced Concrete (Fall)
      • CES 5607 Behavior of Steel Structures (Spring)
      • CES 6108 Structural Dynamics (Spring)

      B. Students must take at least four (4) of the following courses:

      • CES 5010 Probabilistic and Stochastic Methods in Civil Engineering (Spring)
      • CES 5116 Finite Elements in Civil Engineering (Fall)
      • CES 5325 Design of Highway Bridges (Fall)
      • CES 5715 Prestressed Concrete (Spring)
      • CES 5801 Design and Construction in Timber (Fall)
      • CES 6585 Wind Engineering (Spring)
      • CES 6588 Protective Structures (Spring)
      • CES 6590 Impact Engineering
      • CES 6591 Applied Protective Structures
      • CES 6592 Retrofit of Protective Structures
      • CES 6593 Advanced Protective Structures
      • CGN 6905 Advanced Bridge Design (Spring)
      • CGN 6905 Advanced Finite Element Analysis (Spring)
      • CEG 5115 Foundation Design (Fall)
      • CEG 6116 Advanced Shallow Foundation Design (Fall)
      • CEG 6117 Advanced Deep Foundation Design (Spring)

       

      C.

      • ARC 6512 Structural Modeling (Fall)
      • CEG 6515 Earth Retaining Systems and Slope Stability
      • CGN 6505 Properties, Design and Control of Concrete
      • CGN 6905 Concrete Repair
      • CGN 6905 Microstructural Analysis of Cementitious Materials
      • CGN 6905 Concrete Durability
      • EGM 5533 Applied Elasticity and Advanced Mechanics of Solids
      • EGM 6365 Structural Optimization

      *All courses are three credits

      Note: Internships shall not be used to satisfy coursework requirements for either degree.

      If a student holds an assistantship, the student should be registered for 9 credit hours during the Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours during the summer in order to maintain the appointment. If the student registers for more than that, the student will have to pay out of pocket based on the student’s residency. Anything less than 9 credit hours is considered part-time in the Fall and

      Spring and anything less than 6 is considered part-time in the summer. Advanced Research (7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy (classified as 7 and 8). Students enrolled in 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy (classified as 9). During the student’s final term, the student must be registered for research hours (a minimum of 3 in the Fall and Spring and 2 in the summer). If the graduating student is on an appointment, the student must be registered full-time based on the appointment requirements.

      QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

      All Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given. The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units, is both written (sometimes referred to as a preliminary exam) and oral (sometimes referred to as the oral defense) and covers the major and minor subjects.

      In the Structural Engineering program, students are required to take both a preliminary examination (written and oral), followed by an oral qualifying examination (research proposal defense) in a subsequent term.

      The written & oral preliminary exam focuses on academic performance in core structures courses, and is administered after the student completes two full semesters in the graduate program. The qualifying examination is then scheduled at least one semester after successful completion of the preliminary exam and in consultation with the research advisor.

      Preliminary Examination

      Written Component:

      The written portion of the preliminary examination for doctoral students is four (4) hours in duration. Books, notes and other reference material are not permitted. A calculator is allowed. The candidate will receive four questions at the beginning of the exam. Students are required to budget their time to complete all exam material.

      Written Exam Topics:

      1 structural analysis question

      1 structural dynamics question

      1 concrete question (behavior and/or design)

      1 steel question (behavior and/or design)

      The student is not required to bring design manuals to the exam.

      Oral Component: If the doctoral student passes the written portion of the exam, an oral defense of their exam will be administered within several weeks of the written exam (depending on examiner and student scheduling coordination). The student will meet with several structures faculty, where the strengths and weaknesses of the student as demonstrated in their written exam will be further explored. The discussions typically stay within the realm of the written exam, but may address aspects of material not specifically covered in the written exam. The oral portion of the exam lasts approximately one hour. At least 24 hours prior to the oral exam, the student may briefly review their written exam under the supervision of a structures faculty member.

      Outcome: If the student passes the oral portion of the exam, the student is admitted to the structures PhD program and may begin preparation for the qualifying examination (oral dissertation research proposal defense.) Failure of either the written or oral component of the preliminary exam constitutes failure of the exam. Students failing the exam are given the opportunity to retake the written and oral exam in the subsequent semester. Students failing a second time are not permitted to advance any further in the PhD program

      ORAL QUALIFYING EXAMINATION (Oral Dissertation Research Proposal Defense): Once the doctoral student has successfully completed the preliminary examination, the student and the advisor will schedule the qualifying examination (oral dissertation research proposal defense). This event includes the full supervisory committee. The student should provide the entire supervisory committee a written dissertation research proposal at least two weeks in advance of this event. The student will present their work to the committee and answer questions from the members. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must attend. Committee members may attend remotely using modern technology as circumstances require. The supervisory committee is responsible for guiding the student and to ensure the proposed research is both suitable for Ph.D. level work and reasonably achievable within the projected timeline. A re-examination may be requested by the supervisory committee if significant revisions are recommended. At least one term (semester) of additional preparation is required before re-examination.

      *Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination (proposal defense) and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.

      ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY: A student is admitted to candidacy upon completion of the oral qualifying exam when all committee members have approved the candidacy form and approved the dissertation topic.

      FINAL TERM REQUIREMENTS: A student about to graduate should check the Graduate School website for deadlines and final term requirements. This would include the Editorial Office’s guidelines as well.

      • Apply for the degree/certificate (found on the Office of the University Registrar website or in ONE.UF)
      • Transmittal Letter (Request from the ESSIE Graduate Records staff.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
      • First Submission
      • Final Exam (Packet found on the ESSIE website under the forms area.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
      • Final Submission
      • Degree Certification and Final Clearance

      View program page

  • Sustainable Construction Engineering
    • Master's (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      Master of Engineering (ME) or Master of Science (MS) Degree in Civil Engineering with Specialization in Sustainable Construction Engineering

      Within the construction engineering field, employers often seek out our graduates with master’s degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them into industry. Consequently, we offer a specialization in sustainable construction engineering within the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

      Course Requirements

      Master’s students specializing in Sustainable Construction Engineering (SCE) are expected to satisfy the following minimum coursework requirements and procedures. Upon admission, a SCE faculty member is assigned as your advisor. Regardless of whether you are pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, you must complete the coursework requirements outlined on the following page for the SCE specialization. You will also be required to complete the Master’s Program Plan of Study (PPS), which is posted on the ESSIE website. You must also have it approved by your advisor during the first week of classes in your first semester. You must request the use of transfer credits toward your degree program on the PPS and obtain approval, as indicated by the advisor’s signature on the PPS. Prior to the registration periods of subsequent semesters, contact your advisor for approval of your proposed course selection for the upcoming semester along with any changes in your PPS. Once your course selection has been approved by your advisor, you will then send (via email) your course selection along with your updated and approved PPS to your advisor with a copy submission to ESSIE’s graduate department. Your advising hold will then be removed, allowing you to register.

      Regardless of whether you are pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, you must complete the Master’s Program Plan of Study (PPS), which is posted on the ESSIE website.  You must request the use of transfer credits toward your degree program on the PPS and obtain approval, as indicated by the advisor’s signature on the PPS. You will have an advising hold until your first PPS has been submitted based on these timeframes:  Masters non-thesis submission is required by midterm of the first semester; Master’s thesis by midterm of the second semester.  Before the registration periods of subsequent semesters, contact your advisor for approval of your proposed course selection for the upcoming semester, along with any changes in your PPS. You or your advisor need to  submit your PPS (original or revised) for processing.

      Additional requirements may be imposed by the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering or the University of Florida Graduate School; therefore, the student should consult the Civil and Coastal Engineering Graduate Student Handbook for additional information.

      Non-thesis Master’s degree

      Non-thesis students obtaining a Master’s of Science degree must satisfy the final exam requirements by submitting a completed design or analysis term project that earned a grade of B or better from one of the core competency courses listed in the coursework requirements. Projects from outside the curriculum will not be considered. Projects are to be submitted to the student’s advisor for approval and must be comprehensive in nature. Master of Engineering students are not required to complete the final examination per the Graduate Catalog.

      Thesis Master’s degree-seeking students:

      A thesis master’s degree-seeking student is required to have a supervisory committee. That committee must consist of a minimum of two members, a chair (usually the advisor) and at least one additional member. The full committee should be formed by the mid-term of the second semester. If a minor is designated, the committee must include a graduate faculty member from the minor department.

      Grades & Graduation

      Per the University of Florida Graduate School Policy, students must have an overall GPA of 3.00 and an overall 3.00 GPA within the departmental courses to be eligible for graduation.

      Coursework Requirements

      Courses are selected to ensure students obtain a minimum level of competency in construction materials engineering. After the course requirements for the categories are met, remaining coursework must be selected from approved electives.

      MS or ME with Thesis

      Minimum 30 total semester hours; min. 24 hours coursework permitted and max 6 hours Masters Research (CGN 6971) permitted OR  27 hours coursework and 3 hours Masters Research (CGN6971) required; min. 15 hours coursework in Civil and Coastal Engineering, written master’s thesis; oral defense. Enrollment of 3 credit hours (Fall/Spring) or 2 credit hours (Summer) of Masters Research (CGN 6971) is required during the final/graduating semester. The student must take a minimum of 21 credits of coursework from the college of engineering.

      MS or ME with Coursework Only (non-thesis)

      Minimum 30 total semester hours of coursework; (only available if the student has not received financial aid from the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering), min. 15 hours coursework in Civil and Coastal Engineering. The student must take a minimum of 21 credits of coursework from the college of engineering.

      A. Technical Fundamentals of Construction Competency (9 credits required):

      • BCN 5618C Comprehensive Estimating
      • CGN 6905 Construction Simulation and Modeling
      • CCE 6037 Civil Engineering Operations I

      B. Construction Materials Competency (3 credits – take one of the following courses):

      • CGN 6525 Sustainable Materials
      • CGN 6505 Properties, Design and Control of Concrete
      • CGN 6905 Concrete Durability
      • CGN 6905 Concrete Structural Rehabilitation
      • CGN 6506 Bituminous Materials

      C. Construction-Applied Resources Competency (3 credits – take one of the following courses):

      • CGN 6905 Construction Faults and Safe Practices
      • CGN 6905 Advanced Construction Information Systems

      D. Field Construction Operations Competency (3 credits):

      • CGN 6905 Design of Temporary Structures

      E. Electives (12 credits):

      • CGN 6971 Master’s Research (3 to 6 credits required only for thesis option)
      • CEG 5115 Foundation Design
      • CEG 6515 Earth Retaining Walls
      • CEG 5114 Advanced Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design
      • CES 5801 Design and Construction in Timber
      • CES 5235 Design of Highway Bridges
      • CES 5606 Topics in Steel Design
      • CES 6706 Advanced Reinforced Concrete
      • CES 5010 Probabilistic and Stochastic Methods in Civil Engineering
      • CES 5715 Prestressed Concrete
      • CGN 5605 Public Works Planning
      • CGN 5606 Public Works Management
      • CGN 6905 Microstructural Analysis of Cementitious Systems
      • CGN 6905 Railroad Engineering
      • EGN 6039 Engineering Leadership
      • EGN 6640 Entrepreneurship for Engineers
      • EGN 6642 Engineering Innovation
      • ENV 5306 Sustainable Materials Management (Municipal Refuse Disposal)
      • ENV 6932 Construction and Demolition Debris Management
      • ENV 6617 Prin. Green Eng. Design & Sustainability
      • ENV 6932 Beneficial Use of Waste Materials
      • BCN 5874 Equipment and Methods for Heavy Construction
      • BCN 5885 Methods & Management for Heavy Construction
      • BCN 6748 Construction Law
      • BCN 5729 Design-Build Delivery Methods
      • BCN 5776 International Construction Business Management
      • BCN 6641 Construction Value Engineering
      • BCN 6558C Building Integrated Renewable Energy Systems

      Elective Notes

      • Classes listed in core competencies taken above the credit hour requirement in that competency may count toward the elective credit requirement
      • Other classes in Civil, Coastal, Environmental engineering or with a prefix of EGN courses may be taken upon approval of advisor
      • Only one of BCN 5874 BCN 5885 may be taken
      • Other electives outside of the college of engineering may be taken upon approval of advisor
      • A maximum of 9 credits outside of engineering may be used to satisfy degree requirements. Since BCN 5618C is required, only an additional 6 credits outside of engineering may be taken.

      View program page

  • Ph.D. (Expand for requirements)

    Introduction

    Within the construction engineering field, employers often seek out our graduates with doctoral degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them into industry and academia. They are at the forefront of construction workforce development, digital technologies for design, planning, construction, and inspection, and construction material design and use. Consequently, we offer a specialization in sustainable construction engineering within the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

    DEGREE REQUIREMENTS: The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A Ph.D. student does the major work in an academic unit specifically approved for offering doctoral courses and supervising dissertations. At least a B (3.00 truncated) is needed for courses included in the major (overall and major/departmental courses).

    ADVISING: Students will arrange to meet with their committee chair/advisor in order to complete the Program Plan of Study (PPS) found on the ESSIE website under the forms area. The student will also be provided with information about the completion of the Individual Development Plan (IDP). The PPS is done one time unless changes are made, but the IDP, which is found in Canvas, is done annually in conjunction with a scheduled advisement meeting with your Chair.

    Program Pan of Study (PPS)

    The program plan of study includes supervisory committee member approvals, course advisement, transfer credit requests, and optional minor and certificate request information. Your program plan is due by the mid-point of your third semester. If it is not received by that point, you will have a hold placed on your record and you will not be permitted to register for subsequent terms until the form is submitted and processed by the ESSIE Graduate Academic Student Records staff.

    Supervisory Committee Establishment and guidelines

    Membership: The supervisory committee for a doctoral candidate comprises at least four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two members, including the chair, must be from the academic unit recommending the degree. At least one member serves as external member and should be from a different educational discipline, with no ties to the home academic unit. One regular member may be from the home academic unit or another unit. A co-chair may also be appointed.

    Co-chair: To substitute for the chair of the committee at any examinations, the co-chair must be in the same academic unit as the candidate.

    External member:

    • Represents the interests of the Graduate School and UF
    • Knows Graduate Council policies
    • Serves as an advocate for the student at doctoral committee activities.

    If the academic unit’s committee activity conflicts with broader University policies or practices, the external member is responsible for bringing such conflicts to the attention of the appropriate governing body. Therefore, the external member is prohibited from holding any official interest in the doctoral candidate’s major academic unit. Faculty holding joint, affiliate, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit cannot be external members on a student’s committee.

    Minor member: The Graduate Faculty member who represents a minor on a student’s committee may be appointed as the external member if he/she does not have a courtesy graduate appointment in the student’s major academic unit.

    Retired faculty: Graduate Faculty members who retire may continue their service on supervisory committees for 1 year. With approval of the academic unit, retired faculty may continue serving on existing or new committees beyond this period.

    Special appointments: People without Graduate Faculty status may be made official members of a student’s supervisory committee through the special appointment process. Appropriate candidates for special appointments include

    • Individuals from outside UF with specific expertise who contribute to a graduate student’s program of study
    • Tenure-track faculty not yet qualified for Graduate Faculty status
    • Non-tenure-track faculty or staff at UF who do not qualify for Graduate Faculty status

    Limitations for special appointments:

    • They do not hold Graduate Faculty appointments
    • They have a special appointment that is specific only to an individual student’s committee
    • They may not serve as a supervisory committee chair, co-chair, external member, or minor representative.

    The student’s supervisory committee chair requests the special appointment, briefly explaining what the special appointment contributes to the supervisory committee. A special appointment is made for a specific supervisory committee. If a student changes to a new degree or major and the committee chair wishes to include the special member on the new supervisory committee, another request must be submitted to the Graduate School for the new committee.

    Transfer of Credit

    No more than 30 credits of a master’s degree from another institution will be transferred to a doctoral program. If a student holds a master’s degree in a discipline different from the doctoral program, the master’s work will not be counted in the program unless the academic unit petitions the Dean of the Graduate School. All courses beyond the master’s degree taken at another university to be applied to the Ph.D. degree must be taken at an institution offering the doctoral degree and must be approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of the University of Florida. All courses to be transferred must be graduate-level, letter-graded with a grade of B or better and must be demonstrated to relate directly to the degree being sought. (NOTE: Research hours are not included because they are not letter-graded.) All such transfer requests must be made by petition of the supervisory committee no later than the third term of Ph.D. study. The total number of credits (including 30 for a prior master’s degree) that may be transferred cannot exceed 45, and in all cases the student must complete the qualifying examination at the University of Florida. In addition, any prior graduate credits earned at UF (e.g., a master’s degree in the same or a different discipline) may be transferred into the doctoral program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and by petition to the Graduate School. The petition must show how the prior course work is relevant to the current degree. All master’s degrees counted in the minimum 90 credit hours must be earned in the last 7 years.

    Minors

    Minor work must be in an academic unit other than the major. If an academic unit contributes more than one course (as specified in the curriculum inventory and/or the Graduate Catalog) to the major, the student is not eligible to earn a minor from the contributing academic unit. A 3.00 (truncated) GPA is required for minor credit. In order to obtain a minor in another department area, the student will need approval from that department and to check on what the requirements are for that program. If a minor is chosen, the supervisory committee includes at least one Graduate Faculty member representing the student’s minor. If the student elects more than one minor, each minor area must be represented on the supervisory committee. Therefore, committees for students with two minors must have a minimum of five members.

    Certificates

    A list of available certificates is located on the Graduate School website. If a student is interested in a certificate, an application for admission for the certify cate must be completed and submitted. It is best to do this prior to enrolling in the first course that should be counted toward the certificate. In order to obtain the certificate, an application must also be submitted in order to graduate with the certificate. This should be done during the semester when the last course is completed or thereafter.

    Coursework Requirements

    Class requirements needed to provide the student with a practical and theoretical knowledge base will vary widely based on the area of specialization. Because of this, classes will be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor and approved by the doctoral committee.

    If a student holds an assistantship, the student should be registered for 9 credit hours during the Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours during the summer in order to maintain the appointment. If the student registers for more than that, the student will have to pay out of pocket based on the student’s residency. Anything less than 9 credit hours is considered part-time in the Fall and Spring and anything less than 6 is considered part-time in the summer. Advanced Research (7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy (classified as 7 and 8). Students enrolled in 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy (classified as 9). During the student’s final term, the student must be registered for research hours (a minimum of 3 in the Fall and Spring and 2 in the summer). If the graduating student is on an appointment, the student must be registered full-time based on the appointment requirements.

    QUALIFYING EXAMINATION: All Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given. The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units, is both written (sometimes referred to as a preliminary exam) and oral (sometimes referred to as the oral defense) and covers the major and minor subjects. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must attend the oral part. The student and chair or co-chair must be in the same physical location. With approval of the entire committee, other committee members may attend remotely using modern technology. At this time the supervisory committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree.

    The written portion of the qualifying examination contains a proposal for the doctoral thesis that the student will carry out. The proposal should include an introduction chapter that gives a background for the topic, project objectives, a description of the expected advancement in science and engineering that will result from this project, and an outline of the remainder of the document. The document should also include a literature review chapter, methodology chapter, and if any preliminary results are available they should also be included.

    The oral portion of the qualifying examination shall be an oral defense of the proposal. The candidate will present the problem to be studied, give background information on the topic including the state of the art on the subject, explain the project objectives, describe the methodology to be used, and summarize any preliminary data collected if available. The student will answer questions about the novelty of the work, the methodology to be used, any results to date, and expected contribution to science and engineering. The student may also be asked questions related to background knowledge of the student’s area of specialization.

    If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School should be notified. A re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee. At

    least one term of additional preparation is needed before re-examination.

    *Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.

    ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY: A student is admitted to candidacy upon completion of the oral qualifying exam when all committee members have approved the candidacy form and approved the dissertation topic.

    FINAL TERM REQUIREMENTS: A student about to graduate should check the Graduate School website for deadlines and final term requirements. This would include the Editorial Office’s guidelines as well.

    • Apply for the degree/certificate (found on the Office of the University Registrar website or in ONE.UF)
    • Transmittal Letter (Request from the ESSIE Graduate Records staff.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
    • First Submission
    • Final Exam (Packet found on the ESSIE website under the forms area.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
    • Final Submission
    • Degree Certification and Final Clearance

    View program page

  • Transportation Engineering
    • Master's (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      Master of Engineering (ME) or Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering with Specialization in Transportation Engineering

      Within the transportation engineering field, employers often seek out our graduates with master’s degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them into industry. Consequently, we offer a specialization in transportation engineering within the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

      Course Requirements

      Master’s students specializing in Transportation Engineering (TTE) are expected to satisfy the following minimum coursework requirements and procedures. Upon admission, a TTE faculty member is assigned as your advisor.

      Regardless of whether you are pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, you must complete the Master’s Program Plan of Study (PPS), which is posted on the ESSIE website.  You must request the use of transfer credits toward your degree program on the PPS and obtain approval, as indicated by the advisor’s signature on the PPS. You will have an advising hold until your first PPS has been submitted based on these timeframes:  Masters non-thesis submission is required by midterm of the first semester; Master’s thesis by midterm of the second semester.  Before the registration periods of subsequent semesters, contact your advisor for approval of your proposed course selection for the upcoming semester, along with any changes in your PPS. You or your advisor need to  submit your PPS (original or revised) to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.

      Additional requirements may be imposed by the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering or the University of Florida Graduate School; therefore, the student should consult the Civil and Coastal Engineering Graduate Student Handbook for additional information.

      Non-thesis Master’s degree

      Non-thesis students obtaining a Master’s of Science degree must satisfy the final exam requirements by submitting a completed term project that earned a grade of B or better from any of the TTE courses (ore or elective) listed in the coursework requirements. Projects from outside the curriculum will not be considered. Projects are to be submitted to the student’s advisor for approval and must be comprehensive in nature. Master of Engineering students are not required to complete the final examination per the Graduate Catalog.

      Thesis Master’s degree-seeking students:

      A thesis master’s degree-seeking student is required to have a supervisory committee. That committee must consist of a minimum of two members, a chair (usually the advisor) and at least one additional member. The full committee should be formed by the mid-term of the second semester. If a minor is designated, the committee must include a graduate faculty member from the minor department.

      Grades & Graduation

      Per the University of Florida Graduate School Policy, students must have an overall GPA of 3.00 and an overall 3.00 gpa within the departmental courses to be eligible for graduation.

      Coursework Requirements

      Courses are selected to ensure students obtain a minimum level of competency in transportation engineering. After the core and elective course requirements are met for transportation, electives must be chosen in consultation with advisors.

      MS or ME with Thesis

      A minimum of 30 credit hours with a minimum of 24 hours of course work and 6 hours Masters Research (CGN 6971) with a written master’s thesis and final oral defense. Enrollment of 3 credit hours (Fall/Spring) or 2 credit hours (Summer) of Masters Research (CGN 6971) is required during the final/graduating semester. Coursework should satisfy the core, transportation electives, and other electives criteria indicated below.

      MS or ME with Coursework Only (non-thesis)

      Minimum 30 total semester hours of coursework. Coursework should satisfy the core, transportation electives, and other electives criteria indicated below.

      Core Courses (min 9 credits)

      TTE 5305 Advanced Transportation Systems Analysis
      TTE 5106 Advanced Urban Transportation Planning
      TTE 6267 Traffic Flow Theory
      TTE 6315 Highway Safety Analysis
      TTE 5256 Traffic Engineering

       

      Transportation Electives (min of 9 credits)

      TTE 6606 Urban Transportation Models
      TTE 5805 Geometric Design of Transportation Facilities
      TTE 6259 Urban Streets Simulation and Control
      TTE 6505 Discrete Choice Analysis
      TTE 6205 Freeway Operations and Simulation
      CGN 6905 Machine Learning
      CGN 6905 Transportation Data Analytics
      CGN 6905 Advanced Traffic Simulation

      Other Electives (max of 12 credits)

      As transportation engineering is highly interdisciplinary, the graduate students are encouraged to choose electives from other branches of civil engineering and a variety of other disciplines including but not limited to: Industrial and Systems Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Urban and Regional Planning, Geography, and Statistics. Students must choose electives in consultation with their advisors.

      Non availability of courses:

      If any of the transportation courses are not available for reasons such as faculty members’ sabbatical the TTE faculty will recommend appropriate alternatives on a case-by-case basis.

      View program page

  • Ph.D. (Expand for requirements)

    Introduction

    Within the transportation engineering field, many employers (consultants, academic institutions, research labs) seek out our graduates with PhD degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them. Consequently, we offer a specialization in transportation engineering within the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

    DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

    The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A Ph.D. student does the major work in an academic unit specifically approved for offering doctoral courses and supervising dissertations. At least a B (3.00 truncated) is needed for courses included in the major (overall and major/departmental courses).

    ADVISING

    Students will arrange to meet with their committee chair/advisor in order to complete the Program Plan of Study (PPS) found on the ESSIE website under the forms area. The student will also be provided with information about the completion of the Individual Development Plan (IDP). The PPS is done one time unless changes are made, but the IDP, which is found in Canvas, is done annually in conjunction with a scheduled advisement meeting with your Chair.

    Program Pan of Study (PPS)

    The program plan of study includes supervisory committee member approvals, course advisement, transfer credit requests, and optional minor and certificate request information. Your program plan is due by the mid-point of your third semester. If it is not received by that point, you will have a hold placed on your record and you will not be permitted to register for subsequent terms until the form is submitted by you to ESSIE’s graduate department and processed by the ESSIE Graduate Academic Student Records staff.

    Supervisory Committee Establishment and guidelines

    Membership: The supervisory committee for a doctoral student comprises at least four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two members, including the chair, must be from the academic unit recommending the degree. At least one member serves as external member and should be from a different educational discipline, with no ties to the home academic unit. One regular member may be from the home academic unit or another unit. A co-chair may also be appointed.

    Co-chair: To substitute for the chair of the committee at any examinations, the co-chair must be in the same academic unit as the student.

    External member:

    • Represents the interests of the Graduate School and UF
    • Knows Graduate Council policies
    • Serves as an advocate for the student at doctoral committee activities.

    If the academic unit’s committee activity conflicts with broader University policies or practices, the external member is responsible for bringing such conflicts to the attention of the appropriate governing body. Therefore, the external member is prohibited from holding any official interest in the doctoral student’s major academic unit. Faculty holding joint, affiliate, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit cannot be external members on a student’s committee.

    Minor member: The Graduate Faculty member who represents a minor on a student’s committee may be appointed as the external member if he/she does not have a courtesy graduate appointment in the student’s major academic unit.

    Retired faculty: Graduate Faculty members who retire may continue their service on supervisory committees for 1 year. With approval of the academic unit, retired faculty may continue serving on existing or new committees beyond this period.

    Special appointments: People without Graduate Faculty status may be made official members of a student’s supervisory committee through the special appointment process. Appropriate students for special appointments include

    • Individuals from outside UF with specific expertise who contribute to a graduate student’s program of study
    • Tenure-track faculty not yet qualified for Graduate Faculty status
    • Non-tenure-track faculty or staff at UF who do not qualify for Graduate Faculty status

    Limitations for special appointments:

    • They do not hold Graduate Faculty appointments
    • They have a special appointment that is specific only to an individual student’s committee
    • They may not serve as a supervisory committee chair, co-chair, external member, or minor representative.

    The student’s supervisory committee chair requests the special appointment, briefly explaining what the special appointment contributes to the supervisory committee. A special appointment is made for a specific supervisory committee. If a student changes to a new degree or major and the committee chair wishes to include the special member on the new supervisory committee, another request must be submitted to the Graduate School for the new committee.

    Transfer of Credit

    No more than 30 credits of a master’s degree from another institution will be transferred to a doctoral program. If a student holds a master’s degree in a discipline different from the

    doctoral program, the master’s work will not be counted in the program unless the academic unit petitions the Dean of the Graduate School. All courses beyond the master’s degree taken at another university to be applied to the Ph.D. degree must be taken at an institution offering the doctoral degree and must be approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of the University of Florida. All courses to be transferred must be graduate-level, letter-graded with a grade of B or better and must be demonstrated to relate directly to the degree being sought. (NOTE: Research hours are not included because they are not letter-graded.) All such transfer requests must be made by petition of the supervisory committee no later than the third term of Ph.D. study. The total number of credits (including 30 for a prior master’s degree) that may be transferred cannot exceed 45, and in all cases the student must complete the qualifying examination at the University of Florida. In addition, any prior graduate credits earned at UF (e.g., a master’s degree in the same or a different discipline) may be transferred into the doctoral program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and by petition to the Graduate School. The petition must show how the prior course work is relevant to the current degree. All master’s degrees counted in the minimum 90 credit hours must be earned in the last 7 years.

    Minors

    Minor work must be in an academic unit other than the major. If an academic unit contributes more than one course (as specified in the curriculum inventory and/or the Graduate Catalog) to the major, the student is not eligible to earn a minor from the contributing academic unit. A 3.00 (truncated) GPA is required for minor credit. In order to obtain a minor in another department area, the student will need approval from that department and to check on what the requirements are for that program. If a minor is chosen, the supervisory committee includes at least one Graduate Faculty member representing the student’s minor. If the student elects more than one minor, each minor area must be represented on the supervisory committee. Therefore, committees for students with two minors must have a minimum of five members.

    Certificates

    A list of available certificates is located on the Graduate School website. If a student is interested in a certificate, an application for admission for the certify cate must be completed and submitted. It is best to do this prior to enrolling in the first course that should be counted toward the certificate. In order to obtain the certificate, an application must also be submitted in order to graduate with the certificate. This should be done during the semester when the last course is completed or thereafter.

    Coursework Requirements

    A total of 13 courses in transportation engineering are offered by the six faculty members in transportation engineering. The PhD pre-qualifying exam (discussed further in the section on QUALIFYING EXAM) generally includes one or more questions from each of the six faculty members on the courses they teach. The PhD students should seek to take at least one class from 4 or more of the transportation faculty members within the first year of their graduate

    studies so that they are prepared for the pre-qualifying exams. The courses must be chosen in consultation with the faculty advisor and considering past classes taken (if any) at a previous graduate-degree program (see also section on Transfer of Credits). Upon completion of the pre-qualifying exam, the faculty may recommend students to take additional transportation classes to enhance their breadth of knowledge. Once the requirements of the pre-qualifying exam are satisfied, the students can complete the remaining coursework (credit requirements) by choosing courses from any department in UF so as to best suit their dissertation work. This overall program of work will be developed by the student in consultation with the faculty advisor.

    A Comprehensive List of Transportation Engineering Courses

    Instructor   |   Course No.   |   Title

    Elefteriadou    |    TTE 6267    |      Traffic Flow Theory

    Elefteriadou    |     TTE 6259    |       Urban Streets Simulation and Control

    Washburn     |   TTE 5256     |   Traffic Engineering

    Washburn    |   TTE 6205    |    Freeway Operations

    Washburn    |    CGN 6905     |   Advanced Traffic Simulation

    Srinivasan     |   TTE 5106     |   Advanced Urban Transportation Planning

    Srinivasan    |    TTE 6505    |    Discrete Choice Analysis

    Zhao    |    EGN 5215    |    Machine Learning Applications in Civil Engineering

    Zhao    |    CGN 6905    |    Transportation Data Analytics

    Du    |     TTE 5305    |    Advanced Transportation Systems Analysis

    Du    |     TTE 6606    |    Urban Transportation Models

    Guo     |    TTE 6315     |     Highway Safety Analysis

    Guo     |     TTE 5805    |     Geometric Design of Transportation Facilities

    If a student holds an assistantship, the student should be registered for 9 credit hours during the Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours during the summer in order to maintain the appointment. If the student registers for more than that, the student will have to pay out of pocket based on the student’s residency. Anything less than 9 credit hours is considered part-time in the Fall and Spring and anything less than 6 is considered part-time in the summer. Advanced Research (7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy (classified as 7 and 8). Students enrolled in 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy (classified as 9). During the student’s final term, the student must be registered for research hours (a minimum of 3 in the Fall and Spring and 2 in the summer). If the graduating student is on an appointment, the student must be registered full-time based on the appointment requirements.

    QUALIFYING EXAMINATION: All Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given. The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units, is both written (sometimes referred to as a preliminary exam) and oral (sometimes referred to as the oral defense) and covers the major and minor subjects. In the Transportation Engineering program, the students are expected to take their written preliminary exam (also called the prequalifying exam) after completing two full semesters in the graduate program and the oral exam (also called proposal defense) much later (after making significant progress towards the dissertation).

    Preliminary Exam (Pre-qualifying Exam): Pre-qualifying exams are administered every summer (typically in May, a couple of weeks after the end of the spring semester). The students are provided with one or more questions from each of the six faculty members covering the courses they teach. The students are expected to answer four or more of the questions in detail (the exact number of questions to be answered will be indicated to the students in advance). This exam is typically open book / open notes and will be held over a period of 1 day. In addition, the student will also be required to submit a research paper on a topic provided by their advisor. The student must coordinate with the advisor to agree upon this research topic by early spring semester so that they have enough time to work on it. If a student’s performance in the written exam / paper was not satisfactory, the faculty members may choose to have an oral follow up exam. If the oral exam was not satisfactory either, the student is considered to have failed (Under exceptional circumstances the faculty members may recommend a re-exam to be taken later in summer or in early Fall). The faculty members (and advisor in particular) will discuss with the student why a PhD at UF is not the right fit for them and develop a plan of action for the student’s graduation with a master’s degree. If the students pass the exam overall, they can then proceed to start working on their dissertation. Passing the preliminary exam does not advance the student to candidacy.

    Oral Exam (Proposal Defense) and Advancement to Candidacy: Once the student has made adequate progress towards his/her dissertation, the student in consultation with the advisor will schedule the oral exam (1.5 – 2 hours in duration) or the proposal defense. This exam is evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units. The student should provide the entire supervisory committee a written proposal at least two weeks in advance of this exam. The student will present his/her work to the committee and answer questions from the members. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must attend the oral part. The student and chair or co-chair must be in the same physical location. With approval of the entire committee, other committee members may attend remotely using modern technology. At this time the supervisory committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree. If the student passes, he/she advanced to candidacy. If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School should be notified. A re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee. At least one term of additional preparation is needed before re-examination.

    *Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination (proposal defense) and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.

    ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY: A student is admitted to candidacy upon completion of the qualifying exam when all committee members have approved the candidacy form and approved the dissertation topic.

    FINAL TERM REQUIREMENTS: A student about to graduate should check the Graduate School website for deadlines and final term requirements. This would include the Editorial Office’s guidelines as well.

    • Apply for the degree/certificate (found on the Office of the University Registrar website or in ONE.UF)
    • Transmittal Letter (Request from the ESSIE Graduate Records staff.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
    • First Submission
    • Final Exam (Packet found on the ESSIE website under the forms area.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
    • Final Submission
    • Degree Certification and Final Clearance

    View program page

     
  • Water Systems
    • Master's (Civil) (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      Master of Engineering (ME) or Master of Science (MS) Degree in Civil Engineering or Environmental Engineering with Specialization in Water Systems

      Within water resources engineering field, employers often seek out our graduates with master’s degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them into industry. Consequently, we offer a specialization in water systems engineering within both the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering and Department of Environmental Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

      Course Requirements

      Master’s students specializing in Water Systems are expected to satisfy the following minimum coursework requirements and procedures. Upon admission, a Water Systems faculty member is assigned as your advisor.

      Regardless of whether you are pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, you must complete the Master’s Program Plan of Study (PPS) located on the Resources page, which is posted on the ESSIE website. You must request the use of transfer credits toward your degree program on the PPS and obtain approval, as indicated by the advisor’s signature on the PPS. You will have an advising hold until your first PPS has been submitted based on these timeframes:  Masters non-thesis submission is required by midterm of the first semester; Master’s thesis by midterm of the second semester.  Before the registration periods of subsequent semesters, contact your advisor for approval of your proposed course selection for the upcoming semester, along with any changes in your PPS. You or your advisor need to  submit your PPS (original or revised) to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.

      Additional requirements may be imposed by the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, or the University of Florida Graduate School; therefore, the student should consult the Civil and Coastal Engineering Graduate Student Handbook or Environmental Engineering Graduate Student Handbook for additional information.

      Non-thesis Master’s degree

      Non-thesis students obtaining a Master’s of Science degree must satisfy the final exam requirements by submitting a completed design or analysis term project that earned a grade of B or better from one of the Group A core courses listed below. Projects from outside the curriculum will not be considered. Projects are to be submitted to the student’s advisor for approval and must be comprehensive in nature. Master of Engineering students are not required to complete the final examination per the Graduate Catalog.

      Thesis Master’s degree-seeking students:

      A thesis master’s degree-seeking student is required to have a supervisory committee. That committee must consist of a minimum of two members, a chair (usually the advisor) and at least one additional member. The full committee should be formed by the mid-term of the second semester. If a minor is designated, the committee must include a graduate faculty member from the minor department.

      Grades & Graduation

      Per the University of Florida Graduate School Policy, students must have an overall GPA of 3.00 and an overall 3.00 GPA within the departmental courses to be eligible for graduation.

      Coursework Requirements

      Courses are selected to ensure students obtain a minimum level of competency in water systems engineering. In addition to the core course requirements, remaining coursework may be selected from approved electives.

      MS or ME with Thesis

      Minimum of 30 total semester hours; min. 24 hours coursework permitted and max 6 hours Masters Research permitted OR  27 hours coursework and 3 hours Masters Research required; min. 15 hours coursework in departmental courses (Group A), written master’s thesis; oral defense. Enrollment of 3 credit hours (Fall/Spring) or 2 credit hours (Summer) of Masters Research is required during the final/graduating semester.

      MS or ME with Coursework Only (non-thesis option)

      (Non-thesis option is only available if the student has not received an assistantship from ESSIE)

      Minimum of 30 total semester hours of coursework composed of a minimum of 15 hours of core coursework in Civil and Coastal Engineering or Environmental Engineering (Group A) along with 15 hours of elective courses (Groups B and C) as outlined below.

      Group A: ESSIE Core Courses (15 credits required):

      • CGN 6905 Computational Poromechanics
      • CGN 6905 Urban Stormwater Systems Design
      • CGN 6905 Water Resources Engineering
      • CWR 5125 Groundwater Flow I
      • CWR 5127 Evaluation of Groundwater Quality
      • CWR 5235 Open Channel Hydraulics
      • CWR 6116 Advanced Surface Hydrology
      • CWR 6240 Mixing and Transport in Turbulent Flow
      • CWR 6537 Contaminant Subsurface Hydrology
      • EGM 5816 Intermediate Fluid Dynamics
      • EES 5307 Ecological Engineering
      • EES 6307 Advanced Ecological Engineering
      • EES 6309 Wetland Design and Restoration
      • ENV 5518 Field Methods in Environmental Hydrology
      • ENV 5565 Hydraulic Systems Design
      • ENV 6050 Advanced Pollutant Transport
      • ENV 6052 Immiscible Fluids
      • ENV 6416 Advanced Stormwater Control Systems
      • ENV 6435 Advanced Water Treatment Process Design
      • ENV 6437 Advanced Wastewater System Design
      • ENV 6438 Advanced Potable Water Systems Design
      • ENV 6441 Water Resources Planning and Management
      • ENV 6508 Wetland Hydrology
      • ENV 6511 Biological Wastewater Treatment
      • ENV 6932 Absorption Phenomenon
      • ENV 6932 Advanced Engineering Hydrology I
      • ENV 6932 Ecosystems Engineers
      • ENV 6932 Environmental Systems Dynamics
      • ENV 6932 Global Environmental Policies and Institutions
      • ENV 6932 Stormwater Systems

      Group B: ESSIE Elective Courses:

      • ENV 6439 Activated Carbon: Environmental Design and Application
      • ENV 6617 Principles of Green Engineering Design and Sustainability
      • ENV 6932 Coastal Systems
      • ENV 6935 System Ecology Seminar
      • ENV 6935 Wetland Seminar

      Group C: Non ESSIE Elective Courses:

      • ABE 6252 Advanced Soil and Water Management
      • ABE 6265 Vadose Zone Water and Solute Transport Modeling
      • GLY 5827 Ground Water Geology
      • GLY 5245 Hydrogeochemistry
      • GLY 5247 Surface and Ground Water Interaction
      • GLY 6075 Global Climate Change
      • GLY 6826 Hydrogeologic Modeling
      • SUR 5625 Geographical Information Systems Analysis
      • SWS 5234 Environmental Soil, Water, and Land Use
      • SWS 5235 South Florida Ecosystems
      • SWS 5245 Water Sustainability
      • SWS 5248 Wetlands and Water Quality
      • SWS 5208 Sustainable Agricultural and Urban Land Management
      • SWS 5308 Waterborne Pathogens
      • SWS 5551 Soils, Water, and Public Health
      • SWS 5721C GIS Land Resource Management
      • SWS 6366 Biodegradation and Bioremediation
      • SWS 6448 Biogeochemistry of Wetlands and Aquatic Systems
      • SWS 6932 Florida Lake Management
      • SWS 6932 Wetlands Seminar
      • URP 6276 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

      Elective Notes

      • Other classes in Civil, Coastal, Environmental engineering or courses with an EGN prefix taught by the College of Engineering may be taken upon approval of advisor
      • Other courses may be taken as electives, including a maximum of 6 credits of 3000-4000 level courses outside the School (ESSIE), subject to the approval of the student’s advisor

      View program page

    • Master's (Environmental) (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      Master of Engineering (ME) or Master of Science (MS) Degree in Civil Engineering or Environmental Engineering with Specialization in Water Systems

      Within water resources engineering field, employers often seek out our graduates with master’s degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them into industry. Consequently, we offer a specialization in water systems engineering within both the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering and Department of Environmental Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

      Course Requirements

      Master’s students specializing in Water Systems are expected to satisfy the following minimum coursework requirements and procedures. Upon admission, a Water Systems faculty member is assigned as your advisor.

      Regardless of whether you are pursuing a Thesis or Non-Thesis degree, you must complete the Master’s Program Plan of Study (PPS) located on the Resources page, which is posted on the ESSIE website. You must request the use of transfer credits toward your degree program on the PPS and obtain approval, as indicated by the advisor’s signature on the PPS. You will have an advising hold until your first PPS has been submitted based on these timeframes:  Masters non-thesis submission is required by midterm of the first semester; Master’s thesis by midterm of the second semester.  Before the registration periods of subsequent semesters, contact your advisor for approval of your proposed course selection for the upcoming semester, along with any changes in your PPS. You or your advisor need to  submit your PPS (original or revised) to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.

      Additional requirements may be imposed by the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, or the University of Florida Graduate School; therefore, the student should consult the Civil and Coastal Engineering Graduate Student Handbook or Environmental Engineering Graduate Student Handbook for additional information.

      Non-thesis Master’s degree

      Non-thesis students obtaining a Master’s of Science degree must satisfy the final exam requirements by submitting a completed design or analysis term project that earned a grade of B or better from one of the Group A core courses listed below. Projects from outside the curriculum will not be considered. Projects are to be submitted to the student’s advisor for approval and must be comprehensive in nature. Master of Engineering students are not required to complete the final examination per the Graduate Catalog.

      Thesis Master’s degree-seeking students:

      A thesis master’s degree-seeking student is required to have a supervisory committee. That committee must consist of a minimum of two members, a chair (usually the advisor) and at least one additional member. The full committee should be formed by the mid-term of the second semester. If a minor is designated, the committee must include a graduate faculty member from the minor department.

      Grades & Graduation

      Per the University of Florida Graduate School Policy, students must have an overall GPA of 3.00 and an overall 3.00 GPA within the departmental courses to be eligible for graduation.

      Coursework Requirements

      Courses are selected to ensure students obtain a minimum level of competency in water systems engineering. In addition to the core course requirements, remaining coursework may be selected from approved electives.

      MS or ME with Thesis

      Minimum of 30 total semester hours; min. 24 hours coursework permitted and max 6 hours Masters Research permitted OR  27 hours coursework and 3 hours Masters Research required; min. 15 hours coursework in departmental courses (Group A), written master’s thesis; oral defense. Enrollment of 3 credit hours (Fall/Spring) or 2 credit hours (Summer) of Masters Research is required during the final/graduating semester.

      MS or ME with Coursework Only (non-thesis option)

      (Non-thesis option is only available if the student has not received an assistantship from ESSIE)

      Minimum of 30 total semester hours of coursework composed of a minimum of 15 hours of core coursework in Civil and Coastal Engineering or Environmental Engineering (Group A) along with 15 hours of elective courses (Groups B and C) as outlined below.

      Group A: ESSIE Core Courses (15 credits required):

      • CGN 6905 Computational Poromechanics
      • CGN 6905 Urban Stormwater Systems Design
      • CGN 6905 Water Resources Engineering
      • CWR 5125 Groundwater Flow I
      • CWR 5127 Evaluation of Groundwater Quality
      • CWR 5235 Open Channel Hydraulics
      • CWR 6116 Advanced Surface Hydrology
      • CWR 6240 Mixing and Transport in Turbulent Flow
      • CWR 6537 Contaminant Subsurface Hydrology
      • EGM 5816 Intermediate Fluid Dynamics
      • EES 5307 Ecological Engineering
      • EES 6307 Advanced Ecological Engineering
      • EES 6309 Wetland Design and Restoration
      • ENV 5518 Field Methods in Environmental Hydrology
      • ENV 5565 Hydraulic Systems Design
      • ENV 6050 Advanced Pollutant Transport
      • ENV 6052 Immiscible Fluids
      • ENV 6416 Advanced Stormwater Control Systems
      • ENV 6435 Advanced Water Treatment Process Design
      • ENV 6437 Advanced Wastewater System Design
      • ENV 6438 Advanced Potable Water Systems Design
      • ENV 6441 Water Resources Planning and Management
      • ENV 6508 Wetland Hydrology
      • ENV 6511 Biological Wastewater Treatment
      • ENV 6932 Absorption Phenomenon
      • ENV 6932 Advanced Engineering Hydrology I
      • ENV 6932 Ecosystems Engineers
      • ENV 6932 Environmental Systems Dynamics
      • ENV 6932 Global Environmental Policies and Institutions
      • ENV 6932 Stormwater Systems

      Group B: ESSIE Elective Courses:

      • ENV 6439 Activated Carbon: Environmental Design and Application
      • ENV 6617 Principles of Green Engineering Design and Sustainability
      • ENV 6932 Coastal Systems
      • ENV 6935 System Ecology Seminar
      • ENV 6935 Wetland Seminar

      Group C: Non ESSIE Elective Courses:

      • ABE 6252 Advanced Soil and Water Management
      • ABE 6265 Vadose Zone Water and Solute Transport Modeling
      • GLY 5827 Ground Water Geology
      • GLY 5245 Hydrogeochemistry
      • GLY 5247 Surface and Ground Water Interaction
      • GLY 6075 Global Climate Change
      • GLY 6826 Hydrogeologic Modeling
      • SUR 5625 Geographical Information Systems Analysis
      • SWS 5234 Environmental Soil, Water, and Land Use
      • SWS 5235 South Florida Ecosystems
      • SWS 5245 Water Sustainability
      • SWS 5248 Wetlands and Water Quality
      • SWS 5208 Sustainable Agricultural and Urban Land Management
      • SWS 5308 Waterborne Pathogens
      • SWS 5551 Soils, Water, and Public Health
      • SWS 5721C GIS Land Resource Management
      • SWS 6366 Biodegradation and Bioremediation
      • SWS 6448 Biogeochemistry of Wetlands and Aquatic Systems
      • SWS 6932 Florida Lake Management
      • SWS 6932 Wetlands Seminar
      • URP 6276 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

      Elective Notes

      • Other classes in Civil, Coastal, Environmental engineering or courses with an EGN prefix taught by the College of Engineering may be taken upon approval of advisor
      • Other courses may be taken as electives, including a maximum of 6 credits of 3000-4000 level courses outside the School (ESSIE), subject to the approval of the student’s advisor

      View program page

    • Ph.D. (Expand for requirements)

      Introduction

      Within the civil engineering field, employers (academic institutions, research labs, and consultants) often seek out our graduates with PhD degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them. Consequently, we offer a specialization in environmental engineering or civil engineering with a specialization in water systems engineering within both the Department of Environmental Engineering and Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

      DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

      The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A Ph.D. student does the major work in an academic unit specifically approved for offering doctoral courses and supervising dissertations. At least a B (3.00 truncated) is needed for courses included in the major (overall and major/departmental courses).

      ADVISING

      Students will arrange to meet with their committee chair/advisor in order to complete the Program Plan of Study (PPS) found on the ESSIE website under the forms area. The student will also be provided with information about the completion of the Individual Development Plan (IDP). The PPS is done one time unless changes are made, but the IDP, which is found in Canvas, is done annually in conjunction with a scheduled advisement meeting with your Chair.

      Program Pan of Study (PPS)

      The program plan of study includes supervisory committee member approvals, course advisement, transfer credit requests, and optional minor and certificate request information. Your program plan is due by the mid-point of your third semester. If it is not received by that point, you will have a hold placed on your record and you will not be permitted to register for subsequent terms until the form is submitted by you to ESSIE’s graduate department and processed by the ESSIE Graduate Academic Student Records staff.

      Supervisory Committee Establishment and guidelines

      Membership: The supervisory committee for a doctoral candidate comprises at least four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two members, including the chair, must be from the academic unit recommending the degree. At least one member serves as external member and should be from a different educational discipline, with no ties to the home academic unit. One regular member may be from the home academic unit or another unit. A co-chair may also be appointed.

      Co-chair: To substitute for the chair of the committee at any examinations, the co-chair must be in the same academic unit as the candidate.

      External member:

      • Represents the interests of the Graduate School and UF
      • Knows Graduate Council policies
      • Serves as an advocate for the student at doctoral committee activities.

      If the academic unit’s committee activity conflicts with broader University policies or practices, the external member is responsible for bringing such conflicts to the attention of the appropriate governing body. Therefore, the external member is prohibited from holding any official interest in the doctoral candidate’s major academic unit. Faculty holding joint, affiliate, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit cannot be external members on a student’s committee.

      Minor member: The Graduate Faculty member who represents a minor on a student’s committee may be appointed as the external member if he/she does not have a courtesy graduate appointment in the student’s major academic unit.

      Retired faculty: Graduate Faculty members who retire may continue their service on supervisory committees for 1 year. With approval of the academic unit, retired faculty may continue serving on existing or new committees beyond this period.

      Special appointments: People without Graduate Faculty status may be made official members of a student’s supervisory committee through the special appointment process. Appropriate candidates for special appointments include

      • Individuals from outside UF with specific expertise who contribute to a graduate student’s program of study
      • Tenure-track faculty not yet qualified for Graduate Faculty status
      • Non-tenure-track faculty or staff at UF who do not qualify for Graduate Faculty status

      Limitations for special appointments:

      • They do not hold Graduate Faculty appointments
      • They have a special appointment that is specific only to an individual student’s committee
      • They may not serve as a supervisory committee chair, co-chair, external member, or minor representative.

      The student’s supervisory committee chair requests the special appointment, briefly explaining what the special appointment contributes to the supervisory committee. A special appointment is made for a specific supervisory committee. If a student changes to a new degree or major and the committee chair wishes to include the special member on the new supervisory committee, another request must be submitted to the Graduate School for the new committee.

      Transfer of Credi

      No more than 30 credits of a master’s degree from another institution will be transferred to a doctoral program. If a student holds a master’s degree in a discipline different from the doctoral program, the master’s work will not be counted in the program unless the academic unit petitions the Dean of the Graduate School. All courses beyond the master’s degree taken at another university to be applied to the Ph.D. degree must be taken at an institution offering the doctoral degree and must be approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of the University of Florida. All courses to be transferred must be graduate-level, letter-graded with a grade of B or better and must be demonstrated to relate directly to the degree being sought. (NOTE: Research hours are not included because they are not letter-graded.) All such transfer requests must be made by petition of the supervisory committee no later than the third term of Ph.D. study. The total number of credits (including 30 for a prior master’s degree) that may be transferred cannot exceed 45, and in all cases the student must complete the qualifying examination at the University of Florida. In addition, any prior graduate credits earned at UF (e.g., a master’s degree in the same or a different discipline) may be transferred into the doctoral program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and by petition to the Graduate School. The petition must show how the prior course work is relevant to the current degree. All master’s degrees counted in the minimum 90 credit hours must be earned in the last 7 years.

      Minors

      Minor work must be in an academic unit other than the major. If an academic unit contributes more than one course (as specified in the curriculum inventory and/or the Graduate Catalog) to the major, the student is not eligible to earn a minor from the contributing academic unit. A 3.00 (truncated) GPA is required for minor credit. In order to obtain a minor in another department area, the student will need approval from that department and to check on what the requirements are for that program. If a minor is chosen, the supervisory committee includes at least one Graduate Faculty member representing the student’s minor. If the student elects more than one minor, each minor area must be represented on the supervisory committee. Therefore, committees for students with two minors must have a minimum of five members.

      Certificates

      A list of available certificates is located on the Graduate School website. If a student is interested in a certificate, an application for admission for the certify cate must be completed and submitted. It is best to do this prior to enrolling in the first course that should be counted toward the certificate. In order to obtain the certificate, an application must also be submitted in order to graduate with the certificate. This should be done during the semester when the last course is completed or thereafter.

      Coursework Requirements

      A minimum of 15 credit hours must be taken within ESSIE. A list of typical in major Water Systems courses is provided below. This list is not exhaustive and other in major courses can been taken if approved by the faculty advisor. In addition to the 15 credit in major courses, the student will complete their remaining coursework (credit requirements) by choosing courses from any department at UF so as to best suit their dissertation work along with research hours. The overall program of work will be developed by the student in consultation with their faculty advisor

      Water Systems Courses

      • CGN 6905 Computational Poromechanics
      • CGN 6905 Urban Stormwater Systems Design
      • CGN 6905 Water Resources Engineering
      • CWR 5125 Groundwater Flow I
      • CWR 5127 Evaluation of Groundwater Quality
      • CWR 5235 Open Channel Hydraulics
      • CWR 6116 Advanced Surface Hydrology
      • CWR 6240 Mixing and Transport in Turbulent Flow
      • CWR 6537 Contaminant Subsurface Hydrology
      • EGM 5816 Intermediate Fluid Dynamics
      • EES 5307 Ecological Engineering
      • EES 6307 Advanced Ecological Engineering
      • EES 6309 Wetland Design and Restoration
      • ENV 5518 Field Methods in Environmental Hydrology
      • ENV 5565 Hydraulic Systems Design
      • ENV 6050 Advanced Pollutant Transport
      • ENV 6052 Immiscible Fluids
      • ENV 6416 Advanced Stormwater Control Systems
      • ENV 6435 Advanced Water Treatment Process Design
      • ENV 6437 Advanced Wastewater System Design
      • ENV 6438 Advanced Potable Water Systems Design
      • ENV 6441 Water Resources Planning and Management
      • ENV 6508 Wetland Hydrology
      • ENV 6511 Biological Wastewater Treatment
      • ENV 6932 Absorption Phenomenon
      • ENV 6932 Advanced Engineering Hydrology I
      • ENV 6932 Ecosystems Engineers
      • ENV 6932 Environmental Systems Dynamics
      • ENV 6932 Global Environmental Policies and Institutions
      • ENV 6932 Stormwater Systems

      If a student holds an assistantship, the student should be registered for 9 credit hours during the Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours during the summer in order to maintain the appointment. If the student registers for more than that, the student will have to pay out of pocket based on the student’s residency. Anything less than 9 credit hours is considered part-time in the Fall and Spring and anything less than 6 is considered part-time in the summer. Advanced Research (7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy (classified as 7 and 8). Students enrolled in 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy (classified as 9). During the student’s final term, the student must be registered for research hours (a minimum of 3 in the Fall and Spring and 2 in the summer). If the graduating student is on an appointment, the student must be registered full-time based on the appointment requirements.

      QUALIFYING EXAMINATION: All Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given. The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units, is both written (sometimes referred to as a preliminary exam) and oral (sometimes referred to as the oral defense) and covers the major and minor subjects. In the Civil Engineering Water System program, the students take their qualifying exam once they have made adequate progress towards their dissertation. In preparation for the qualifying exam the student will prepare a written dissertation research proposal which outlines their research objectives. The proposal is submitted to their graduate committee and then in coordination with their faculty advisor they will schedule their qualifying exam. The qualifying exam is composed of two parts: a written exam and oral exam (Proposal Defense).

      Written exam: The written exam is composed of questions provided by the members of the supervisory committee. The questions will typically relate to the students research proposal but may also include content that committee members believe will strengthen the proposed research.

      Oral Exam (Proposal Defense) and Advancement to Candidacy: Once the student has completed their written exam, the student in consultation with the advisor will schedule the oral exam (proposal defense). This exam is evaluated by the full supervisory committee. The student will present his/her work to the committee and answer questions from the members. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must attend the oral exam. The student and chair or co-chair must be in the same physical location. With approval of the entire committee, other committee members may attend remotely using modern technology. At this time the supervisory committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree. If the student passes, they advance to candidacy. If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School should be notified. A re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee. At least one term of additional preparation is needed before re-examination.

      *Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination (proposal defense) and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.

      ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY: A student is admitted to candidacy upon completion of the qualifying exam when all committee members have approved the candidacy form and approved the dissertation topic.

      FINAL TERM REQUIREMENTS: A student about to graduate should check the Graduate School website for deadlines and final term requirements. This would include the Editorial Office’s guidelines as well.

      • Apply for the degree/certificate (found on the Office of the University Registrar website or in ONE.UF)
      • Transmittal Letter (Request from the ESSIE Graduate Records staff.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
      • First Submission
      • Final Exam (Packet found on the ESSIE website under the forms area.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
      • Final Submission
      • Degree Certification and Final Clearance

      View program page

Environmental Engineering Sciences Ph.D.

Introduction

Within the environmental engineering field, employers (academic institutions, research labs, and consultants) often seek out our graduates with PhD degrees. They have high expectations regarding the skills and capabilities that our graduates bring with them. The following requirements, in addition to the minimum requirements imposed by the UF Graduate School, must be met for graduation.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. A Ph.D. student does the major work in an academic unit specifically approved for offering doctoral courses and supervising dissertations. At least a B (3.00 truncated) is needed for courses included in the major (overall and major/departmental courses).

ADVISING

Students will arrange to meet with their committee chair/advisor in order to complete the Program Plan of Study (PPS) found on the ESSIE website under the forms area. The student will also be provided with information about the completion of the Individual Development Plan (IDP). The PPS is done one time unless changes are made, but the IDP, which is found in Canvas, is done annually in conjunction with a scheduled advisement meeting with your Chair.

Program Pan of Study (PPS)

The program plan of study includes supervisory committee member approvals, course advisement, transfer credit requests, and optional minor and certificate request information. Your program plan is due by the mid-point of your third semester. If it is not received by that point, you will have a hold placed on your record and you will not be permitted to register for subsequent terms until the form is submitted by you to ESSIE’s graduate department and processed by the ESSIE Graduate Academic Student Records staff.

Supervisory Committee Establishment and guidelines

Membership: The supervisory committee for a doctoral candidate comprises at least four members selected from the Graduate Faculty. At least two members, including the chair, must be from the academic unit recommending the degree. At least one member serves as external member and should be from a different educational discipline, with no ties to the home academic unit. One regular member may be from the home academic unit or another unit. A co-chair may also be appointed.

Co-chair: To substitute for the chair of the committee at any examinations, the co-chair must be in the same academic unit as the candidate.

External member:

  • Represents the interests of the Graduate School and UF
  • Knows Graduate Council policies
  • Serves as an advocate for the student at doctoral committee activities.

If the academic unit’s committee activity conflicts with broader University policies or practices, the external member is responsible for bringing such conflicts to the attention of the appropriate governing body. Therefore, the external member is prohibited from holding any official interest in the doctoral candidate’s major academic unit. Faculty holding joint, affiliate, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit cannot be external members on a student’s committee.

Minor member: The Graduate Faculty member who represents a minor on a student’s committee may be appointed as the external member if he/she does not have a courtesy graduate appointment in the student’s major academic unit.

Retired faculty: Graduate Faculty members who retire may continue their service on supervisory committees for 1 year. With approval of the academic unit, retired faculty may continue serving on existing or new committees beyond this period.

Special appointments: People without Graduate Faculty status may be made official members of a student’s supervisory committee through the special appointment process. Appropriate candidates for special appointments include

  • Individuals from outside UF with specific expertise who contribute to a graduate student’s program of study
  • Tenure-track faculty not yet qualified for Graduate Faculty status
  • Non-tenure-track faculty or staff at UF who do not qualify for Graduate Faculty status

Limitations for special appointments:

  • They do not hold Graduate Faculty appointments
  • They have a special appointment that is specific only to an individual student’s committee
  • They may not serve as a supervisory committee chair, co-chair, external member, or minor representative.

The student’s supervisory committee chair requests the special appointment, briefly explaining what the special appointment contributes to the supervisory committee. A special appointment is made for a specific supervisory committee. If a student changes to a new degree or major and the committee chair wishes to include the special member on the new supervisory committee, another request must be submitted to the Graduate School for the new committee.

Transfer of Credit

No more than 30 credits of a master’s degree from another institution will be transferred to a

doctoral program. If a student holds a master’s degree in a discipline different from the doctoral program, the master’s work will not be counted in the program unless the academic unit petitions the Dean of the Graduate School. All courses beyond the master’s degree taken at another university to be applied to the Ph.D. degree must be taken at an institution offering the doctoral degree and must be approved for graduate credit by the Graduate School of the University of Florida. All courses to be transferred must be graduate-level, letter-graded with a grade of B or better and must be demonstrated to relate directly to the degree being sought. (NOTE: Research hours are not included because they are not letter-graded.) All such transfer requests must be made by petition of the supervisory committee no later than the third term of Ph.D. study. The total number of credits (including 30 for a prior master’s degree) that may be transferred cannot exceed 45, and in all cases the student must complete the qualifying examination at the University of Florida. In addition, any prior graduate credits earned at UF (e.g., a master’s degree in the same or a different discipline) may be transferred into the doctoral program at the discretion of the supervisory committee and by petition to the Graduate School. The petition must show how the prior course work is relevant to the current degree. All master’s degrees counted in the minimum 90 credit hours must be earned in the last 7 years.

Minors

Minor work must be in an academic unit other than the major. If an academic unit contributes more than one course (as specified in the curriculum inventory and/or the Graduate Catalog) to the major, the student is not eligible to earn a minor from the contributing academic unit. A 3.00 (truncated) GPA is required for minor credit. In order to obtain a minor in another department area, the student will need approval from that department and to check on what the requirements are for that program. If a minor is chosen, the supervisory committee includes at least one Graduate Faculty member representing the student’s minor. If the student elects more than one minor, each minor area must be represented on the supervisory committee. Therefore, committees for students with two minors must have a minimum of five members.

Certificates

A list of available certificates is located on the Graduate School website. If a student is interested in a certificate, an application for admission for the certify cate must be completed and submitted. It is best to do this prior to enrolling in the first course that should be counted toward the certificate. In order to obtain the certificate, an application must also be submitted in order to graduate with the certificate. This should be done during the semester when the last course is completed or thereafter.

Coursework Requirements

A minimum of 12 credit hours must be taken within ESSIE. 1 credit of Environmental Sciences seminar is required; Max 3 credits of Seminar allowed. A list of typical in major Environmental Engineering Sciences courses is provided below. This list is not exhaustive and other in major courses can been taken if approved by the faculty advisor. In addition to the 12 credit in major courses, the student will complete their remaining coursework (credit requirements) by choosing courses from any department at UF so as to best suit their dissertation work along with research credit hours. The overall program of work will be developed by the student in consultation with their faculty advisor. In addition to these requirements, at least one journal article accepted in a refereed journal.

Environmental Engineering Sciences Courses

  • CGN 6905 Urban Stormwater Systems Design
  • CGN 6905 Water Resources Engineering
  • CWR 5125 Groundwater Flow I
  • CWR 5127 Evaluation of Groundwater Quality
  • CWR 5235 Open Channel Hydraulics
  • CWR 6116 Advanced Surface Hydrology
  • CWR 6537 Contaminant Subsurface Hydrology
  • EES 5307 Ecological Engineering
  • EES 6208 – Principles of Water Chemistry I
  • EES6225 Atmospheric Chemistry
  • EES 6307 Advanced Ecological Engineering
  • EES 6309 Wetland Design and Restoration
  • ENV 5518 Field Methods in Environmental Hydrology
  • ENV 5565 Hydraulic Systems Design
  • ENV 6050 Advanced Pollutant Transport
  • ENV 6052 Immiscible Fluids
  • ENV 6126 Air Pollution Control Design
  • ENV 6416 Advanced Stormwater Control Systems
  • ENV 6435 Advanced Water Treatment Process Design
  • ENV 6437 Advanced Wastewater System Design
  • ENV 6438 Advanced Potable Water Systems Design
  • ENV 6441 Water Resources Planning and Management
  • ENV 6508 Wetland Hydrology
  • ENV 6511 Biological Wastewater Treatment
  • ENV 6932 Absorption Phenomenon
  • ENV 6932 Advanced Engineering Hydrology I
  • ENV 6932 Ecosystems Engineers
  • ENV 6932 Environmental Systems Dynamics
  • ENV 6932 Global Environmental Policies and Institutions
  • ENV 6932 Stormwater Systems

If a student holds an assistantship, the student should be registered for 9 credit hours during the Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours during the summer in order to maintain the appointment. If the student registers for more than that, the student will have to pay out of pocket based on the student’s residency. Anything less than 9 credit hours is considered part-time in the Fall and Spring and anything less than 6 is considered part-time in the summer. Advanced Research (7979) is open to doctoral students not yet admitted to candidacy (classified as 7 and 8). Students enrolled in 7979 during the term they qualify for candidacy will stay in this registration unless the academic unit elects to change their enrollment to Research for Doctoral Dissertation (7980), which is reserved for doctoral students admitted to candidacy (classified as 9). During the student’s final term, the student must be registered for research hours (a minimum of 3 in the Fall and Spring and 2 in the summer). If the graduating student is on an appointment, the student must be registered full-time based on the appointment requirements.

QUALIFYING EXAMINATION: All Ph.D. students must take the qualifying examination. It may be taken during the third term of graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The student must be registered in the term the qualifying examination is given. The examination, prepared and evaluated by the full supervisory committee or the major and minor academic units, is both written (sometimes referred to as a preliminary exam) and oral (sometimes referred to as the oral defense) and covers the major and minor subjects. In the Environmental Engineering Water System program the students take their qualifying exam once they have made adequate progress towards their dissertation. In preparation for the qualifying exam the student will prepare a written dissertation research proposal which outlines their research objectives. The proposal is submitted to their graduate committee and then in coordination with their faculty advisor they will schedule their qualifying exam. The qualifying exam is composed of two parts: a written exam and oral exam (Proposal Defense).

Written exam: The written exam is composed of questions provided by the members of the supervisory committee. The questions will typically relate to the students research proposal but may also include content that committee members believe will strengthen the proposed research.

Oral Exam (Proposal Defense) and Advancement to Candidacy: Once the student has completed their written exam, the student in consultation with the advisor will schedule the oral exam (proposal defense). This exam is evaluated by the full supervisory committee. The student will present his/her work to the committee and answer questions from the members. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the supervisory committee must attend the oral exam. The student and chair or co-chair must be in the same physical location. With approval of the entire committee, other committee members may attend remotely using modern technology. At this time the supervisory committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree. If the student passes, they advance to candidacy. If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School should be notified. A re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee. At least one term of additional preparation is needed before re-examination.

*Time lapse: Between the oral part of the qualifying examination (proposal defense) and the date of the degree there must be at least 2 terms. The term the qualifying examination is passed is counted, if the examination occurs before the midpoint of the term.

ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY: A student is admitted to candidacy upon completion of the qualifying exam when all committee members have approved the candidacy form and approved the dissertation topic.

FINAL TERM REQUIREMENTS: A student about to graduate should check the Graduate School website for deadlines and final term requirements. This would include the Editorial Office’s guidelines as well.

  • Apply for the degree/certificate (found on the Office of the University Registrar website or in ONE.UF)
  • Transmittal Letter (Request from the ESSIE Graduate Records staff.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
  • First Submission
  • Final Exam (Packet found on the ESSIE website under the forms area.) This is submitted by the student’s chair to ESSIE’s graduate department for processing.
  • Final Submission
  • At least one journal article accepted in a refereed journal
  • Degree Certification and Final Clearance

Graduate Certificates

A list of available graduate certificates is located on the EDGE website. If a student is interested in a certificate, an application for admission for the certificate must be completed and submitted.