Chairperson: Daniel Zitomer, Ph.D., P.E.
Civil Engineering Graduate Programs website

Degree Offered

Doctor of Philosophy

Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering is to educate students in the Catholic, Jesuit tradition. These students will be competent in their technical fields, appreciate the moral and ethical impact of their professional work, and continue their professional development throughout their careers. They will advance the state of technical and scientific knowledge through research and provide service to civic and professional communities.

Program Descriptions

The Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering offers master of science and doctor of philosophy degree programs designed to provide graduate students with both broad fundamental knowledge and up-to-date information on current and emerging technologies. Students may enroll on either a full-time or part-time basis. Doctoral students and research-oriented master’s students (e.g., Plan A) engage in research activities under the close supervision of their advisers, gradually learning to become independent researchers. Their projects are often supported by government and industry grants. Courses and research projects make significant use of the department’s extensive laboratory and computational facilities. Graduates find employment in industry, government, academia and research laboratories.

The Department also offers a graduate certificate in environmental engineering, designed for practicing professionals. Students typically enroll on a part-time basis. The environmental engineering certificate is designed to develop graduates with the skills required to solve complex environmental engineering problems in order to protect public health and the environment. The certificate will offer students the opportunity to explore a greater technical understanding of problems associated with air, land, and water resources in both urban and rural communities. Graduates of this program are likely to find positions in a wide range of organizations including governmental agencies, municipal engineering departments, consulting engineer companies, construction companies, as well as a wide range of industries.

The Department participates in the Opus College of Engineering’s Master’s Across Boundaries (MAB) program. Under this initiative, applicants to the master of science in civil engineering program may be permitted by the department to apply up to two previously earned MAB graduate certificates (up to 12 credits each) toward the M.S. Plan B degree. All program criteria for the M.S. degree (Plan B) must still be met. (See the section on Civil Engineering Master’s Requirements.) Applicants who are admitted to the M.S. program with previously earned MAB certificate(s) will be informed at the time of admission which of their certificate course work may be applied toward the M.S. Plan B degree. Additional details on the application of specific certificates toward the specific specializations of the M.S. degree may be found at the end of this section.

Research Activities

The Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering maintains laboratories related to studies in construction engineering, hydraulics, environmental engineering, engineering materials and structural testing, as well as computational facilities. The Construction Automation Laboratory, Engineering Materials and Structural Testing Laboratory, Transportation Research Center and Water Quality Center are associated with the department.

Research interests of the faculty include the following, listed by specialization:

Construction Engineering (CNEN): advanced technology applications in construction, lean construction practices, management of construction processes, modeling of construction projects, virtual design and construction, bridge repair and replacement, on-site productivity measurement and improvement, highway work-zone safety and international construction management;

Environmental and Water Resources Engineering (ENWR): anaerobic biotechnology, wastewater treatment, analytical chemistry, physical/chemical water treatment, fate and impacts of emerging contaminants, antibiotic resistance, pyrolysis, nutrient recovery, environmental microbiology, advanced oxidation processes, sustainability and life-cycle cost analysis, hydrologic modeling, green stormwater infrastructure, geographic information systems, flood frequency analysis, real-time control of stormwater systems;

Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics (SESM): retrofit and repair of structures using fiber-reinforced polymers, prestressed concrete, reliability-based performance assessment of civil infrastructure, health monitoring of civil infrastructure, performance-based engineering, ground motion simulation validation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, structural mechanics modeling of micro-structures for chemical/biosensing and energy-harvesting applications;

Transportation Engineering and Materials (TEMA): transportation systems operations and maintenance (TSM&O), data analysis and visualization, health care access, smart communities, pavement mechanics, modeling of flexible and rigid pavements, tire-pavement interaction, micromechanical modeling of asphalt concrete, pavement damage.

Civil Engineering Doctorate

Specializations: Construction Engineering (CNEN), Environmental and Water Resources Engineering (ENWR), Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics (SESM), Transportation Engineering and Materials (TEMA)

A doctoral student in civil engineering must complete a program of study prepared in consultation with his or her doctoral adviser and outlined on an approved Doctoral Program Planning Form. This form must be submitted within the first year of the student’s doctoral studies. A student in the civil engineering doctoral program must select a specialization.

The requirements of the doctoral program in civil engineering include the following:

• A minimum of 45 credit hours of graduate-level course work (5000 or above) beyond the baccalaureate degree.
• A minimum of 12 credit hours of course work taken while in the Marquette doctoral program must be at the 6000 level or above.
• 12 credit hours of dissertation work.     
• A minimum of 12 credit hours must be taken from a list of approved courses within the specialization. (See the appropriate table below.)
• A maximum of nine (9) credit hours of Independent Study courses may be included in the course work total.
• For cases in which students enter the program with a master’s degree from another institution in the same or closely-related field, students may request (on the Doctoral Program Planning Form) that a maximum of 21 credit hours of graduate-level course work from the prior master’s degree count toward the Ph.D. 45-credit course work credit requirement. Thus, for these students a minimum of 24 credit hours of course work exclusive of the dissertation must be taken at Marquette University while the student is in the doctoral program.
• For cases in which students enter the program with a master’s degree from Marquette University in the same or closely-related field, students may request (on the Doctoral Program Planning Form) that a maximum of 30 credit hours of graduate-level course work from the prior master’s degree count toward the Ph.D. 45-credit course work credit requirement. Thus, for these students a minimum of 15 credit hours of course work exclusive of the dissertation must be taken at Marquette University while the student is in the doctoral program.
• For any direct-entry Ph.D. student in civil engineering, i.e., one who enters the Ph.D. program without a prior master’s degree in the same or closely related field, that student shall be dual-classified by the Graduate School as both a Ph.D. student and an M.S. student. While in the course of their graduate studies at Marquette, if and when the student satisfies all M.S. degree requirements as listed in the Civil Engineering Master’s Requirements section of the Graduate Bulletin, then they may apply for M.S. graduation and be awarded the M.S. degree. Following the awarding of the M.S. degree, the student would no longer be dual-classified and would simply be classified as a Ph.D. student. For cases in which a direct-entry Ph.D. student intends to earn an M.S. while working toward the Ph.D., the student should clearly indicate on the Doctoral Program Planning Form which of the Ph.D. courses listed to meet the 45-credit doctoral course requirement are also being requested to satisfy the M.S. course work requirement.
• Doctoral Qualifying Examination (DQE): A student must pass a doctoral qualifying examination (DQE) administered by the student's doctoral committee toward the end of completing the course work requirement. The DQE normally consists of both written and oral tests. Each faculty member on a doctoral candidate’s committee may submit questions for the written examination. The doctoral committee, as a whole, gives the oral examination. 
• Dissertation Outline: Within two terms of passing the written and oral portions of the DQE, the student should submit a dissertation outline that is approved by the entire dissertation committee. This document serves as an agreement between the student and the committee regarding the expectations of the dissertation content, including the motivation, objectives, and scope of the proposed study. The outline should also document the originality of the dissertation research and place the proposed work within the context of related studies that appear in the literature.
• Dissertation: The student must write, successfully defend, and submit an approved dissertation. The dissertation must represent an original research contribution showing high attainment and clear ability to do independent research. The dissertation defense is a public defense and must be scheduled in advance by using the appropriate Graduate School form. (The submission deadline is specified on the form.) The approved dissertation must meet the format requirements of the Graduate School as indicated in the Dissertation Directives available at the Graduate School website. The dissertation is not considered to have satisfied the degree requirements until it has been formally accepted by the Graduate School.
• All graduate students must maintain a 3.000 cumulative GPA to graduate. Determination of the cumulative GPA is based on all courses taken during a student’s graduate career at Marquette University, including prerequisite and repeated courses, if any.
• Completion of all other university Graduate School requirements, including meeting the relevant graduation application deadline.

Course Requirements

For the Construction Engineering (CNEN) specialization, students must complete:

For the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering (ENWR) specialization, students must complete:

For the Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics (SESM) specialization, students must complete:

For the Transportation Engineering and Materials (TEMA) specialization, students must complete:

University Policies

Graduate School Policies

Civil Engineering Graduate Programs