PhD
PhD
Civil Engineering,
The Civil Engineering Department offers graduate programs on both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska at Omaha campuses.
Description
Facilities include materials and geotechnical labs, environmental and transportation labs, and the famous vehicle crash testing facility at the Lincoln Airport. The structures laboratory is equipped to do gravity load, seismic excitation, and wind loading testing of full scale specimens, from bridges and buildings.
Many research opportunities are available depending on the individual interests of faculty and students. Projects include ultra-high-performance concrete, self-consolidating concrete, innovative high strength concrete and steel bridge systems, composite materials and energy-efficient composite structures, hydrologic effects of global climate change, hydraulic modeling, GIS and watershed management, alternative fuels, water quality, remediation of hazardous wastes, fate and transport of emerging contaminants, risk assessment, pollution prevention, green technology, highway geometric design and safety, intelligent transportation systems, traffic simulation using hardware-in-the-loop simulation, highway-railroad grade crossings, safety aspects of highway design with a unique full scale crash testing facility, risk analysis and reliability of structures, design code calibration, field testing of bridges, pavement engineering, advanced modeling of geomaterials, and application of fuzzy set theories.
When applying, students should indicate interest in one or more of the above areas of study. Minors may be selected from related civil engineering areas and other related departments.
Specializations
Applying for Admission
Standard requirements for all graduate programs
- Application for Admission with $50 non-refundable application fee.
- Transcripts (unofficial): Uploaded as part of application form.
If International: Uploads must include all college- or university-level transcripts or mark sheets (records of courses and marks earned), with certificates, diplomas, and degrees plus certified English translations.
After admission: Official documents are required from all students who are admitted and enroll. Photocopies of certified records are not acceptable. International students enrolled in other U.S. institutions may have certified copies of all foreign records sent directly to the Office of Graduate Studies by their current school’s registrar office.
- If applicant’s native language is not English, verification of English proficiency
is required.
When sending TOEFL scores, our institution code is 6877 and a department code is not needed.
- If applicant is not a US citizen and expects an F or J visa: financial information.
- Applicants must also fulfill any additional requirements the department specifies at the time of application.
Additional requirements specific to this program
- GRE: Optional at this time. Students who have taken coursework from the University of Nebraska College of Engineering are not required to submit GRE scores.
- Resume or curriculum vitae
- Personal Statement: Statement of purpose
- Three letters of recommendation
Admission Application Deadlines
- Priority Application Deadline: January 15 for Summer/Fall; September 15 for Spring.
- International Students: Application for Fall admission strongly encouraged.
Program Faculty
Chungwook Sim (bio)
Modeling and Testing of Structural Concrete, Structural Members Under Extreme Loads, Advanced Instrumentation and Testing of Structures, Disaster Reconnaissance and Data Management, Infrastructure Health Monitoring (Big Data)
Chung Song (bio)
Evaluation of Physical and Mechanical Behavior of Soils
Joshua Steelman (bio)
Bridge Engineering, Seismic Evaluation of Structures
Christopher Tuan (bio)
Structural Dynamics, Blast Resistant Design, Finite Element Modeling, Specialized Concrete
Christine Wittich (bio)
Structural Dynamics, Engineering Mechanics, Full-scale Experimentation of Structures
Richard Wood (bio)
Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Non-Structural Components, Load Protocol Development for Seismic Qualification and Testing, Ground Motion Scaling, and Use of Laser Scanning within Structural Assessment.
Tian Zhang (bio)
Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Technologies, Biofilm Processes, Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment
Jinying Zhu (bio)
Nondestructive tTesting (NDT) of Structures and Materials, Sensor Development, Ultrasonics and Wave motion, Material Characterization
UNL Graduate Chairs and staff please complete the program update form to provide edits. Updates to graduate program pages are made on an annual basis in conjunction with the Graduate Application for Admission.