Degree Requirements for MCEE, MS, and PhD
Admission
Applicants pursuing graduate education in environmental engineering or hydrology should have preparation in mathematics, science, and engineering or related courses. A BS degree, or degree in natural science is preferred. Applicants pursuing graduate education in structural engineering, structural mechanics, and geotechnical engineering should have a BSCE with a significant emphasis on structural engineering, but students with other undergraduate degrees may apply if they have adequate preparation in mathematics, mechanics, and structural analysis and design. Applicants for graduate degrees should have a BS or BA in related areas of science and engineering. Successful applicants typically have at least a 3.00 (B) grade point average in undergraduate work and high Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. For general university requirements, see Graduate Degrees and Admission to Graduate Study (pages 59–61).
MS Program
The Master of Science degree is offered in civil and environmental engineering. For general university requirements, see Graduate Degrees (pages 60–61). To earn a MS degree, students must:
• Complete at least 24 semester hours of approved courses. For students focusing on environmental engineering, this must include one course in each of the following areas: environmental chemistry, water treatment, hydrology, and air quality. For students focusing on civil, structural engineering, and mechanics, this must include one course in each of the following areas: structural engineering, mechanics, advanced mathematics, and dynamic systems. Comparable course work completed previously may be substituted for these core courses.
• Select a thesis committee according to department requirements and conduct original research in consultation with the committee.
• Present and defend in oral examination an approved research thesis.
Students take the oral exam only after the committee determines the thesis to be in a written format acceptable for public defense. Normally, students take two academic years and the intervening summer to complete the degree.
Students intending to extend their studies into the PhD degree program should note that the department does not grant an MS degree to candidates who have not written a master’s thesis.
MBA/MCEE Program
For general university requirements, see Graduate Degrees (pages 60–61). See also Management and Accounting (pages 216–227). To earn a MBA/MCEE degree, students must:
• Complete 24 semester hours of civil and environmental engineering courses.
• Complete 52 semester hours of business administration courses.
MCEE Program
The Master of Civil and Environmental Engineering (MCEE) is a professional nonthesis degree requiring 30 hours of study. Students who have a BS or BA degree in any field of engineering or related study may apply (see Graduate Degrees pages 60–61) and complete 30 hours of graduate level courses in our Civil Engineering or Environmental Engineering and Sciences sub-tracks, subject to the same core course requirements stipulated below for PhD students. Other graduate courses from other departments might count towards the MCEE degree, but need prior approval by a CEE faculty advisor. Depending on their background, some students may need to fulfill pre-requisites or take remedial engineering courses to earn the MCEE degree.
PhD Program
The PhD degree in CEE has two sub tracks: (1) Civil Engineering (CE) and (2) Environmental Engineering and Sciences (EES). In both cases, to earn a PhD degree, students must comply with candidacy, oral examinations, and the thesis requirements (see pages 69-71). Specific requirements include:
• Complete 90 semester hours of approved credits past BS (60 semester hours past MS) with high standing, including core course requirements stipulated below.
• Pass a preliminary written examination in civil and environmental engineering (see guidelines below).
• Pass a qualifying examination on course work, proposed research, and related topics.
• Complete a dissertation indicating an ability to do original and scholarly research.
• Pass a formal public oral examination on the thesis and related topics. PhD candidates in civil and environmental engineering take the preliminary exam, administered by department faculty, after 2 semesters of course work. Candidates who pass this exam then form a doctoral committee according to department requirements. The qualifying examination administered by the doctoral committee after candidates develop a research proposal evaluates their preparation for the proposed research and identifies any areas requiring additional course work or study. As part of the advanced degree training, we also may require students to assist the faculty in undergraduate courses and laboratory instruction.
Core Courses - Course requirements are stipulated to prepare and train students for rigorous and high quality education, research, and practice. These courses, usually completed within the first two years of graduate school, are designed to train and test the student's aptitude for higher level thinking, problem solving, and independent research. Core courses also contribute breadth beyond minimum competency as civil and environmental engineers. A minimum grade of B- must be achieved for each of these core courses, as well as a minimum average GPA of 3.0.
For the CE sub-track, PhD students should take at least 6 of the following 11 courses:
CEVE 500 Advanced Mechanics of Materials
CEVE 505 Engineering Project Management
CEVE 527 Matrix/Computational Methods in Structural Mechanics
CEVE 530 Concrete Building Design
CEVE 540 Steel Building Design
CEVE 560 Bridge Engineering & Extreme Events
CEVE 570 Foundation Engineering
CEVE 576 Structural Dynamic Systems*
CEVE 592 Reliability of Lifeline Systems
CEVE 596 Offshore and Marine Systems*
CEVE 679 Applied Monte Carlo Analysis
* Offered every two years
For the EES sub-track, PhD students should take at least 6 of the following 9 courses:
CEVE 401 Introduction to Environmental Chemistry
CEVE 412 Hydrology and Watershed Analysis
CEVE 504 Atmospheric Particulate Matter
CEVE 511 Atmospheric Processes
CEVE 512 Hydrologic Design Lab
CEVE 534 Fate and Transport of Contaminants in the Environment
CEVE 535 Physical Chemical Processes for Water Quality
CEVE 536 Environmental Biotechnology and Bioremediation
CEVE 550 Environmental Organic Chemistry
Substitutionswill be considered when a core course is not offered, or under special circumstances related to the professional goals of the student. Substitutions will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and will require approval by the faculty.
Preliminary Exam - All PhD students must take the preliminary examination after completing the coursework requirement, usually at the end of the first year in the graduate program. Because the coursework requirement provides a basic level of preparation and breadth, the preliminary exam has broader latitude to probe synthesis and high-level thinking skills, rather than serving as a check on coursework.
For the CE sub-track, the format of the Preliminary Exam is as follows:
Day 1: Written Exam
2 hours —Applied Mathematics
2 hours —Structural Dynamic Systems
2 hours —Structures/Mechanics/FEM/Related Areas
2 hours —Optional Area: Random Vibrations/Stochastic Mechanics/System Reliability/Bridge Engineering/advanced topics
(Optional area can be chosen by the student)
Day 2: Oral Exam
1 hour per student
Civil Engineering faculty examine/question the student about the written exam and additional broad set of topics to assess the students thinking ability, comprehension, and aptitude in the field of structural engineering, structural mechanics, and reliability.
For the EES sub-track, the examination consists of three parts: I) a written exam in core areas of environmental engineering; II) a written exam in specialized areas of environmental engineering; and III) a general oral exam. Part I is a three-hour exam on fundamentals of environmental engineering covered in the core courses. This exam does not necessarily test understanding of the specific materials covered in these courses, but knowledge in physical, chemical and biological principles of environmental engineering, as well as necessary mathematics skills that are necessary to solve problems discussed in the courses above. Recognizing that students taking the exam may not have taken all of the core courses, students will have the flexibility to answer four (4) out of the seven (7) questions posed by seven professors of the environmental engineering and science program. Unless otherwise stated, Part I is closed-book. Part II is a 3-hour open-book exam on knowledge of specialized areas. The purpose of this exam is to evaluate the student’s depth of knowledge in subjects relevant to his or her research topic. The student will be given one comprehensive, in-depth question by the thesis advisor. The graduate committee will exercise quality control of the exam questions to ensure that these questions are not a simple extension of those in Part I. Part III takes the form of a 30-45 minute oral examination. It is a general exam on common topics of environmental engineering, with the intent to probe for high-level thinking across broad themes. A faculty committee will preside over the exam and each committee member may ask questions. The questions may or may not be related to those in parts I and II.
The student will be informed of the result after all students have finished the oral exam. Students who fail the exam either fully or partially will be given one more opportunity. Students who fail the preliminary exam twice will not be allowed to continue in the PhD program.
PhD Qualifying Examination - Candidates who pass the preliminary exam are required to form a doctoral committee as soon as possible. The qualifying examination, administered by the doctoral committee after candidates develop a written research proposal (with fairly detailed preliminary work and proposed research approach), evaluates their preparation for the proposed research and identifies any areas requiring additional course work or study. The students are encouraged to schedule the qualifying exam at least two semesters before the oral defense, but in no case less than one semester before the oral defense.
PhD Defense - Candidates who pass the qualifying exam are required to write a detailed PhD thesis and schedule the PhD defense under the guidance of their advisor and doctoral committee. The PhD thesis must be handed at least two weeks prior to the defense. The PhD defense must be scheduled according to the Rice University graduate school requirements [at least fifteen days prior to the date of the defense]. The PhD defense will typically last two hours. The candidate will make a detailed presentation for approximately an hour; the presentation will be open to public. This will be followed by question and answer session by the general audience and a closed door question and answer session by the doctoral committee. The candidates who successfully defend their PhD will be awarded the degree of doctor of philosophy.
