Civil Engineering Department

College of Engineering and Applied Science
University of Colorado at Denver

(303) 556-2871              Fax:  (303) 556-2368

Dr. David Hubly -- Department Chairman
Dawn Arge -- Program Assistant

The Faculty
Student Organizations


Mailing Address:                    	     Location:
     Campus Box 113                              1200 Larimer Street
     P.O. Box 173364                              North Classroom Building
     Denver, CO 80217-3364                Room 3027
Civil engineering offers an interesting and challenging career in the design and construction of buildings, bridges, dams, aqueducts, and other structures; in transportation systems, including highways, canals, pipelines, airports, rapid transit lines, railroads, and harbor facilities; in the transmission of water and the regulation of rivers; in the development of water resources for urban use, industry, and land reclamation; in the control of water quality through water purification and proper waste treatment; in the construction and contracting industry; and in the problems concerned with mankind's physical environment and the growth of cities.

Admissions

  • Undergraduate Admissions Information (handled by the CU-Denver Admissions Office)
  • Graduate Admissions Information (handled by the C.E. Department)

    Civil Engineering Degree Programs

    B.S., Civil Engineering

    Required Civil Engineering Courses:

         (credits)
	(3)  CE 2121.  Analytical Mechanics I (Statics)
 	(3)  CE 2212.  Plane Surveying/Analytical Mechanics II (Dynamics)
	(3)  CE 3121.  Mechanics of Materials
	(3)  CE 3141.  Materials Testing Laboratory
	(3)  CE 3154.  Water Quality Laboratory
	(3)  CE 3313.  Theoretical Fluid Mechanics
	(3)  CE 3323.  Applied Fluid Mechanics
	(3)  CE 3414.  Design of Water/Wastewater Systems
	(3)  CE 3505.  Structural Analysis
	(3)  CE 3602.  Transportation Engineering
	(3)  CE 3708.  Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering
	(3)  CE 4067.  Senior Design Project
	(2)  CE 4718.  Intermediate Soils Engineering (Soils Laboratory)

    Civil Engineering Electives:

        Select two from:
	(3)  CE 4427.  Municipal Design
	(3)  CE 4602.  Highway Engineering
	(3)  CE 4738.  Intermediate Foundation Engineering

    Select two from:
	(3)  CE 4565.  Timber Structure Design
	(3)  CE 4575.  Structural Steel Design
	(3)  CE 4585.  Reinforced Concrete Design

    Science, math, or engineering electives:  The purpose of the
	electives is to extend the student's knowledge beyond
	the basic civil engineering requirements. Electives chosen
	should come from the areas of engineering, mathematics,
	chemistry, biology, physics, or geology. In the case of
	mathematics, chemistry, physics, or geology, the elective
	must be of higher level than courses in this field required
	by the Civil Engineering Program.  Suggested courses are:
    		(3)  CE 4077.  Engineering Economy
		(3)  CE 4087.  Engineering Contracts
		(3)  CE 4537.  Numerical Methods for Engineers
		(3)  CE 4494.  Introduction to Environmental Pollution

    CE design courses not used to satisfy the above requirements or 
    5000-level CE courses.  Choose from:

	     STRUCTURES GROUP:
		(3) CE 4565. Timber Structure Design
		(3) CE 4575. Structural Steel Design
		(3) CE 4585. Reinforced Concrete Design

	     MUNICIPAL/TRANSPORTATION/GEOTECHNICAL GROUP:
		(3) CE 4427.  Municipal Design
		(3) CE 4602.  Highway Engineering
		(3) CE 4738.  Intermediate Foundation Engineering

    Required Math Courses:

         (credits)
        (4)  MATH 1401. Analytic Geometry and Calculus I
	(4)  MATH 2411. Analytic Geometry and Calculus II
	(2)  MATH 2422. Analytic Geometry and Calculus III-A
	(3)  MATH 3191. Applied Linear Algebra
	(3)  MATH 3200. Elementary Differential Equations
	(3)  MATH 3800. Probability and Statistics for Engineers
	          (If MATH 3800 is selected, PHYS 2341-1 (Physics Lab II)
                  must also be taken.)

    General Engineering Courses:

    	(3)  ENGR 1025.  Engineering Graphics and Computer Aided Design
	(3)  C SC 1100.  Computing with FORTRAN
	(3)  ENGR 3012.  Thermodynamics
	(3)  E E 3030.   Electric Circuits and Systems
	(3)  ENGR 4000.	 Senior Seminar

    Required Science Courses:

    	(4)  PHYS 2311.  General Physics I:  Calculus-based
	(1)  PHYS 2321.  General Physics Laboratory I
	(4)  PHYS 2331.  General Physics II:  Calculus-based
	(5)  CHEM 1130.  Engineering General Chemistry
	(4)  GEOL 1072.  Physical Geology:  Surface Processes
          or  (3)  MATH 3800.  Probability and Statistics for Engineers
	         (If this option is selected, PHYS 2341-1 (Physics II Lab)
	         must also be taken.)

    Required Humanities & Social Science Courses:

    see Undergraduate Core Curriculum for specific
courses required

     (credits)
         (21) Humanities and Social Sciences

    Required Communications Courses: 

         (credits)
         (3) CMMU 2101. Speechmaking
         (3) ENGL 1020. Core Composition I
     and either  
	 (3) ENGL 2030. Core Composition II
     or  (3) ENGL 3154. Technical Writing

    M.S., Civil Engineering

     Applicants for graduate study should have a baccalaureate degree in an ABET-accredited civil engineering program and should have earned a grade-point average of 3.00 (B) or better. Applicants whose grade-point average is less than 3.00 may be considered for provisional admission if there is evidence that the applicant will be able to handle graduate work successfully.

    Applicants whose previous work was in a field other than civil engineering may also be admitted. Usually such applicants must remove engineering deficiencies by taking those undergraduate courses which are prerequisites for the graduate courses, plus such additional undergraduate courses as are needed to qualify the applicant as a civil engineer.

    Civil engineering graduate courses are offered in the following five specialty areas:

    Most civil engineering graduate courses at CU-Denver are evening courses. Thus, CU-Denver programs are well-suited to the needs of the practicing professional as well as the full-time student. Many CU-Denver graduate students are part-time students, attending classes in the evenings while holding daytime employment in the Denver metropolitan area. Full-time graduate students at CU-Denver may also enroll in daytime graduate courses at the CU-Boulder campus, the simultaneous enrollment providing greater flexibility and diversity of programs.

    M.S. DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

    Degree requirements will vary according to the student's background and interest areas and are established by agreement between the studen and advisor. As a minimum, however, the degree program must include:


    COURSE OFFERINGS

    Most civil engineering graduate courses at CU-Denver are given at two-year intervals, while others are offered annually or at three-year intervals, according to demand. Occasionally, courses of special current interest or importance are added, usually in response to requests from students or from the professional community. Courses available include:

    ENGINEERING RESEARCH

    Civil engineering faculty and graduate students are conducting research in all five of the major areas of civil engineering. Research efforts currently underway or recently completed include:

    Master of Engineering (M.Eng.)

     The Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering degree program meets the needs of engineering students who wish to follow an integrated, interdisciplinary program of graduate studies in engineering, or in engineering and allied subjects related to the individual student's professional work. The Master of Engineering degree program allows the student to combine advanced engineering course work with graduate-level non-engineering course work such as business administration, social sciences, biological sciences, public administration, etc. The requirements for admission are the same as those for the Master of Science degree. A minimum of 30 semester hours of academic work acceptable to the Advisory Committee are required for the Master of Engineering degree. At least 15 of these hours must be at the 5000 level or above in mechanical engineering. As many as 15 credit hours may be taken outside of engineering. In addition to the course work, a written report is required in the Master of Engineering program.

    Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

    The Department of Civil Engineering also offers a Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering (M.E.C.E.) degree with emphasis in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

    Ph.D., Civil Engineering

     The Ph.D. degree is offered in coordination with the University of Colorado at Boulder Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. A six-member oversight committee oversees all aspects of the coordinated Ph.D. program with two graduate faculty members from the Boulder campus, two graduate faculty members from the Denver CE Department, and chairs from both departments.

    Civil engineering addresses the provision of facilities and services for human society, consistent with protection of the environment. It derives from the application of science, mathematics, engineering fundamentals, design and management concepts, and humanities/social sciences. At CU-Denver, post-graduate civil engineering training emphasizes the urban build environment and infrastructures and provision of high quality educational opportunities for non-traditional students - professionals seeking to improve their skills while maintaining career continuity in public and private sector in the Denver metropolitan area.

    The CU-Denver Civil Engineering Department has a history of research excellence in geotechnical, hydrologic and water resources, transportation, environmental, and structural engineering. The Coordinated Ph.D. program has a three-fold emphasis:

    Admissions

    All applications for admissions to the PhD program are evaluated by a Joint Doctoral Admission Evaluation Committee. When accepted, a student is admitted to either the Boulder or Denver campus based on the campus designation indicated in the student admission application form. The decision of the Joint Doctoral Admission Evaluation Committee (JDAEC) is based on all evidences of the applicant's creative ability and promise for an outstanding engineering career. Upon enrollment, the student will select an academic advisor or be assigned an advisor by the Chair of the JDAEC. This advisor is the faculty member with whom the student will work closely in all matters concerning the degree program including the preparation of a degree program, finding a research topic for the dissertation, naming the advisory committee members, etc. Once a student is enrolled in the program for a period of time and is ready to select a research topic, the student may then choose a dissertation advisor, who may be a faculty member other than the academic advisor. Students are admitted to a particular specialty area. Students wishing to change their specialty area must receive written permission of the Graduate Committee.

    The program will admit students with a master's degree in Civil Engineering. Admissions in a closely related field can be made but will require completion of deficiency courses emphasizing civil engineering fundamentals.

    Preliminary Examination

    All doctoral degree students from both campuses will take the same Preliminary Examination at the same time. The examination is administered and graded by a graduate faculty committee with members from the graduate faculty in the specialty area from both campuses. The purposes of the Preliminary Examination are to evaluate the potential of prospective Ph.D. candidates and to identify subject areas in which a student may need additional study. Each doctoral student shall take a Preliminary Examination, which is determined by the faculty of the specialty area in which the student is enrolled no later than 12 months from the time the student is first enrolled in the Doctoral Program. The content of this examination will include material at the terminal Master's level. A student will have a maximum of two chances to pass the preliminary examination. The student must pass this examination in order to continue in the Doctoral Program. Not passing the examination in two chances will result in the student's dismissal from the doctoral degree program.

    Ph.D. Course Requirements

    Minimum course requirements include 30 semester hours numbered 5000 or above. The number of formal course hours will ordinarily exceed this minimum. In addition, the student must also register for a total of at least 30 hours of dissertation credit hours, with not more than 10 hours in any one semester. The minimum residence requirement is six semesters beyond the bachelor of science degree, two of which must be consecutive in one academic year. Those students who are employed in three-fourths to full-time work which does not contribute directly to their degree program may not earn more than one-half residence credit in any semester. Two semester's of residence credit may be allowed for a master's degree from another institution of approved standing.

    The minimum number of 5000 level or above courses in Civil Engineering is established by the specialty area. In accordance with Graduate School Rules, up to 21 semester hours of 5000 level or above coursework may be transferred from another insitution other than the University of Colorado, and applied toward the 30-hour minimum course requirement for the degree. To take the full advantage of the diversity of the course offerings on both campuses (CU-Denver and CU-Boulder), all doctoral students will be encouraged to take courses not offered on his or her resident campus. A doctoral student at CU-Denver will be required to take a minimum of 9 semester hours of course work on the Boulder campus.

    Language Requirement

    There is no foreign language requirement.

    Comprehensive Examination

    When the student is ready to take the Comprehensive Examination, the student's dissertation advisor shall recommend to the Department Chairman of the student's resident campus an examination committee selected in accordance with the Rules of the System-Wide Graduate School. The Chairman of this committee does not have to be the student's dissertation advisor. For all CU-Denver campus doctoral students, at least two members of the comprehensive examination committee must be full-time graduate faculty members of the Boulder campus. The Comprehensive Examination shall consist of written and oral examinations. The examination may not be attempted until the student's last semester of formal course work. The student may be questioned in any pertinent field, whether or not the course work has been completed. Failure to pass the Comprehensive Examination may be remedied by repeating the examination after an interval of not less than four months. Failure to pass the second time will result in the student's dismissal from the Graduate program. At the Comprehensive Examination, the student shall present a plan for the dissertation research to the Dissertation Advisory Committee for approval.

    Dissertation Requirement

    The dissertation will be based upon an original investigation carried out by the candidate, showing mature scholarship and critical judgment, as well as familiarity with tools and methods of research. The topic subject must be approved by the student's Dissertation Advisory Committee.

    A study leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree must be chosen for its contribution to the significant advancement of the state-of-the-art of a certain special discipline with a high order of scholarship and competence. The criterion as to what constitutes a highly competent field of study shall be dictated by the significant contribution to the state-of- the-art of the specialty area chosen by the student and approved by the student's dissertation advisory committee.

    Dissertation Advisory and Examination Committees

    The student shall select a dissertation supervisor who is willing to supervise his/her dissertation. All members of the dissertation committee must be appointed members of the CU System-Wide Graduate Faculty. If the student cannot find a dissertation supervisor, he/she will be dropped from the Graduate Program. For all doctoral students from the Denver campus, at least two members of the dissertation advisory and examination committees must be full-time graduate faculty members of the Boulder Campus. If the Chairman of the doctoral student's Dissertation Advisory and Examination Committees is not a full-time resident faculty member from either campus, a Co-Chairman must be appointed from that group, and the Co-Chairman can be from either campus.

    Final Examination

    The Final Examination, Dissertation Defense will be given in accordance with the Rules of the Graduate School.

    Student Organizations
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