How to Get a PhD in Civil Engineering

If you are considering a PhD in Civil Engineering, plan out the decision process just as if it were an engineering project. You want to map out the necessary steps, think through the issues involved with each step, and identify the right tools and information you need. As you know, good planning is a key component of good results, and with some thoughtful advance planning, you can make all the right decisions about your PhD in Civil Engineering.

What are some of the steps you should work through in this process? This article discusses each of the following steps in detail:

1. Deciding whether to pursue a PhD in Civil Engineering. Assuming you already have a bachelor's or master's degree in a related field, and possibly even some work experience, you need to identify the reasons you're want to pursue a PhD in Civil Engineering. Look at whether the investment of time and expense involved is justified by the benefits you would get from the degree.
2. Identifying an area of emphasis. Although there is a general knowledge base for civil engineering, as you advance in your education it becomes increasingly important to choose a specific area of specialization, because each form of civil engineering has its own complexities.
3. Choosing a graduate civil engineering program. Once you've chosen an area of civil engineering that you want to be your career specialty, you may find it easier to narrow down the list of PhD programs. Several excellent schools offer PhDs in Civil Engineering, so matching the school's emphasis with your chosen area of engineering should be a key decision factor. Other factors include cost, reputation, and whether to choose an on-campus or an online PhD program.
4. Applying to earn your PhD in Civil Engineering. As you rise to the top of the educational ladder, you may find the standards higher and the competition stiffer. Think through the application process thoroughly to give yourself the best chance at success.

Working through these steps with the help of this guide can help you feel confident that your pursuit of a doctorate in civil engineering is successful.

Deciding Whether to Pursue a PhD in Civil Engineering

With a bachelor's or master's degree in civil engineering, you already have some specialized training, and may even have found rewarding employment in the field. So why take your education to the next level? It's not a question to be taken lightly. Earning a doctorate degree requires a substantial commitment of time, energy, and money. You want to go into a doctorate program knowing that you have fully thought through the cost/benefit trade-off, so you can be confident in the commitment you are making.

There are several ways that a PhD in Civil Engineering could benefit you:

• Research opportunities. Your education up to this point may have taught you how to apply existing civil engineering principles and techniques, but with a PhD in Civil Engineering you could become qualified to take part in research projects that advance and expand upon those principles and techniques.
• Supervisory opportunities. Civil engineering projects are often large in scale, and thus require multiple layers of supervisory talent. Earning a doctorate in civil engineering could give you the advanced skills you need to take on higher-level planning and supervisory roles.
• Teaching opportunities. For some people, teaching is the ultimate way to express their passion for their chosen field. Given the nature of civil engineering, teaching opportunities are concentrated at the postsecondary level. This means that a doctorate is likely a prerequisite for any long-term academic career.
• Overall job market competitiveness. Think of educational attainment as a pyramid--the higher you go, the more you stand out from the crowd. Some 31.2 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 25 have a high school diploma. 19.1 percent of that same population have a bachelor's degree, and 7.5 percent have a master's. However, only 1.3 percent have a doctorate degree. So, if you are looking for a way to rise above the competition in the job market, earning a doctorate in civil engineering would be one way to do it.

A PhD in Civil Engineering is considered a terminal degree in the field--there is no higher level of academic achievement. While your reasons for pursuing a doctorate may include any of the above goals, ultimately what earning a terminal degree says is that you have the ambition and ability to belong at the very top of your profession.

Identifying an Area of Emphasis in Civil Engineering

As one of the oldest engineering disciplines, civil engineering has developed into an extremely broad field, comprising many specific areas of emphasis. As you envision advancing your career in civil engineering, you should increasingly focus on which area of emphasis you would like to pursue. Doing so can help you chose a PhD program suited to your career ambitions.

Broadly speaking, civil engineers are responsible for designing public infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, dams, tunnels, and sewer and water systems. They also oversee the construction and maintenance of those projects. Some of the areas of specialization that you can pursue within a career in civil engineering include:

• Structural engineering. This entails the use of math and science to compute the strength and stability of structures such as buildings and bridges when they are being designed.
• Computational solid mechanics. This involves the creation and application of complex computer models to solve problems that are on the border between theoretical and practical engineering.
• Geotechnical engineering. This is the understanding of how soil and rock behave as construction materials.
• Environmental engineering. Given growing concerns about energy usage and climate change, environmental engineering is becoming an area of increasing emphasis within the engineering field. It entails studying how built structures and their natural environments interact.
• Fluid mechanics and hydrology. This is the study of the movement of water in a variety of environments, for purposes ranging from flood prevention to hydroelectric energy generation.
• Environmental and water resources systems. This involves the scientific planning of water resource management.
• Remote sensing. This is the collection and analysis of data from satellite, radar, and other remote sources for the purpose of understanding environmental developments.
• Transportation systems engineering. This involves the planning and management of modern transportation systems in their various forms, including road, rail, and air systems.

These examples give you a feel for the variety of careers that are possible in civil engineering. All involve challenges and use techniques that are constantly evolving, so a doctorate in civil engineering can be useful no matter which of these specialties you pursue.

Choosing a Graduate Civil Engineering Program

Once you've chosen your specialty, the next step is to chose the right school for your doctorate in civil engineering. Actually, this selection process can be broken down into multiple steps, discussed below.

Step 1: Gathering Your Resources

These days, online guides can help you identify potential schools and help you better understand the issues involved in pursuing your doctorate degree. Spend some time exploring this kind of online resource upfront--you can think of it as becoming an educated shopper before you actually go out into the marketplace.

The U.S. Department of Education is a good resource as well. Their online tools and materials can help you learn about key issues such as school accreditation and financial aid.

Another useful resource can be the annual college rankings compiled by publications such as Kiplinger's and U.S. News & World Report. These sources review and rank different programs based on a variety of criteria.

Step 2: Matching a Program with Your Specialty

To begin narrowing down the field of possibilities, you want to identify those programs that match up well with your chosen specialty within civil engineering. At this point, you can improve your chances of finding the right program if you remain open to pursuing either an on-campus or online PhD in Civil Engineering. The distinction between on-campus and online PhD programs can be explored later, but as a starting point, you need to identify the schools that are capable of providing the educational substance you need for your planned career.

Matching a PhD program with your specialty involves more than finding schools that list relevant subjects on their course lists. You want to consider how long the school has offered courses in these areas, and what resources--in terms of both faculty and facilities--they have devoted to your specialty.

Step 3: Deciding Between On-Campus and Online PhD Programs

When you list programs that match up with your specialty, you may find that they include both on-campus and online PhDs in civil engineering. How do you decide between these approaches? These days, either an on-campus or an online PhD in Civil Engineering can earn you acceptance in the workplace, so the most relevant factors boil down to your circumstances and preferences.

An on-campus PhD may appeal to people who relish face-to-face interaction with their professors and peers, and consider it an important part of the educational experience. On the other hand, there may be some practical considerations which favor online PhD programs.

Depending on where you live, you may find an online PhD in Civil Engineering to be the only way to get the programs you are looking for in your area. Unless you have the money and inclination to go away to school, this can make earning a PhD online the ideal solution. An online PhD program can also give you more scheduling flexibility, if you are juggling an academic schedule along with work or family commitments.

Step 4: Practical Considerations

Choosing between on-campus and online PhD programs can settle some of the largest practical issues involved in pursuing your doctorate, but there can be others, including:

• Cost. There's no point in starting a PhD program unless you are confident you can afford to see it through, including all the ancillary expenses such as books, computer resources, and more.
• Accreditation. Make sure the school you choose is accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation can affect your financial aid opportunities--and even your job prospects. Be sure to find a program that meets your accreditation needs.
• Admissions standards. More about applying to a graduate civil engineering program is discussed later in this guide, but the primary practical consideration is to make sure you don't overshoot by applying to programs where you have no hope of admission, or undershoot by applying to programs that are well beneath your academic potential.

Step 5: Qualitative Considerations

Once you've worked through all these, you should be left with a list of schools short enough to lend itself to qualitative evaluation. These include:

• Quality of faculty. What schools the faculty have attended, what degrees they've earned, and what books or articles they've published are important considerations. It also helps if you have a chance to meet some of them and assess what kind of teachers and mentors they seem to be.
• Campus atmosphere. You can neutralize this as a factor by choosing an online program, but if you choose an on-campus program you want to make sure that the campus atmosphere is conducive to your style and study habits.
• Reputation. In addition to reviewing published rankings, it can be helpful to talk to hiring managers in the field to find out which programs look best to them on a candidate's resume.

Applying to a Graduate Civil Engineering Program

Every school has different admissions standards, but expect to be evaluated on some combination of the following:

• Academic achievement. This includes both the grades you've earned and the quality of the programs you've attended.
• Quantitative scores. A test like the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) may be required.
• Relevant work history. Having worked in the field suggests not only that you can bring some practical experience to the program, but that you have shown a commitment to the field.

As you begin to assemble your credentials for applications, start by checking each school's deadline so you can work toward a calendar of key dates.

Advancing Your Career in Civil Engineering

In addition to earning your PhD in Civil Engineering, there are other things you can do to advance your career--some even before you've completed your doctorate. These include:

• Volunteering to participate in research projects in the field.
• Applying for prestigious academic awards relevant to civil engineering.
• Obtaining contacts from your professors to start to build a networking base.
• Publishing articles in civil engineering publications.
• Joining professional organizations like the American Society of Civil Engineers.
• Gaining practical work or internship experience.

Along with these other efforts, earning your PhD in Civil Engineering can benefit you for decades to come. In light of that, taking the time to properly choose your degree program can prove to be time very well spent.

Sources

• American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE Continuing Education
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, Engineers
• Cornell School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Research by Concentration
• Cornell University, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• University of California at Berkeley, Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate Handbook
• U.S. Census Bureau, Population by Educational Attainment
• U.S. Department of Education, Students
• U.S. News & World Report, Best Engineering Schools Specialty Rankings: Civil