Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Civil Engineering
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In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements and the Schulich School of Engineering requirements, the Department normally requires:
a) A minimum of 18 units of graduate coursework beyond the baccalaureate.
b) A minimum of 6 units and a maximum of 18 units of coursework beyond the master's degree.
c) A written literature review, a written thesis proposal and a field of study oral examination.
d) A thesis related to advanced original engineering research.
All Doctoral students must complete the professional development courses course and course. These courses are in addition to the “Program/Course Requirements”.
All graduate students who require access to Civil Engineering laboratories are required to complete a Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Systems (WHMIS) course and other required safety training courses.
Advanced Credit
The applicant must make advanced credit requests as part of the admission process, in consultation with the proposed supervisor and the Graduate Director. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma or for courses taken to bring the grade point average to a required level for admission. Students who receive advanced course credit when admitted to a master’s program may be able to accelerate the completion of their degree.
Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade)
Students admitted to the Schulich School of Engineering will not be allowed to request the Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade) for any course that is applicable to their degree; or apply any course awarded a grade of CG towards their graduation requirements.
Students may choose the CG grade for a course taken extra to load.
The use of the CG grade will affect students' eligibility for internal awards.
Credit for Undergraduate Courses
See Program/Course Requirements.
Time Limit
Typical completion time is three to four years in a doctoral program. Maximum completion time is six years for a doctoral program.
See individual program pages on the Future Students website: https://ucalgary.ca/future-students/graduate/explore-programs.
Other Information
Graduate students have the opportunity to participate in the Transformative Talent Internship option.
Supervisory Assignments
Supervisors and supervisory committees are assigned according to the Faculty of Graduate Studies regulations (see Graduate Regulations) and are approved by the Department Head or the Graduate Program Director.
Required Examinations
Doctoral Candidacy Requirements
All Doctoral students are required to pass a written Field of Study examination and an oral thesis proposal examination. Specific details of the examination format and other candidacy requirements can be found at https://grad.ucalgary.ca/current-students/thesis-based-students/exams/candidacy.
Thesis Examinations
In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements for Thesis Examinations, the Department of Civil Engineering minimum requirements are as follows:
Doctoral Final Oral Examination
Scheduling of the Examination
All members of the Supervisory Committee must have reviewed the student’s research, including a relevant written sample of the materials related to the thesis before an examination can be scheduled.
Composition of the Committee
The examining committee consists of: the Supervisory Committee, an Internal Examiner who may be internal to the home program, and one member external to the University of Calgary. The examination is chaired by a neutral chair (non-voting), proposed by the Department Head or Graduate Director. The examining committee must be approved by the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
The student shall make a public twenty-minute presentation of their thesis research, normally immediately before the oral examination. Examining committee members should attend this presentation but should refrain from asking questions during the presentation. The maximum allowable two-hour examination period does not include the time spent on student presentation.
Thesis oral examinations are open.
Thesis-based candidates are typically admitted with financial support provided by an interested supervisor, the department, or an official organization. For information on awards, see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this Calendar.