Go to USC home page USC Logo College of Engineering and Information Technology
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
graduate bulletin index

updated 8/15/2006

Civil and Environmental Engineering

M. Hanif Chaudhry, Chair

Professors
Ronald L. Baus, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, 1979
M. Hanif Chaudhry, Ph.D., University of British Columbia, 1970, Mr. and Mrs. Irwin B. Kahn Professor of Civil Engineering

Associate Professors
Joseph Hugh Bradburn, Ph.D., North Carolina State University, 1968
John R. Dickerson, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 1967
Joseph Raymond V. Flora, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, 1993
Sarah L. Gassman, Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1997, Graduate Director
Jasim Imran, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1997
Anthony S. McAnally, Ph.D., Auburn University, 1989, Undergraduate Director
Michael E. Meadows, Ph.D., University of Tennessee, 1976
Charles E. Pierce, Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1998
Richard P. Ray, Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1983

Assistant Professors
Erik I. Anderson, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1999
Juan Martin Caicedo, Ph.D., University of Washington in St. Louis, 2003
Mecit Cetin, Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2002
Kenneth W. Harrison, Ph.D., North Carolina State University, 2002
Liv M. Haselbach, Ph.D., University of Connecticut, 2000
Andrew P. Nichols, Ph.D., Purdue University, 2004
Dimitris C. Rizos, Ph.D., University of South Carolina, 1993
Paul H. Ziehl, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 2000


Overview

Civil and environmental engineers are involved with the systems that are essential to our modern way of life. For example, civil and environmental engineers plan, design, and construct roads, bridges and airports, buildings, water supply and wastewater treatment plants, waterways, ports, and dams. They also work to protect the environment by developing and applying remedial technologies to contaminated groundwater and soil. Civil and environmental engineers are well qualified to participate in public and private decision-making processes regarding infrastructure systems, and, as such, serve as technical and policy advisors. They may also choose to serve as appointed or elected officials.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers programs leading to the Master of Science, Master of Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Students in the M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs specialize in at least one of the following program areas: environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, and water resources engineering. Students in the M.E. program may opt to specialize in one area of study or obtain a broad range of experience across the civil and environmental engineering discipline.

Admissions

M.S. and M.E. Degree Programs

Students with Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in civil or environmental engineering are eligible to enter the M.S. or M.E. degree programs. Outstanding students with nonengineering baccalaureate degrees may qualify for admission to the M.S. degree program with the understanding that they must take specified deficiency/prerequisite courses. At a minimum, the following deficiency/prerequisite courses or their equivalent will be required: MATH 141, 142, 242; CHEM 111; PHYS 211, 212; ECIV 200; ECIV 301; and STAT 509. Students will also be required to take all undergraduate courses that are listed as prerequisites for courses to be taken for graduate credit. In general, deficiency/prerequisite courses must be completed with a B average. Specific program areas may require additional course work.

An undergraduate GPA of 2.80 on a 4.00 scale, and 3.00 on a 4.00 scale for any graduate course work, is required for students wishing to enter the M.S. or M.E. degree programs with B.S. degrees in engineering. Exceptions to the minimum undergraduate GPA requirements for admission to the M.S. and M.E. degree programs may be made for students with special qualifications.

For students with nonengineering baccalaureate degrees, or engineering degrees from programs not accredited by ABET, a minimum GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale is required in any undergraduate and graduate course work. Additionally, these students must take the GRE general test. The GRE is required for all students requesting financial aid. Typically, successful applicants have scores of at least 1100 on the verbal and quantitative sections and 3.5 on the analytical section. Applicants whose native language is not English are also required to submit a satisfactory score on the TOEFL or the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam. The minimum acceptable score on the TOEFL is 230 (computer-based) or 570 (paper-based). The minimum acceptable overall band score on the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam is 6.5. In addition, students whose native language is not English are required to take a diagnostic test in English when they arrive at the University. Students with deficiencies are provided an opportunity for further study in reading, writing, and speaking English.

A combined B.S.E./M.S. or B.S.E./M.E. degree program is available to undergraduate civil or environmental engineering students with GPAs of 3.50 or above and 90 or more hours earned toward their baccalaureate degrees. Up to six credit hours at or above the 500-level may be applied toward both the B.S.E., M.S., or M.E. degree requirements. The approval of the student’s advisor and the CEE graduate director are required. Questions about this program may be directed to the CEE graduate director.

Ph.D. Degree Program

Students should have the equivalent of an M.E. or M.S. degree in civil or environmental engineering or a closely related engineering field. Exceptional students with B.S. degrees in these same fields may be eligible to enter directly into the Ph.D. program. Applicants must have superior grades and test scores for admission to the master’s degree programs. Outstanding students with nonengineering baccalaureate degrees may qualify for admission to the Ph.D. degree program, with the understanding that they must complete deficiency/prerequisite courses specified in the M.S. and M.E. admission requirements listed above.

Degree Requirements

The requirements for the M.S., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees in CEE conform to the regulations of The Graduate School. Students are responsible for satisfying both departmental and graduate school requirements. Questions may be directed to the CEE graduate director.

Graduate courses in civil and environmental engineering are numbered 700 or higher. A limited number of courses numbered between 500 and 699 may be used on the program of study.

Bachelor's/Master's Accelerated Program

A combined B.S.E./M.S. or M.E. degree program is available to undergraduate civil and environmental engineering students with GPAs of 3.50 or above and 90 or more hours earned toward their baccalaureate degrees. Up to six credit hours of 500-level or above courses may be applied toward both the B.S.E. and M.S. or M.E. in Civil and Environmental Engineering degree requirements. The approval of the student's advisor and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate director are required. Questions about this program may be directed to the civil and environmental engineering graduate director.

Master of Science (M.S.) Degree

All programs of study must be approved by the student's academic advisor and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate director.

For the M.S. degree, 30 credit hours, of which 6 credit hours must be ECIV 799 Thesis Preparation in Civil Engineering, are required. At least 15 hours of course work must be 700-level or higher. Up to 9 credit hours of course work may be taken outside of the department for degree credit with the approval of the student's advisor and the graduate director. Prescribed core courses are required for each area of study (see "Core Courses," below).

A maximum of 6 credits of ECIV 797 and graduate course work toward a baccalaureate degree may be used toward the student's program of study.

In addition to the above requirements, all students must enroll in ECIV 798 Seminar in Civil and Environmental Engineering in each semester in which they are full-time students. Credits earned in ECIV 798 do not count toward a student's program of study.

Master of Engineering (M.E.) Degree

All programs of study must be approved by the student's academic advisor and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate director.

For the M.E. degree, a minimum of 30 credit hours is required. Students may take either 30 credit hours of course work or 24 hours of course work and 6 hours of ECIV 797 Research in Civil Engineering (as a master of engineering project). At least 18 hours of course work must be 700-level or higher. Up to 12 credit hours of course work may be taken outside of the department for degree credit with the approval of the student's advisor and the graduate director. Prescribed core courses are required for each area of study (see "Core Courses," below).

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree

All programs of study must be approved by the student's academic advisor and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate director.

Completion of the doctoral degree requires a minimum of 60 credits beyond the baccalaureate degree, of which 12 must be ECIV 899 Dissertation Preparation in Civil Engineering. Students having an earned M.S. or M.E. degree must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours beyond the master's degree. At least half of the course work must be completed at the 700 level or higher. Prescribed core courses are required for each area of study (see "Core Courses," below).

For students pursuing a Ph.D. degree in the same program area as their M.S. or M.E. degree, a minimum of 18 credit hours of course work is required. For students pursuing a Ph.D. degree in a different program area from their M.S. or M.E. degree, a minimum of 24 credit hours of course work in the new area is required. "Program area" refers to environmental, geotechnical, structural, or water resources engineering.

A maximum of 6 credit hours of ECIV 797 Research in Civil Engineering can be used toward the student's program of study beyond the baccalaureate degree.

In addition to the above requirements, all students must enroll in ECIV 798 Seminar in Civil and Environmental Engineering in each semester in which they are full-time students. Credits earned in ECIV 798 do not count toward a student's program of study.

The residency requirement for the Ph.D. degree ensures that students benefit from and contribute to the complete spectrum of educational and professional opportunities provided by the graduate faculty of a comprehensive university. The granting of a doctoral degree presupposes a minimum of three full years of graduate study following admission to the doctoral program. As such, the residency requirement may be fulfilled by enrollment in at least 18 graduate credit hours within a span of three consecutive semesters (excluding summers). Enrollment in a summer term is not required to maintain continuity, but credits earned during summer terms may be used to count toward residency. Enrollment through the APOGEE program does not satisfy the residence requirement for the Ph.D. degree.

Core Courses

Each area of study has a minimum core requirement for the M.S., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees. The core requirements in the different areas of study are as follows: environmental engineering--ECIV 750 and any two from ECIV 555, 556, 751, 752, 753, and 755; geotechnical engineering--ECIV 730 and any three from ECIV 731, 732, 733, 734, 736, and 737; structural engineering--ECIV 720 and any three from ECIV 722, 724, 725, 726, 727, 728, and 737; and water resources engineering--two from ECIV 760, 761, 762, 763, 764, 765, 766, and 767 and one from ECIV 560, 562, and 563 OR three from ECIV 760, 761, 762, 763, 764, 765, 766, and 767.


Course Descriptions (ECIV)

Graduate courses available in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are listed below. The 500-numbered courses are undergraduate courses which may be taken for graduate credit. The 700-numbered courses may be taken only for graduate credit. Not all courses listed will be offered each year.

  • 503 -- Structural Modeling and Experimental Methods. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 327) Introduction of structural modeling; strain gauge instrumentation; force, displacement, acceleration, pressure, temperature measurements; concrete and steel modeling; size effects; analysis of experimental data.
  • 520 -- Structural Analysis II. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 320) Advanced methods of structural analysis with emphasis on matrix methods. Development of the generalized matrix force and matrix displacement methods of static analysis, with applications to trusses and frames.
  • 521 -- Numerical Methods in Mechanics. (3) (Prereq: MATH 242) Numerical modeling of typical engineering problems. Numerical solution of linear and nonlinear, boundary and initial value problems. Introduction to optimization.
  • 524 -- Structural Vibrations. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 210 and 320) Response of single- and multiple-degree of freedom structurally dynamic systems to impact, harmonic, wind, and seismic excitations.
  • 530 -- Foundation Analysis and Design. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 330) Subsurface investigation procedures. Theoretical and practical aspects of the design of earth retaining structures, spread footings, and pile foundations.
  • 533 -- Environmental Geotechnics. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 330) Principles for the design, construction, and performance of waste containment systems. Characterization of barrier materials; geosynthetics; design of liner and leachate collection systems; stability and deformation analyses of land fills.
  • 535 -- Geotechnical Engineering in Transportation. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 330) Remote sensing and engineering geology. Field and laboratory testing. Design and maintenance methods for flexible and rigid pavements. Topics in tunnel design and buried conduit.
    539 -- Experimental Methods in Geotechnical Engineering. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 330, 330L) Overview of transducers, signal conditioning and data acquisition; test control methods, data analysis and measurement errors; testing systems to measure soil strength, stiffness, and hydraulic conductivity; laboratory projects and examinations.
  • 540 -- Transportation Systems Planning. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 340 or instructor's approval) Fundamental interactions between supply and demand in transportation systems. Modeling transportation demand and trip-making behavior. Evaluation of alternatives for decision making.
  • 541 -- Highway Design. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 340 or consent of instructor) Design of transportation facilities using relevant tools and guidelines with emphasis on physical and operational aspects of arterials, freeways, intersections, and interchanges, including geometry, capacity, control, and safety.
  • 542 -- Traffic Engineering. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 340 or instructor's approval) Capacity analysis of freeways and arterials. Traffic flow characteristics and basic relationships among traffic flow parameters. Signalized and unsignalized intersection control and signal timing design.
  • 551 -- Elements of Water and Wastewater Treatment. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 350) Unit operations and processes employed in the physical, chemical, and biological treatment of water and wastewater. Design of water and wastewater treatment systems.
  • 555 -- Principles of Municipal Solid Waste Engineering. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 350, graduate standing or approval of the instructor) Fundamentals and engineering principles of solid waste generation, characterization, collection and transport, source reduction and recycling, and physical, chemical, and biological treatment strategies.
  • 556 -- Air Pollution Control Engineering. (3) (Prereq: MATH 142, PHYS 211, CHEM 112, or consent of instructor) Introduction to the sources of air pollution and the engineering principles used for control and prevention.
  • 557 -- Sustainable Construction for Engineers. (3) (Prereq: CHEM 112 and ECIV 570 or consent of instructor) Instruction to sustainable engineering design alternatives and principles for construction and site development from preconstruction through design and the construction phase. (Minimum of junior standing required.)
  • 558 -- Environmental Engineering Process Modeling. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 350 or consent of instructor) Modeling fate and transport phenomena in environmental processes with applications in engineered unit operations and natural systems.
  • 560 -- Open Channel Hydraulics. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 360) Steady and unsteady flows in single or multiple-channel systems.
  • 562 -- Engineering Hydrology. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 360 or consent of instructor) Applications of hydrologic techniques to design problems; stormwater simulation models; urban stormwater.
  • 563 -- Subsurface Hydrology. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 310 and ECIV 360) Hydrologic cycle, subsurface physical properties, equations of groundwater flow, well flow, well design, groundwater resource development, design of dewatering systems, groundwater contamination.
  • 570 -- Land Development for Engineers. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 111, minimum junior standing) Restricted to upper division. Fundamentals of designing and permitting the conversion of land to new or altered states, including environmental issues, traffic and parking, utility resources, site engineering, ADA, safety, planning, and zoning requirements.
  • 705 -- Deterministic Civil and Environmental Systems Engineering. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 405 or consent of instructor) Planning, design, and operation of large-scale, integrated civil and environmental engineering systems, with applications of mathematical programming and other search models.
  • 706 -- Probabilistic Civil and Environmental Systems Engineering. (3) (Prereq: STAT 509 or consent of instructor) Civil and environmental systems engineering under uncertainty, including decision rules, decision theory, uncertainty propagation, stochastic programming, and conservative design.
  • 712 -- Boundary Element Methods in Engineering. (3) (Prereq: ENGR 260, MATH 242) Introduction to boundary element methods and their computer implementation. Steady-state and transient solutions of two- and three-dimensional problems of elasticity and potential flow.
  • 720 -- Advanced Structural Mechanics and Analysis. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 520) Development of concepts and practical applications of the finite element method of structural analysis with emphasis on the displacement method approach. Initial strains, specified displacements, numerical integration, and isoparametric elements are included.
  • 722 -- Theory and Design of Plates and Shells. (3) (Prereq: MATH 242) Development of the fundamental differential equations for plates. Miscellaneous classic plate solutions. Membrane and bending solutions for shells of revolution, circular cylindrical shells, hyperbolic paraboloid shells and circular cylindrical barrel shells.
  • 724 -- Dynamics of Structures. (3) (Prereq: ENGR 260, MATH 242) Lumped and continuous multidegree of freedom mechanical systems and structural assemblies. Steady-state, shock, and random excitation. Modal analysis, numerical methods. Introduction to wave propagation, earthquake engineering, and nonlinear vibrations.
  • 725 -- Advanced Analysis and Design in Structural Metals. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 425) Analysis and behavior of metal structural components under general loading combinations. Buckling phenomena of thin-walled open sections in the elastic and inelastic regions, and correlation with design code criteria. Behavior and design of plate girders.
  • 726 -- Repair and Retrofit of Structures. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 520) Analysis and modeling existing and repaired structures. Selection, modeling, and design of repair and/or retrofit measures.
  • 727 -- Advanced Analysis and Design of Reinforced Concrete. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 427) Design of multistory structures, two-way slabs, joints in buildings, pavement design, and miscellaneous topics.
  • 728 -- Prestressed Concrete Analysis and Design. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 427) Pre-stressing methods and materials; flexural analysis, shear and torsion, design of simple, composite and continuous beams. Deflections, slab design, and study of axially loaded members.
  • 730 -- Advanced Soil Mechanics. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 530) Course covers the mechanical properties of soil; analysis of the field and laboratory tests to determine soil properties required for foundation analysis and design; consolidation theory; and settlement analysis.
  • 731 -- Slope Stability, Retaining Systems, and Lateral Earth Pressure. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 530) Shear strength of soil and rock under effective stress. Slope stability analysis, tieback and reinforced earth systems. Computation of earth pressures for excavations and tunnels. Dewatering for construction.
  • 732 -- Theoretical and Numerical Methods in Geomechanics. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 530) Constitutive models and their numerical implementation. Elastic and plastic approaches to analysis. Finite element applications to geomechanics problems. Layer analysis, arching, and stability case studies.
  • 733 -- Physico-chemical Properties of Soils. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 530) Soil mineralogy, chemistry, and clay-water systems. Impact of soil fabric and microstructure on engineering behavior. Soil-contaminant interaction. Barriers and liners for containment.
  • 734 -- Dynamics of Soils and Foundations. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 330) Properties of soils under dynamic loading. Harmonic and periodic motion. Free and forced vibrations. Vibrations of footings on an elastic half-space. Cyclic loadings and liquefaction, earthquake response of soils.
  • 736 -- Ground Improvement Techniques. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 530) Application of soil mechanics principles to improving the engineering characteristics of soil and rock. Topics include mechanisms of soil densification, preconsolidation, grouting, ground freezing, reinforced earth, and soil nailing.
  • 737 -- Advanced Foundation Design. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 530) Application of soil mechanics to design and analysis of foundations. Shallow foundations, bearing capacity, settlement. Deep foundations, axial and lateral loading, wave equation analysis, drilled shafts. Design and construction issues.
  • 748 -- Traffic Flow Theory. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 541, STAT 509) Survey of statistical techniques useful in traffic engineering. Deterministic and stochastic models of traffic flow. Operations research techniques. Simulation by digital computer. Applications to highway problems.
  • 750 -- Principles of Environmental Engineering Process. (3) (Prereq: CHEM 112 and MATH 142) Basic physical, chemical, and biological processes applied to aqueous systems.
  • 751 -- Water and Wastewater Treatment Theory I. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 750) Physical and chemical water and wastewater treatment processes. Topics include mixing, coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, oxidation, absorption, and ion exchange.
  • 752 -- Water and Wastewater Treatment Theory II. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 750) Biological water and wastewater treatment process. Topics include activated sludge, biofilms, nutrient removal, lagoons, and sludge treatment and disposal.
  • 753 -- Unit Operations Laboratory for Water and Wastewater Treatment. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 350L) Laboratory experiments in selected processes for water and wastewater treatment.
  • 755 -- Industrial Wastewater Treatment. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 751 or 752) Industrial sources, characteristics, and treatment plant design.
  • 760 -- Computational Hydraulics. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 560) Unsteady flow in open channels and pipes: theory, governing equations, and methods for their solution.
  • 761 -- Numerical Methods in Subsurface Hydrology. {=GEOL 775} (3) Formation of groundwater flow and solute transport problems: theory and practice, numerical methods, solution techniques.
  • 762 -- Advanced Hydrology. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 562) Advanced theories and techniques used in stormwater modeling; kinematic hydrology; soil physics infiltration; deterministic and parametric stormwater models; stochastic methods.
  • 763 -- Unsaturated Flow Theory. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 563) Moisture content-matric suction relationships, theory of flow in unsaturated soils, governing equations, measurement techniques, computer modeling of flow and transport.
  • 764 -- Contaminant Transport. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 563) Quantitative study of conservative and non-conservative pollutant transport in groundwater. Special topics include: transport processes, field techniques to determine aquifer transport parameters, and computer modeling of flow and transport.
  • 765 -- Erosion and Sediment Control. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 562) Erosion, sediment transport, methods for control, pond hydraulics and performance, nonpoint source pollution, stream water quality.
  • 766 -- Fluid Transients. (3) (Prereq: ENGR 360) Definitions; derivation of governing equations; methods of solution; method of characteristics; transients caused by turbomachinery, and methods for controlling transients
  • 767 -- Sediment Transport and River Mechanics. (3) (Prereq: ECIV 560) Sediment properties, review of fluid mechanics of sediment transport as bedload and suspended load, stability analysis of bedforms, alternate bars, growth and migration of meander bends.
  • 790 -- Selected Topics in Civil Engineering. (3-9) (Prereq: consent of instructor) Individual studies and/or investigations of special topics in the field of civil engineering.
  • 797 -- Research in Civil Engineering. (1-12, to be designated upon registration)
  • 798 -- Seminar in Civil and Environmental Engineering. (1) Seminar on current topics in civil and environmental engineering. Includes oral presentations by students on their research projects. Pass-Fail Grading.
  • 799 -- Thesis Preparation in Civil Engineering. (1-12) To be arranged by candidates for the master's degree with the instructor under whose direction the master's thesis is being written.
  • 899 -- Dissertation Preparation in Civil Engineering. (1-12)

    Return to College of Engineering and Information Technology


RETURN TO TOP
USC LINKS: DIRECTORY MAP EVENTS VIP
SITE INFORMATION