Transportation Engineering
Degree options:
MSE with Thesis, Report, or Coursework only
PhD
Master’s of Science in Engineering (MSE) Degree Program
Students pursuing a master’s degree in Transportation Engineering will have three degree options listed as follows to choose from. Some of the students working on pavement related projects may have the option to get their degree from either Transportation Engineering or Infrastructure Materials Engineering (IME) depending on the source of funding for their research.
Degree Options:
The Master’s "Thesis Option" requires at least 30 hours of credit, including:
12 to 18 hours in the major focus area,
6 to 12 hours in minor focus areas, and
6 hours for thesis research and writing.
Most Master’s students who are supported with research assistantships are recommended to pursue this option. The thesis must be approved by the supervising professor and one other faculty member serving as the “second reader” unless the student has another professor as the co-supervisor.
The Master’s "Report Option" requires at least 30 hours of credit, including:
18 to 21 hours in the major focus area
6 to 9 hours in minor focus areas, and
3-credit-hour report to the Graduate School or 3-credit-hour report to the CAEE Department. Requires a second professor to serve as a report reader.
The report option is especially appropriate for students with special time constraints since it is normally possible to complete this option in one year of full-time study (two academic semesters and a summer). The report option is also recommended for part-time students. Students wishing to pursue this option should clearly indicate their intentions at the time of application to graduate school.
The Master’s "Coursework-only Option" requires at least 30 hours of credit, including:
21 to 24 hours in the major focus area, and
6 to 9 hours in minor focus areas.
The course-only option is rarely offered, only in unique circumstances.
Major Areas
Examples of Typical major areas within our program are those listed as the following:
Geometric Design of Highways
Traffic Engineering
Transportation Planning
Infrastructure Systems Management
Network Systems
Rail Transportation
Materials and Structural Design of Highways
Transportation Economics
Operations Research
Specific areas of specialization can be tailored to a student's needs and interests; in fact, with no specific course requirements in the program, every student works with a faculty advisor to choose the set of courses that best achieves his or her objectives. Courses that are closely related to the major area form the major and may be from either the Department of Civil Engineering or other departments. Supporting work consists of courses outside the major area. Courses considered supporting (or minor) coursework are not required to have any relation to one another; each simply has to be recognizably different from the major.
Minimum GPA
Students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA to avoid academic probation and possible dismissal. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is also required for graduation.
Time Requirements
The time needed to complete a master's degree varies among students. Students with half-time appointments as research or teaching assistants usually take between 16 and 24 months to complete the degree, commonly finishing two semesters beyond the first year. Full-time students without research or teaching assistantships can complete the report option within one year, although most students choose to take one additional semester.
PhD Degree Program
The PhD program has no formal course requirements. The appropriate courses to complete should be selected in consultation with the student's advisor and supervising committee and should include some coursework in a supporting area outside of Transportation Engineering. Successful candidates must demonstrate proficiency in written English and pass three examinations:
(1) English Proficiency
The objective of the English proficiency requirement is to ensure that all PhD candidates possess the writing skills necessary for effective technical communication before embarking on the dissertation writing process. English proficiency can be shown by earning a bachelor’s degree in the US or in a qualifying country, or
By submitting a TOEFL writing score of 22 or greater at the time of application;
By submitting an IELTS writing score of 6.5 or greater at the time of application;
By retaking the TOEFL or IELTS and achieving a writing score target; or
By passing an approved technical writing course.
Students who cannot demonstrate proficiency on the basis of their writing score must either retake the exam or enroll in an approved technical writing course in their first semester as a PhD student. CE397 Advanced Communication Skill for International Students; CE389C Advanced Engineering Communication; or an acceptable ESL or Graduate School (GRS) course are the only technical writing courses approved at this time.
(2) Qualifying Examination
The Qualifying Exam is composed of both written and oral examination. Typically, it should be taken within the first year of enrolled in the PhD program.
Written Examination
The written exam usually takes place in the middle of August and is taken for two days. The exam consists of three parts:
Methodological (4 hours, First day)
The methodological part includes the following subjects:
Probability and Statistics
Applied Mathematics
General Transportation Engineering (4 hours, First day)
The second part will consist of several questions in transportation engineering in areas other than the student's main field of specialization. Each student will have to address two out of the following subjects:
Geometric Design of Highways
Traffic Engineering
Transportation Planning
Infrastructure Systems Management
Network Systems
Rail Transportation
Materials and Structural Design of Highways
Transportation Economics
Operations
All the questions in parts one and two will be administered on a closed-book basis, unless notified differently before the exam. Students will be allowed access to one textbook of their choice for the Probability and Statistics portion of the exam. Students will be allowed access to one textbook of their choice in Transportation Economics, and one textbook of their choice in Geometric Design of Highways as well.
Area of Depth (8 hours, Second day)
The third part examines the student in his/her declared main area of specialization. This part is intended to provide an opportunity for more in-depth critical analysis problems, some of which may possibly be open-ended, requiring a little more thinking and synthesizing knowledge of the field. Check directly with your faculty advisor for more information on this part of the exam.
Written exams are graded relatively, and students are expected to pass the threshold grade to pass the written exam. Students must pass the written exam before they are allowed to proceed to take the oral exam, and if a student fails the written exam, the transportation faculty will decide if the student will be given one more chance to take it the following year.
Oral Examination
The oral exam takes place in October and is scheduled based on the student and faculty members’ availability. The exam is administered by a committee of three faculty members, including the student’s supervisor. The exam takes about 30 minutes to an hour, and the student is expected to answer one question from each faculty member on the committee. The questions can be related to anything – easy statistics question to something specific about the student’s research.
(3) Comprehensive Examination
The Comprehensive Examination involves an extensive discussion of the proposed dissertation work but also tests the candidate's knowledge in Transportation Engineering. The exam typically includes a written description of the proposed dissertation research with an oral presentation to the student's supervising committee. This serves to define the dissertation topic in a public forum. The supervising committee for the Comprehensive Exam consists of the student’s supervisor(s), two other faculty members in Transportation Engineering, and one person outside of Transportation Engineering. The Comprehensive Exam is typically taken about a year before graduation when most of the course work has been completed, but before completing the bulk of the dissertation research.
(4) Dissertation Defense
The third and final exam is the defense of the dissertation presented to the student's supervising committee. The defense is held at the end of the program.
The doctoral supervising committee consists of at least five professors, including the student's advisor and at least one professor from outside of Civil Engineering.
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Graduate Courses
CE 391P-2 Design & Performance of Pavements
Pavement performance evaluation and the application of theory to the design of pavements.
Unique
CE 391Q Bituminous Materials
Design and use of asphalt mixtures; chemical, physical, and rheological properties of asphalt; and practical applications in highways, airports, and other construction.
CE 397 Linear Regression & Discrete Choice Methods
Provides instruction in econometric model estimation methods and use of behavioral models in service design, marketing and prediction. Practical problems in the context of transportation planning are assigned to provide familiarity with models used and experience in data handling and estimation.
CE 392C Transportation Network Analysis
Transportation network analysis focusing on planning and optimization using static traffic assignment models. Subjects include deterministic and stochastic equilibrium, traditional and modern solution methods, shortest path algorithms, combined models, and basic nonlinear programming skills.
CE 392D Dynamic Traffic Assignment
Theory and practice of dynamic traffic assignment as an evolving field. Subjects include basic flow models (point queues, cell transmission model, and link transmission model), time-dependent shortest path algorithms, equilibrium algorithms (convex combinations, simplicial decomposition, and gradient methods), and case studies from practice.
CE 391F Advanced Theory of Traffic Flow
This course presents an overview of traffic flow models and their applications. A strong emphasis is given to the description of the different types of flow models, their limitations, and numerical methods. The course also formulates classical transportation engineering problems into a dynamical systems framework: forward and inverse problems, estimation, optimization and control. Possible solution methods are presented for each of these problems.
CE 397 Sensors/Signal Interpretation
This class is an introduction to sensor systems for Civil Engineers. Sensor systems are now prevalent and enable a variety of monitoring and control applications that are relevant to civil engineers. The course focuses on the problems of selecting a sensor suitable to a given application, understanding the relevant specifications in a datasheet, and processing the raw measurement data, using standard signal processing methods (linear filtering) or model-based data fusion methods (Kalman Filter and its extensions)
CE391H/CRP384 Transport Planning, Demand Forecasting
This course covers various aspects of urban and regional transportation system performance forecasting. By the end of this course, students should have a solid understanding of the theory and methods underlying the practice of urban and regional travel demand modeling.
CE 392E Acquisition & Analysis of Transportation Data
Methods and technologies for the acquisition and analysis of data on various aspects of transportation systems, including properties of different data sources and types; stated versus revealed preferences; traffic sensing; survey design; sampling strategies; probabilistic methods of data analysis; overview of statistical methods and various regression models, including random-utility, ordered-choice, simultaneous-equations, time-series, and spatial econometric models.
CE 392T Transportation Economics
Application of economic theory and principles to transportation systems analysis and evaluation. Subjects include individual demand decisions, optimal private and public transport supply (including pricing strategies and input demands), market imperfections and externalities, and welfare-based transport policy.
CE 392M Public Transportation Engineering
Introduction to public transportation systems, including demand forecasting, operations, and design. Includes statistical methods, driver and vehicle scheduling, algorithms, and survey sampling techniques.
CE 397 Modeling Tools with Engineering Applications
This course provides a foundation of statistics and probability at a graduate level, as well as an introduction to linear regression, survival analysis and applied machine learning frameworks. At the end of the semester students are expected to finish a final project where they write a research paper and present their findings using any of the techniques shown in class on data that relates to their specific fields. Data can also be provided in the case where none is available.
CE 392N-1 Infrastructure Systems Management
Concepts, principles, theories, and models for infrastructure management, with emphasis on civil infrastructure systems.
CE 392N Intelligent Infrastructure Systems
Concepts, frameworks, and models of intelligent infrastructure systems, with emphasis on the application of emerging technologies and advanced modeling techniques.
C E 397 Railway Project Design & Construction
This course provides a comprehensive, integrated understanding of the process of planning and designing a railroad-engineering project from concept through to operation. The class will focus on five elements of a railroad project: Economic analysis, Planning, Design, Construction, and Operation. Students will work in teams to identify, gather and analyze the necessary information, to plan and manage a new railroad construction project.
Undergraduate Courses
CE 301 Civil Engineering System
Introduction to civil engineering as a career; engineering problem solving; use of computers for text, graphics, and data analysis; introduction to civil engineering measurements; breadth of disciplines within civil engineering; engineering ethics, sustainability.
CE 311K Intro to Computer Methods
Organization and programming of civil engineering problems for computer solutions.
CE 311S Prob/Stats for Civil Engineers
Basic theory of probability and statistics with practical applications to civil engineering problems, including statistical inference and sampling. Additional subjects may include reliability and risk analyses, estimation and regression analyses, and experimental design.
CE 321 Transportation Systems
Planning, economics, location, construction, operation, maintenance, and design of transportation systems; concepts of various modes of transportation.
CE 366K Design of Bituminous Mixtures
Fundamental properties of asphalt and aggregates, design and construction of asphalt mixtures, special mixtures, and superpave design method.
CE 367G Design/Eval Ground-Base Transportation Sys
Methods for design and evaluation of transportation systems, emphasizing roadway and non-motorized travel, in light of traveler safety, system operations, construction and maintenance costs, environmental impacts, and other considerations.
CE 367P Pavement Design and Performance
Basic principles of design of pavements for highways, airfields, and railroads; pavement construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation.
CE 367R Optimization Technology Transportation Engr
Overview of optimization techniques, including linear programming, nonlinear optimization, and network flow algorithms including shortest path, maximum flow, and minimum spanning tree. Examples and applications primarily drawn from transportation engineering, with connections to other areas
CE 367T Traffic Engineering
Driver and vehicle characteristics, traffic studies, traffic laws and ordinances, intersection capacity, signs, markings, signals, bus transit, parking, design of street systems, and operational controls.