The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is a research-oriented degree requiring a minimum of 64 semester credit hours of approved courses and research beyond the Master of Science (M.S.) degree [96 credit hours beyond the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree]. The university places limitations on these credit hours in addition to the requirements of the Department of Civil Engineering and the Geotechnical Engineering program listed below.
A complete discussion of all university requirements is found in the current Texas A&M University Graduate Catalog.
NOTE: All documents requiring departmental signatures must be submitted to the Civil Engineering Graduate Office in DLEB 101 at least one day prior to the Office of Graduate Studies deadline.
Geotechnical Engineering Faculty Members
- Dr. Charles Aubeny
- Dr. Jean-Louis Briaud
- Dr. Zenon Medina-Cetina
- Dr. Anand Puppala
- Dr. Marcelo Sanchez
Departmental Requirements
In addition to fulfilling the University requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree, a student enrolled in the Civil Engineering graduate program in the area of Geotechnical Engineering must satisfy the following department requirements.
- A minimum of 32 credit hours of graduate level coursework taken through Texas A&M University [a minimum of 24 credit hours if the student already has taken at least another 24 credit hours of graduate course work for the Master of Science (M.S.) or Master of Engineering (MEng) degree].
- Remaining coursework requirement can be met by 32 hours of CVEN 691.
Geotechnical Engineering Requirements
The student must also satisfy the following area requirements and/or recommendations described below:
- Qualifying Exam
- Degree Plan
- Written Preliminary Exam
- Research Proposal
- Oral Preliminary Exam
- Completion of Dissertation
- Final Defense
Coursework
The student’s advisory committee, in consultation with the student, will select coursework to complement the overall objectives of the proposed degree plan. Particularly for the Ph.D. degree, courses must be chosen so as to complement your research program as well as any future career goals. The courses listed below will typically have other graduate level courses as pre-requisites.