Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. (Ithaca)
Field of Study
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Program Description
Students in the M.S. or Ph.D. program may select one area of concentration. Each student in the Ph.D. program must take a qualifying examination shortly after receiving the M.S. degree, or, if a student comes to Cornell with an M.S. degree, within nine months after arrival. Additional information on the M.S. and Ph.D. programs is available on request from the graduate field office.
Complex Systems Engineering (Ph.D. Only) investigates how systems-level behavior emerges from interactions among components in both engineered and natural systems. This inherently interdisciplinary field combines mathematical modeling, nonlinear dynamics, data science, numerical simulation, optimization, and stochastic processes with domain-specific knowledge grounded in physical, chemical, and biological principles. Research in this area spans a wide range of applications, including cyber-physical systems, environmental fluids, microbial communities, renewable energy, synthetic biology, transportation systems, infrastructure, and power networks. The curriculum provides a strong foundation in mathematical modeling, with flexibility for students to tailor coursework to their specific research interests.
Environmental Processes (M.S. & Ph.D.) is concerned with the protection and management of the quality of the environment for the benefit of society. Degree programs emphasize biological, chemical, and physical phenomena and engineering principles; laboratory and computational skills; and their application to the analysis of relevant problems.
Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology (M.S. & Ph.D.) involves the study of fluid mechanics of the environment and the associated application to hydraulics, hydrology, coastal oceanography, and meteorology as related to the wet earth and atmosphere.
Environmental and Water Resources Systems Engineering (M.S. & Ph.D.) Research and instruction in this area address the development and application of scientific principles, economic theory, and mathematical techniques to the management and planning of public infrastructure and environmental and water resource systems. Research projects include evaluation of engineering projects, groundwater contaminant modeling and remediation optimization, statistical analysis of hydrologic processes, hydropower systems optimization, water supply systems management, water quality planning, remote sensing, risk analysis, river basin, and groundwater systems planning and operation, ecological systems management, sustainable development, and computer graphics-oriented decision support systems.
Structural Engineering (Ph.D. Only) includes, in addition to the conventional aspects of structural analysis and design, interests in computational mechanics, artificial intelligence, dynamics, and earthquake engineering, the behavior of thin steel structures, control of large-space structures, reliability, stochastic mechanics, natural disaster risk assessment and management, civil infrastructure systems, evaluation of structures and non-destructive testing, fracture mechanics, blast and impact loads, progressive collapse, and structural materials.
Transportation Systems Engineering (M.S. & Ph.D.) embraces policy, planning, design, and evaluation of transport systems and the relationships among transport supply and demand, land use, and regional development. The approach is multimodal and systems-oriented; it emphasizes the use of quantitative and analytical techniques of operations research and economics.
Contact Information
Website: https://www.cee.cornell.edu/cee/programs/graduate-programs/phd-programEmail: cee_grad@cornell.edu
Phone: 607 255-7560
219 Hollister Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
Concentrations by Subject
- environmental and water resources systems engineering (M.S., M.S./Ph.D., Ph.D. only)
- environmental fluid mechanics and hydrology (M.S., M.S./Ph.D., Ph.D. only)
- environmental processes (M.S., M.S./Ph.D., Ph.D. only)
- structural engineering (M.Eng., Ph.D. only)
- transportation systems engineering
Tuition
Visit the Graduate School's Tuition Rates page.
Application Requirements and Deadlines
Application Deadlines:
Fall: Jan. 7
Requirements Summary:
- all Graduate School Requirements including the English Language Proficiency Requirement for all applicants
- Academic Statement of Purpose
- Personal Statement
- Unofficial Transcripts from all institutions attended
- Three Letters of Recommendations
- Resume (Strongly Encouraged)
Learning Outcomes
Make an original and substantial contribution to the discipline
- Think originally and independently to develop concepts and methodologies
- Identify new research opportunities within one’s field
Demonstrate advanced research skills
- Synthesize existing knowledge, identifying and accessing appropriate resources and other sources of relevant information and critically analyzing and evaluating one’s own findings and those of others
- Master application of existing research methodologies, techniques, and technical skills
- Communicate in a style appropriate to the discipline
Demonstrate commitment to advancing the values of scholarship
- Keep abreast of current advances within one’s field and related areas
- Show commitment to personal professional development through engagement in professional societies, publication, and other knowledge transfer modes
- Show a commitment to creating an environment that supports learning—through teaching, collaborative inquiry, mentoring, or demonstration
Demonstrate professional skills
- Advance ethical standards in the discipline
- Listen, give, and receive feedback effectively