205
Graduate Programs
205.13
Civil and Environmental Engineering
205.13 Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
3-133, Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2
E-mail: civegrad@ualberta.ca
www.engineering.ualberta.ca/civil
205.13.1 General Information
Degree Programs
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, incorporating the School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, offers programs of study leading to the advanced degrees of Master of Science, Master of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy. The degree programs in the Department are organized along the traditional disciplines found in civil engineering including construction engineering and management, environmental engineering and science, geotechnical or geoenvironmental engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering and water resources engineering. In addition, candidates with strong interests in the resource extraction industries can obtain advanced degrees in mining and petroleum engineering. The Department offers a wide range of course options permitting the flexibility to arrange programs for candidates who obtained their undergraduate degree in fields other than civil engineering including students with four year science degrees.
Research
Civil and Environmental Engineering
The Department has a major research orientation. Active research areas in the Department include the following:
Civil: construction engineering and management with a focus on productivity improvement, computing applications including artificial intelligence, simulation modelling and information management, optimization of aggregate and concrete manufacturing, and construction planning and control; geotechnical engineering and environmental geotechniques including the study of soil mechanics, rock mechanics, foundation engineering, engineering geology, permafrost, storage, disposal, and containment of industrial wastes and pollutants and contaminated or disturbed earthy material and groundwater; structural engineering with a strong focus in the structural behaviour and design of concrete, masonry, steel and timber members and frames in addition to structural analysis and solid mechanics; transportation engineering with a focus on urban transportation planning and evaluation, sustainable transportation, traffic engineering and road safety; and water resources engineering including the study of hydraulics, hydrology, river behavior, fluid mechanics, wave dynamics and climate change.
Environmental: environmental engineering and science with a focus on processes in air, soil, and water; system risk assessment and public health engineering; solid waste management; environmental hydraulics; applied microbiology and parasitology; applied chemistry; mathematical modelling of environmental systems; neural network technology; industrial waste management; and disposal and fate of pollutants in the environment.
School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering
The School's graduate degree program is operated in conjunction with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of advanced research in the resource industries. Areas of research include the following:
Mining: mining engineering including mineral economics, geomechanics, geostatistics, simulation of mining systems; mine planning and design; surface and underground mining equipment and methods; and mine property evaluation.
Petroleum: petroleum engineering including multiphase flow through porous media; immiscible, miscible and micellar flooding; heavy oil recovery using thermal energy; interfacial phenomena; pressure build-up and drawdown analysis; and mathematical simulation of petroleum recovery systems.
Entrance Requirements
The Department's minimum admission requirements are a four-year undergraduate degree with an average of 3.0 in the last two years of undergraduate work (or graduate work) at the University of Alberta, or an equivalent qualification from a recognized institution and a TOEFL score of 550 (paper-based) or 88 (internet-based with at least 20 per section) or an equivalent approved English language examination where applicable (see §203.2.4).
Financial Assistance
Financial assistance is available through the Department to students in the form of research assistantships, teaching assistantships, tuition scholarships and a variety of awards administered by the University and affiliated institutions. Details may be found at www.gradstudies.ualberta.ca
205.13.2 The Degree of MEng
The Master of Engineering is a course-based degree intended for the working professional and for those with foreign training interested in becoming oriented towards the North American industry. Course content is more applied than in thesis-based MSc and PhD programs and is typically delivered in intensive weekend and evening formats to better accommodate working professionals. MEng courses are not transferable to MSc and PhD programs, but can be applied towards some professional development certificates.
Program Requirements
The Master of Engineering degree requires the completion of a minimum of 
24 (eight single-term graduate courses or equivalent) all at the 800-level in the Faculty of Engineering. In addition, students must complete ENGG 800. Courses must be chosen in consultation with the Department.
There is no second language requirement other than English for the degree of MEng.
Note that MEng requirements changed significantly September 1, 2014. Those who began their programs before this date will be governed by the requirements in place at the time of their admission.
Length of Program
Candidates may complete the Master of Engineering program in a minimum of nine months. The maximum time permitted for completion of the program is four years from the date of first registration.
205.13.3 The MBA/MEng Joint Program
The Faculty of Business and the Faculty of Engineering offer a program of joint study which enables students to earn both the MBA and MEng degrees after two calendar years of full-time study. Only students with an undergraduate degree in engineering are admissible to this program. For application information, entrance requirements and other details, refer to §205.9.5 of the University Calendar.
Program Requirements
The MBA/MEng Joint program requires 20 first-year 1.5 MBA courses, ORG A 641, three second-year 3 elective MBA courses, and seven 3 graduate engineering courses, as approved by the Department, plus ENGG 600. In addition, one engineering project, equivalent to two 3 courses and having a significant business related component, will be required. The project will be co-supervised by a professor from the Faculty of Business and a professor from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Length of Program
Students will normally take the 20 first-year MBA courses in their first two semesters. The program can be completed in two calendar years if students are enrolled on a full-time basis. The duration of the total program must not exceed six consecutive calendar years.
205.13.4 The Degree of MSc
Program Requirements
The Master of Science program requires a minimum of 18 (six single-term graduate courses or equivalent), of which 12 (four single-term courses or equivalent) should be in the candidate's major field of interest, ENGG 600, plus a research thesis. In some areas of specialization, an additional 6 (two single-term courses or equivalent) more than the minimum are required. The Department will require more 3 courses in cases where the undergraduate degree does not provide a superior background for the chosen area of specialization or in cases where the course preparation needs to be augmented to enhance the execution of the research topic.
There is no second language requirement other than English for the degree of MSc.
Length of Program
A candidate may complete a Master of Science program in 15 to 18 months. However, students often require 19 to 23 months depending on the thesis topic. The maximum time permitted for completion of the program is four years from the date of first registration.
205.13.5 The Degree of PhD
Program Requirements
The PhD degree is a research degree. Courses in a doctoral program are assigned by the supervisor and supervisory committee, in consultation with the student. They are designed to enhance the depth and breadth of understanding in the field of study. The course requirements are determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the student's background. Students are required to have completed ENGG 600. Students in the doctoral program are expected to maintain a course average of 3.0 or higher before proceeding to their candidacy examination.
All doctoral candidates must prepare and defend a thesis of high calibre on an approved topic.
There is no second language requirement other than English for the degree of PhD.
The minimum period of residence is two academic terms of full-time attendance at the University of Alberta. The two terms need not be consecutive.
Length of Program
The time required to complete the PhD will vary according to the previous training of the applicant and the nature of the research undertaken. However, a minimum of three years is normally needed. The maximum time permitted for completion of the program is six years from the date of first registration.
205.13.6 Degree Specializations
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering encompasses a broad field of engineering and has eight main engineering disciplines: construction, environmental, geotechnical, mining, petroleum, structural, transportation, and water resources. The Department offers the following degree specializations in all of the degree programs. Each has a distinctive course offering designed to provide the student with advanced training in the area.
Construction Engineering and Management: The focus is on the main principles and techniques of planning, control, execution and engineering of construction projects. The degree emphasizes construction management principles, computing applications in construction and the fundamentals of construction engineering.
Environmental Engineering: The degree focuses on the fundamental chemical, physical, and biological processes that can be adapted to water, soil, and air systems. The emphasis is on public health and environmental protection technology with electives in environmental management and impact assessment. Topic areas include water and waste treatment; solid and hazardous waste treatment; industrial waste treatment; water quality modelling; and municipal collection and distribution systems.
Environmental Science: Students who have four-year science degrees and who wish to study applied environmental science may pursue an Environmental Science degree in civil engineering. This degree permits the study of applied environmental science in areas such as environmental health, chemistry, microbiology, zoology, or geography.
Geotechnical Engineering: The degree focuses on the study of soil mechanics, rock mechanics, foundation engineering, engineering geology and permafrost with emphasis on the behavior of natural materials and field problems. Full use is made of modern design tools such as advanced techniques in laboratory and field testing and numerical methods of analysis.
Geoenvironmental Engineering: The geoenvironment is that portion of our environment consisting of natural and man-made earth materials on and below the ground surface. Geoenvironmental engineering focuses on the management and control strategies of the geoenvironment from the standpoint of storage, disposal, and containment of industrial wastes and pollutants and contaminated or disturbed earthy material and groundwater.
Mining Engineering: The mining industry is a major economic engine in Canada and elsewhere. Mining engineering degrees offered by the Department include studies in mineral economics, geomechanics, geostatistics, simulation of mining systems; mine planning and design; surface and underground mining equipment and methods; and mine property evaluation.
Petroleum Engineering: The petroleum industry is comprised of exploration, production and refining activities related to hydrocarbons. Of great importance is reservoir engineering where efficient recovery of hydrocarbons is a major objective. Important topics include multiphase flow through porous media; immiscible, miscible and micellar flooding; heavy oil recovery using thermal energy; interfacial phenomena; pressure build up and drawdown analysis; and mathematical simulation of petroleum recovery systems.
Structural Engineering: This degree focuses on the analysis and design of buildings, bridges, and other structures. Emphasis is on structural systems of reinforced concrete, structural steel, and engineered masonry, but innovative and emerging technologies in areas related to timber, prestressed concrete, composite materials, and biomechanics are also covered.
Transportation Engineering: Graduate degrees concentrate on the main principles and techniques involved in the planning, evaluation, design and control of transportation systems. Research topics include urban transportation systems, land use-transportation interactions and the environmental impacts of transportation systems.
Water Resources Engineering: Graduate programs concentrate on the physical aspects of our environment as they relate to water supply, river problems, fish habitat, flood risk, pollutant dispersion and climate change. The program encompasses a wide variety of research topics including surface water hydrology; environmental fluid mechanics; computational hydraulics; river engineering; river and lake ice engineering; cold regions hydraulics and hydrology; urban hydraulics; design of hydraulic structures; air-sea interactions; surface wave mechanics; and water resources planning and management.
205.13.7 Graduate Courses
Undergraduate and Graduate courses can be found in Civil and Environmental Courses, or Mining and Petroleum Courses.
