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Graduate Concentrations

Civil Engineering

The following concentrations are available for graduate degrees in civil engineering. Read more details in the Graduate Catalog at the buttons below.

MS Degree Doctorate Degree

Providing design capability, construction technology, and resources for management of infrastructure will be the basic goals of civil engineering during the coming decade. As a construction engineer, you will be part of the industry that provides the foundation to integrate and construct high technology design concepts into functioning infrastructure for society. Offered on the Knoxville campus.

Graduate Courses

  • CE 581 Construction Estimating
  • CE 582 Construction Scheduling
  • CE 583 Building Information Modeling for Construction
  • CE 586 Infrastructure Assessment, Evaluation, and Maintenance
  • CE 680 Information Technology for Building and Infrastructure Systems
  • CE 681 Rating and Analysis of Sustainable Infrastructure Systems

Virtually any civil engineering project requires the use of the earth’s resources to provide the building materials needed to erect the structures on this foundation. The geotechnical engineer is responsible for the subsurface investigation and the analysis of soil properties which provide the basis of the foundation design. Geotechnical engineering projects include the design of shallow and deep foundations, slope stability analysis, rock fall mitigation, design and construction of dams, tunnels, and levees.

The materials engineer must be familiar with the properties of construction and structural materials so that an economic use of resources can be included in the design process. The graduate program in geotechnical and materials engineering offers students a range of topics. Graduate students are encouraged to broaden their perspectives by taking courses in mechanics, structures, and geology. Offered on the Knoxville campus and via distance education.

Graduate Courses

  • CE 521 Pavement Design
  • CE 522 Mix Design for Asphalitc and Portland-Cement Concrete
  • CE 525 Pavement Materials Characterization
  • CE 530 Advanced Soil Mechanics
  • CE 532 Slope Stability and Analysis
  • CE 531 Soil Stabilization
  • CE 535 Advanced Foundations and Retaining Structures
  • CE 538 Finite Element Applications in Geotechnical Engineering
  • CE 539 Geotechnology Seminar
  • CE 565 Structural Dynamics
  • CE 630 Constitutive Behavior of Geomaterials
  • CE 632 Advanced Laboratory and In Situ Testing of Soil
  • CE 633 Soil and Structural Dynamics
  • CE 634 Engineering Soil Characteristics and Behavior
  • CE 691 Special Topics in Civil Engineering

National attention is being focused on the deterioration of civil engineering infrastructure, such as bridges, roads, waterlines, and public buildings. Urban areas are undergoing continual growth, requiring innovative responses to air pollution, disposal of waste products, flood control, and suburban traffic growth. A public works engineer is trained as a broad-based civil engineer able to confront the diversity of public issues facing the modern American city.

The Public Works graduate program is tailored to students in a traditional academic setting as well as to practicing professionals interested in continuing education. Practicing engineers may have access to academic courses through distance education offerings. Offered on the Knoxville campus and via distance education.

Graduate Program

There are three components in the Public Works program. A written comprehensive exam is required after completion of the coursework.

Core Courses
The core course requirements provide the student with the basic tools needed by the public works engineer.

Transportation Engineering (3 courses). Select from CE 521, 551, 552, 553, 558

Construction Engineering (1 course). Select from CE 581, 582

Environmental Engineering (2 courses). Select from ENVE 515, 525, 530, or 558

Technical Focus
Affords the student the opportunity to tailor the course content to an area of specialized technical interest. Six credit hours of courses are required in structural engineering, geotechnical and materials engineering, construction engineering, transportation engineering, or environmental engineering. These courses should be selected in consultation with and have the approval of the Public Works Committee.

General Focus
Allows the student to broaden their program by providing 6 credit hours of additional instruction in areas outside of civil and environmental engineering. Typical courses include, but are not limited to Industrial Engineering 518, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, and 543. The courses for this focus must meet the approval of the Public Works Committee.

For more information on the Public Works Program contact Baoshan Huang at 865-974-7713 or e-mail bhuang@utk.edu.

The graduate program in structural engineering offers courses in analysis, behavior, and design of structures. The Master of Science degree provides a strong background for consulting practice. The Doctor of Philosophy degree provides the opportunity for in-depth research. Offered on the Knoxville campus.

Analysis Courses

  • CE 561 Finite Element Applications in Structural Engineering
  • CE 565 Structural Dynamics

Behavior Courses

  • CE 571 Behavior of Steel Structures
  • CE 574 Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Members
  • CE 671 Behavior of Bridges and Buildings
  • CE 674 Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Beams and Slabs

Design Courses

  • CE 472 Steel Design
  • CE 474 Reinforced Concrete Design
  • CE 560 Advanced Structural Mechanics
  • CE 562 Structural Systems
  • CE 573 Prestressed Concrete
  • CE 576 Masonry Design

A transportation engineer is concerned with the safe and efficient movement to both people and goods. This includes designing and maintaining all types of transportation facilities, such as highways and streets, mass transit systems, railroads and airfield, and ports and harbors. Technology, logistics, economics, politics, and societal considerations are factors in all projects related to transportation. Offered on the Knoxville campus.

Graduate Courses

  • CE 547 Design of Railway Transportation Systems
  • CE 548 Sustainable Transportation
  • CE 550 Transportation Seminar
  • CE 551 Traffic Engineering-Characteristics
  • CE 552 Traffic Engineering-Operations
  • CE 553 Geometric Design and Layout of Roadways and Community Facilities
  • CE 554 Public Transit Planning and Operations
  • CE 556 Traffic Crash Reconstruction and Analysis
  • CE 557 Transportation Policy and Economics
  • CE 558 Transportation Planning Models
  • CE 559 Transportation Safety
  • CE 651 Analysis Techniques for Transportation Systems I
  • CE 652 Analysis Techniques for Transportation Systems II
  • CE 653 Intelligent Transportation Systems


Environmental Engineering

The following concentrations are available for graduate degrees in environmental engineering. These concentrations are offered on the Knoxville campus and via distance education.

MS Degree Doctorate Degree

The Climate Impacts Engineering concentration requires the completion of the following core courses:

  • ENVE 511 Environmental Chemistry
  • ENVE 512 Environmental Transport and Kinetics
  • ENVE 558 Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
  • ENVE 574 Air Pollution Engineering and Control

Elective courses should be chosen in consultation with the graduate advisor and may include the following courses, among others:

  • ENVE 561 Climate and Environmental Informatics
  • ENVE 562 Three Dimensional Climate Modeling
  • ENVE 577 Air Pollution Climatology
  • ENVE 595 Special Topics (topics and availability vary each semester)
  • ENVE 671 Advanced Concepts of Air Pollution Engineering
  • ENVE 672 Air Pollution Dispersion Modeling
  • ENVE 691 Special Topics in Environmental Engineering (topics and availability vary each semester)

The Environmental Engineering concentration requires the completion of the following core courses:

  • ENVE 511 Environmental Chemistry
  • ENVE 512 Environmental Transport and Kinetics
  • ENVE 513 Environmental Microbiology
  • ENVE 550 Advanced Applications in Water and Waste Treatment
  • ENVE 558 Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
  • ENVE 574 Air Pollution Engineering and Control

Elective courses should be chosen in consultation with the graduate advisor and may include the following courses, among others:

  • CE 485 Principles of Hydrogeology
  • ENVE 515 Open Channel Hydraulics
  • ENVE 530 Urban Hydrology and Storm Water Engineering
  • ENVE 576 Applied Microbiology and Bioengineering
  • ENVE 586 Sustainability Engineering, Design, and Analysis
  • ENVE 595 Special Topics (topics and availability vary each semester)
  • ENVE 653 Pollutant Fate Modeling and Risk Assessment
  • ENVE 655 Environmental Systems Biology
  • ENVE 671 Advanced Concepts of Air Pollution Engineering
  • ENVE 672 Air Pollution Dispersion Modeling
  • ENVE 691 Special Topics in Environmental Engineering (topics and availability vary each semester)

The Water Resources Engineering concentration within the Environmental Engineering graduate program offers diverse training. The Water Resources Engineering concentration requires the completion of the following core courses:

  • ENVE 511 Environmental Chemistry
  • ENVE 512 Environmental Transport and Kinetics
  • ENVE 515 Open Channel Hydraulics
  • CE 485 (GEOL 485) Principles of Hydrogeology

Water Resources Engineering graduate research is scientifically and technically diverse, often requiring multi- or inter-disciplinary training. Other courses that are often used to prepare a student for their research and professional needs, particularly those students pursuing a non-thesis Master degree, may include the following:

  • ENVE 513 Environmental Microbiology
  • ENVE 516 Watershed Monitoring and Assessment
  • ENVE 525 Soil Erosion and Sediment Yield
  • ENVE 526 Ecological Engineering for Stream Rehabilitation
  • ENVE 527 Stream Restoration Design
  • ENVE 530 Urban Hydrology and Storm Water Engineering
  • ENVE 533 Green Infrastructure Design
  • ENVE 544 Advanced GIS Applications for Hydrology
  • ENVE 595 Special Topics (topics and availability vary each semester)
  • ENVE 615 Sediment Transport
  • ENVE 620 Advanced Hydrodynamic Modeling
  • ENVE 653 Pollutant Fate Modeling and Risk Assessment

Note: This list is not exhaustive; consult the UT Graduate Catalog for a full listing of ENVE courses along with detailed course descriptions

Additional co-listed and external departmental courses commonly of interest include (but are not limited to):

  • BSE 555 GIS and GPS Applications to Biosystems
  • GEOG 536 Topics in Watershed Dynamics
  • STAT 537 Statistics for Research I
  • STAT 538 Statistics for Research II

All course work should be taken in consultation with the student’s graduate advisor and graduate committee. The courses provided herein are primarily for illustrative purposes to highlight the diverse set of coursework available to a student in the Water Resources Engineering concentration.