CEE-PHD - Civil and Environmental Engineering

Admission Requirements

Applicants are required to satisfy these requirements:

1. An M.S. degree in civil engineering, environmental engineering or a closely related discipline in engineering or the physical sciences from a U.S. college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association, or completion of an international degree that is equivalent to a U.S. master’s degree from a college or university of recognized standing.

2. Excellent academic performance in all completed coursework, with a minimum GPA of 3.000 on a 4.000 scale.

3. Submission of a complete application, including a statement of purpose, official transcripts for all previous undergraduate and graduate studies, and payment of appropriate application fee.

4. Official GRE graduate school admission test scores.

5. Three letters of recommendation from individuals who can judge the applicant’s potential success as a doctoral student.

6. Graduates from foreign countries are required to submit a notarized financial certification form. All international students whose native language is not English and who have not graduated from an American university must submit a minimum TOEFL English language proficiency score before being considered for admission:

• 550 - paper-based examination.

• 213 - computer-based examination.

• 80 - Internet-based examination.

Direct Admission into the Ph.D. Program

The Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department offers direct admission into its Doctoral Program for outstanding students with a bachelor’s degree in civil or environmental engineering or related field. This special program would allow a student to move up to 18 SCH from the coursework hours requirement to the dissertation hours requirement, while retaining the 78 SCH required past the bachelor’s degree. The minimum number of dissertation hours remains at 24 SCH. A student admitted into this program will therefore need to successfully complete a minimum of 36 SCH of coursework and a minimum of 24 SCH of dissertation with the total coursework and dissertation hours reaching a minimum of 78 SCH. The expected program of study for most students in this track is 36 SCH of coursework and 42 SCH of dissertation. A minimum of 36 SCH of the coursework must be from regularly scheduled, graduate-level courses, and cannot be one-on-one, directed study type courses. 

Admission Requirements

This direct admission program is open only to outstanding students who have demonstrated excellence in their undergraduate (UG) career and who are well prepared to excel in their graduate coursework and research. Therefore, admission into this program shall be considered on an exceptional basis.

The selective admission process shall consist of the following minimum requirements:

1. An undergraduate degree in Civil or Environmental Engineering or related field,

2. An UG GPA of 3.5 or higher,

3. A GRE quantitative score of 85% or higher,

4. Strong letters of recommendation supporting the student’s direct admission into the Ph.D. program, and

5. A written statement of purpose that projects maturity, purpose, commitment, and a demonstrated standard of excellence.

The CEE Graduate Admissions Committee will consider outstanding applicants who have specifically applied for direct Ph.D. admission and will determine their admission into this program. Exceptions to these requirements for extenuating circumstances are possible with adviser and CEE Graduate Admissions Committee approval. For example, students admitted into an MS program may be admitted directly into the PhD program after a period of outstanding performance (e.g., high SMU GPA and outstanding research productivity) at the adviser’s request and with approval from the CEE Graduate Admissions Committee.