GENERAL
There are two basic requirements for an applicant to meet:
- An applicant must exhibit unmistakable evidence of penetrating mastery of a rather broad major field; such evidence is ordinarily provided by a General Examination, after which the applicant may request admission to candidacy.
- A candidate must prove an ability to complete a significant program of original research by preparing a dissertation embodying creative scholarship and by passing a rigorous Final Examination. The dissertation must add to the sum of existing knowledge and it must be presented with considerable literary skill.
Students are strongly encouraged to review and follow the Doctoral Program Checklist.
THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATION
Generally, a graduate student is not formally admitted into the departments Ph.D. program until a qualifying examination has been passed. The qualifying examination is to be scheduled preferably during the first semester after the masters degree is awarded or during the first year of full time study for a student not pursuing a masters degree. A Qualifying Examination consists of both a written and an oral portion, but the final individual format and structure is to be decided by the temporary committee that will administer the examination.
The temporary committee will consist of a minimum of three members, including the advisor, and will be subject to Departmental approval. The majority of the membership is to be from the Civil Engineering Department. The temporary committee members need not be included in the advisory committee as defined below.
APPLICANCY
Students become applicants for the doctorate by passing the qualifying examination, being accepted by their major department (Civil and Environmental Engineering) and their minor department or concentration area, and having their program approved by the Graduate Council.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The student, in consultation with the major professor, will select the members of the advisory committee subject to Departmental and Graduate School approval through the CEGPC.
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At least three (3) members of the Graduate Faculty, including the major professor (who is the chair of the committee) should comprise the student's advisory committee. At least three (3) committee members must be members of the graduate faculty (to view a list of graduate faculty for our department, go to the Graduate School website for a complete list).
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The Major Professor, who acts as chair or co-chair, must be from the major department.
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If either an adjunct or a non-tenure track faculty member is the major professor, a full-time tenured or tenure track graduate faculty member must co-chair the committee.
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At least one-half (1/2) of the graduate faculty on doctoral committees must be full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty at LSU.
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A minimum of 2 of those faculty members must be from the student's major department and at least one of whom must be a full member of the LSU graduate faculty.
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The remaining members may be from the major department or may be from outside the department if pertinent to the student's area of concentration, with the proviso that at least one of the remaining members must be a full member of the graduate faculty.
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Any delcared outside minors require representation, either among the first 3 members of the committee or by additional appointments to the committee.
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The Dean of the Graduate School appoints a member of the graduate faculty to serve on doctoral general and final examination committees (aka Dean's Representative). The name and contact information of this Dean's Rep will be advised to the CEE Graduate Secretary who will forward the email to both the student and the student's advisor. The student is then responsible for contacting the Dean's Rep.
All committee members must be Full / Assoc / Affiliate members of Graduate Faculty. Chair should be a Full / Associate and co- chair can be Affiliate.
The students advisory committee is charged with administering all phases of his/her Ph.D. program towards the doctorate.
GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAM FORM
By the end of their first semester, students should work with their faculty advisor to map out their course work. To do this, students must complete and submit the Graduate Degree Program (department form G101).
A student's plan of subject to the following requirements:
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Students with a bachelor's degree are required to earn a minimum of forty-two (42) credit hours of course work plus one (1) credit hour for the CE 7750 seminar course, exclusive of thesis and dissertation credit. These should be graduate credit courses taught by members of the graduate faculty (for a list of civil engineering graduate faculty, go to the Graduate School website). Not less than 24 credit hours of these hours should be in civil engineering subjects. At least one-half of the minimum required graduate course work must be at or above the 7000 level. Full time graduate students should register for the one credit hour seminar class (CE 7750) each and every semester, if required by their program group. Part time graduate students are required to register for this seminar only in their graduating semester. Only one hour of CE 7750 may be applied to satisfy the course requirements.
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Students entering a Ph.D. program with a Master's degree from LSU or another institution must take a minimum of eighteen (18) credit hours of course work plus one (1) credit hour for the CE 7750 seminar course, exclusive of thesis and dissertation credit. Subject to approval of the advisory committee and the Department through the CEGPC, students transferring from doctoral programs of other institutions can transfer a maximum of 6 credit hours of course work.
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Students should select an area of concentration in one of the traditional areas of civil engineering (i.e., environmental engineering, water resources, geotechnical engineering, structures, mechanics of materials, transportation).
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After the students advisory committee has approved the program, the student or student's faculty advisor must must submit both forms to the Graduate Secretary, who will route the form(s) for CEGPC and Department approval.
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Students should also select six hours of graduate work to provide them with a tool such as computer science, mathematics, geology , etc.
THE GENERAL EXAMINATION AND DOCTORAL DEGREE AUDIT
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This examination will be administered only after the candidate has substantially completed all course work (not earlier than the last semester of course work), has satisfactorily completed the language requirements and has prepared the dissertation proposal.
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The Request for Doctoral General Exam form is to be filed with the Graduate School three (3) weeks prior to date of the General Examination. This form can be found on the Graduate School website.
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The general examination will be both written and oral in form. Part of the oral presentation will be the students proposal for his/ her dissertation.
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The students advisory committee will meet to decide the result of the written examination before the oral examination is given. No more than one member of the committee should be dissenting in deciding the acceptance of the student for candidacy.
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At the same time that the Request for Doctoral General Exam form is submitted, students should also submit a Doctoral Degree Audit form. This form can be found on the Graduate School website.
THE DISSERTATION AND FINAL EXAMINATION
A principal part of the students Ph.D. program is the dissertation. Each candidate must meet the following requirements:
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Submit a formal proposal no later than the time of the general examination. Preparation and typing of the dissertation proposal is the responsibility of the student. Dissertation proposal format should include:
Cover Page (Form G103)
Abstract (not more than 200 words)
Introduction
Literature Review
Objectives/Method
Scope of Study (state limitations)
Work Plan and Schedule
References
It is expected that an informative dissertation proposal showing students interest, background and general grasp of the project will not be less than 5 and not more than 20 double spaced typed pages. Dissertation research proposals, for unfunded research, must include an estimate of computer and/or other costs associated with fulfilling the objectives of the project. Students should review this matter with their advisers so that a reasonable estimate of the cost can be included in the proposal. The dissertation proposal will be considered for approval at the time of the general examination.
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Students should plan to review the progress of their dissertation research periodically with their advisory committee.
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The Request for Doctoral Final Examination form (found on the Graduate School website) is to be filed with the Graduate School three (3) weeks prior to the date of the Final Examination.
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Copies of the thesis must be in the hands of the student's examination committee at least two (2) weeks prior to the scheduled Master's Examination
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An "S" or "U" will be awarded as the final grade for the dissertation. This grade is not averaged into the students semester or cumulative average.
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The student is responsible for providing a finalized bound version of the dissertation to the members of his/her advisory committee and the Department. The copy submitted to the Graduate School should be unbound.
Students should review the official Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines.
RE-EXAMINATION
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Qualifying Examination: Only under the most unusual circumstances may the student be permitted to retake the qualifying examination, and then only once.
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General Examination: Both written and oral parts of the general examination can be repeated once. Satisfactory completion of the written examination is prerequisite to scheduling the oral examination.
REVALIDATION OF COURSEWORK AND GENERAL EXAM
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The revalidation of course work for the Ph.D. degree follows the same procedure as that outlined for the revalidation of M.S. coursework.
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The General Exam for Ph.D. students can be revalidated subject to the following guidelines.
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Following an oral or written examination the student's graduate committee, excluding the Graduate School representative may approve by majority vote the revalidation of the general exam.
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The student's graduate committee then recommends the revalidation of the general exam including proof of progress to the CEGPC for approval and transmittal to the Graduate School.
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The general exam may be revalidated for a period of two years.