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Doctoral Program

Policies and procedures for the Civil Engineering Doctoral Program

Selecting a principal advisor

Entering candidacy: General Qualifying Exam

Application for Candidacy

The University Oral Exam

Dissertation submission

 

Selecting a principal advisor

It cannot be overemphasized that it is your responsibility to find a principal advisor. The availability of faculty members to serve as principal advisors on dissertations limits the number of students who can be recommended for candidacy. Even an award of financial support (research assistantships, traineeships and teaching assistantships) for the second or third year of graduate study does not assure that the faculty will recommend approval of your application for candidacy.

  • Obviously, faculty members are more likely to accept the responsibility of supervising the research of a student whose abilities, initiative and originality are fairly well known to them. You should appreciate that both you and your principal advisor incur some serious commitments in agreeing to work together on a dissertation research project.

Change of advisor or reading committee member

If you must change your advisor or a reading committee member, inform the department's student services office by filing the appropriate form. Failure to do so may result in a delay of approval for the dissertation until student records are correct.

Entering candidacy: General Qualifying Exam (GQE)

Admission to Stanford University for study beyond the master’s degree does not imply that you have been admitted to candidacy for the PhD—that special designation is reserved for students who have passed the department’s General Qualifying Exam (GQE) and have submitted an approved program of PhD course work on an Application for Candidacy for Doctoral Degree.

The purpose of the General Qualifying Exam (GQE) is to ensure that you have a well-planned research project and that you are adequately prepared to undertake the research. The exam can take either of two forms:

  • It may be written and/or oral general examination of your major field.
  • Alternatively, at the option of your advisory committee, the GQE may take the form of a dissertation proposal defense.

Scheduling the exam

When your advisory committee deems that you are ready for the GQE, you should jointly select a date and time for the examination, which may take from one to three hours.

Normally, by the end of the second year of graduate study, the student is expected to take and pass the department’s General Qualifying Examination (GQE). At the time, you should complete the top portion of the Advisory Committee GQE Record Sheet for Pre-Doctoral Student, and submit it to the department office. Your principal advisor will complete the remainder of this form following the exam.

Preparing for the GQE

To assist your examiners in assessing the adequacy of the proposed plan of course work in supporting your proposed research, submit the following for use during the GQE:

Administering the GQE

The GQE must be administered by at least three members of the university faculty (members of the Academic Council). At least one member must be from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. When the primary advisor is not a member of the CEE faculty (CEE-Academic Council), the committee will consist of four examiners, with two members from the CEE department. On occasion, the department may approve permission for appointment of one of the three members who is not on the Academic Council if that person is particularly well qualified to consult on the dissertation topic. Approval is requested on the Petition for Non-Academic Council Doctoral Committee Members form. The reader must have a PhD or foreign equivalent. Guidelines for committee members requiring a CV are listed at the top of the reading committee form. Petitions are not required for former Stanford Academic Council members. The examiners will seek to ascertain that:

  • The content of the proposed research is relevant to the area of study.
  • The reasons for making the investigation are adequate.
  • The student has developed a suitable strategy for pursuing the subject.
  • There is contribution to knowledge.

Because passing the GQE signifies that you may enter candidacy and continue study toward the PhD, it is important that this decision be based upon all relevant information, including performance on the GQE and prior academic record.

Application for candidacy

To become an official candidate for a PhD degree, you must complete and submit the final version of your Application for Candidacy for Doctoral Degree after passing the department’s General Qualifying Exam (GQE). During the GQE, your advisory committee may recommend adjustments to the proposed programs of study, which should be discussed and incorporated into this final version.

The proposed program of courses must be typed or clearly printed using supplemental sheets as necessary. List only the 45 units of Post-MS course work. Do not list any of your anticipated thesis units (CEE300/CEE400) on this form. Be certain to indicate on the form the quarter in which you will complete the teaching requirement. Even though it often changes, an estimated date for completion of the PhD degree should also be given.

Changing your academic program

If your actual course work changes after submitting the Application for Candidacy for Doctoral Degree (and it probably will), you must submit an Academic Program Revision Form.

This form is typically submitted only once, by the end of the third week of the final quarter of your program of study, when all changes to the proposed course work have already been made. If you make any further changes in your program, no matter how minor, you must submit another form. When your principal advisor and the department chairperson have approved this form, the revised list of courses becomes your official program for the PhD degree.

After obtaining your principal advisor’s signature, submit the form to the department’s student services office, for the department chairperson’s signature.

PhD Minor in Civil and Environmental Engineering

A PhD minor is a program outside a major department. Requirements for a minor are established by the minor department. Acceptance of the minor as part of the total PhD program is determined by the major department. Application for the PhD minor must be approved by both the major and the minor department, and the minor department must be represented at the university oral examination.

A student desiring a PhD minor in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) must have a minor program adviser who is a regular CEE faculty member in the program of the designated subfield. This adviser must be a member of the student’s university oral examination committee and the reading committee for the doctoral dissertation.

The program must include at least 20 units of graduate-level course work (courses numbered 200 or above, excluding special studies and thesis) in CEE completed at Stanford University. Units taken for the minor cannot be counted as part of the 45 unduplicated units for the PhD major. The list of courses must form a coherent program and must be approved by the minor program adviser and the CEE chair. A minimum GPA of 3.0 must be achieved in these courses.

Dissertation topic

An acceptable research dissertation must be presented for the PhD degree. Because development of a dissertation is usually an intense and personal process involving you and your research advisor, it is not possible to abstractly define an acceptable dissertation. You should be very careful to reach a clear understanding of your advisor’s expectations and standards before embarking too far into the research project.

Thirty to 45 units (CEE400) are typically allowed for dissertation preparation; these units may be included in the department’s post-MS 90-unit requirement, but may not be counted toward the required post-MS 45 coursework units. Your dissertation research must be conducted while registered at Stanford.

The Dissertation Reading Committee

A dissertation reading committee consists of three members: your principal dissertation advisor and two other readers. At least two of the members must be Stanford Academic Council members. At least one member must be from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. A reader may not be a University Chair for the candidate’s oral exam committee.

On occasion, the department may approve permission for appointment of one of the three members who is not on the Academic Council if that person is particularly well qualified to consult on the dissertation topic. Approval is requested on the Petition for Non-Academic Council Doctoral Committee Members form. The reader must have a PhD or foreign equivalent. Guidelines for committee members requiring a CV are listed at the top of the reading committee form. Petitions are not required for former Stanford Academic Council members. All members of the reading committee must sign the signature pages of the completed dissertation.

As soon as your dissertation reading committee is established, you should submit a Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee Form. After obtaining each reading committee member’s signature, submit the completed form to the department’s Student Services Office for the department chairperson’s signature.

Terminal Graduate Registration

As soon as you qualify, you will want to apply for Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status to reduce your tuition payments. To be eligible for TGR status, you must have:

When you have fulfilled all preliminary requirements, complete a Request for TGR Status. Submit this request well in advance of the posted deadline for your first quarter as TGR status. After obtaining your principal advisor’s signature, submit the form to the department’s student services office.

NOTE: students with “required” or “strongly recommended” remedial linguistics courses may not include those credits in the 45 units of coursework required for the degree; however these courses may be counted as part of the overall cumulative units toward residency. They must be completed or waived before the TGR status is requested.

Enrolling in 802

Students who register for TGR should enroll in the course CEE802 each quarter until the final quarter of degree conferral. Courses taken for credit during TGR require payment of tuition at the appropriate unit rate.

Your principal advisor will evaluate your thesis work as a measure of continued academic progress, and you will receive as grade either

  • “N” or “S” indicating satisfactory progress, or
  • “N-” or “NC” indicating unsatisfactory progress (no credit).

  • If you receive “NC” grades for two consecutive quarters, you should meet with your advisor and work out a satisfactory plan for completing degree requirements. Subsequent “NC” grades may be grounds for dismissal.

Extension of candidacy

If you will be unable to complete the requirements of your PhD program of study within five years after admission to candidacy, you must complete an Application for Extension of Candidacy.

Review your situation with your advisor as soon as you realize that you will be unable to complete your PhD program within the specified time limits. Submit this form before your candidacy expires. If you allow your candidacy to expire, your registration privileges will cease and you must apply for reinstatement to continue with your program.

This form may be used to extend the time limits for completion of your PhD degree program for up to one year. Extensions require a review of your academic progress and approval from the department chairperson.

After obtaining your advisor’s signature, submit all forms to the department’s Student Services Office for the chairperson’s signature and processing.

The University Oral Exam

Passing a University Oral Examination is a requirement of a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering. It will be a dissertation defense, presented either upon completion of a substantial portion of the dissertation work or upon completion of a pre-final draft of all dissertation work.

The candidate and the advisor prepare for the examination by identifying a committee chairman (faculty from another department) and four examiners. In most instances, all five members are on the Academic Council (at minimum four of five). The participation of a single non-academic council member as an examiner may be approved by the department chairman (Petition for Non-Academic Council Doctoral Committee Members) if that person contributes an important area of expertise not readily available from the department faculty.

Minimum CEE faculty participation

If the primary advisor is a CEE faculty member, then only two of the four examiners must be CEE faculty members. If the primary advisor is outside the CEE department or not regular faculty, then three of the four examiners on the committee are required to be from the CEE faculty. Including more than a total of 4 examiners will require proportional representation of the CEE faculty.

Other conditions

Candidacy must be valid and the student must be registered in the quarter in which the University Oral Examination is taken. At least two weeks prior to the exam date the candidate should submit a University Oral Examination Schedule to the department office, Yang &Yamazaki Environment & Energy Building Room 316. The department will provide the exam chairman with a folder which includes the exam schedule, ballots, and department and university guidelines for the exam. The student must provide draft copies of the dissertation to members of the examination committee at least one week before the exam.

The examination normally begins with a presentation by the PhD candidate during which clarifying questions may be asked. This part of the examination is typically open to the public. After a brief recess, the examination continues in private session, with only the candidate and members of the examining committee in attendance. The exam should not exceed three hours in length.

The examination is intended to verify that the research represents your own contribution to knowledge and to test your understanding of the research.

Your principal advisor and dissertation reading committee have the responsibility of supervising your research work and insuring that high standards of performance are maintained. Conversely, it is your responsibility to keep your reading committee members informed about your research progress. The signatures on your dissertation represent the final certification of its adequacy.

NOTE: Students must be registered during the quarter in which the oral exam is taken.

Dissertation submission

Be sure to obtain a copy of Directions for Preparing Doctoral Dissertations, which outlines the university guidelines for preparing a PhD dissertation, either from the website or the Office of Graduate Degree Progress (GDP), in the Registrar's Office. When you are ready for a final draft of your dissertation, make an appointment to consult with the graduate degree progress officer there to go over a review of the completion of your PhD program and the strict formatting requirements for the dissertation.

Submit the final version of your dissertation to the GDP no later than the posted deadline.