Degrees and Programs

Geotechnical Engineering Specialization

Geotechnical engineering includes the design of  shallow and deep foundations, slopes, retaining walls, levees, subsurface exploration programs, underground openings such as tunnels and mines, base/subbase/subgrade of roadways, and soil improvements under static, hydrostatic, and earthquake loadings.

Courses

Students are required to complete 10 courses, which is 30-31 hours of advanced study. At least 15 hours must be at the 500-level.

At least seven courses must be chosen from the following list: 

• (3) CE 435 Pavement Design
• (3) CE 455 Foundation Design
• (3) CE 457 Soil Mechanics in Engineering
• (3) CE 458 Geological and Geotechnical Exploration
• (3) CE 459 Soil Improvement Methods
• (3) CE 492-12 Environmental Geotechnics
• (3) CE 548 Finite Elements
• (3) CE 550 Advanced Soil Mechanics
• (3) CE 551 Design of Levees and Floodwalls
• (3) CE 592-11 Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering
• (3) CE 592-12 Advanced Foundation Engineering
• (3) CE 596 Sustainable Engineering
• Upon advance approval of the committee, CE 591 or 599 may be taken in place of one to two of the above courses upon advance approval of the committee. Students will need to complete a course study proposals prior to enrolling in either of these classes.
• In addition, up to three special course offerings, listed as CE 492 or CE 592, may be taken with the advance approval of the committee.
• ENG 491 is required for all students unless conditional exemption is granted; see the Writing Proficiency Requirement for further details. ENG 491, if taken, can be counted as part of the 30-31 hours of advanced study.
• CE 593 is required for the non-thesis option; CE 599 is required for the thesis option.

For lists of pre-approved courses, see the Department of Civil Engineering.