Doctor of Philosophy (Construction):

Jointly offered by the departments of:

Construction Management - UNL College of Engineering in Lincoln

Construction Systems - UNL College of Engineering in Omaha (Peter Kiewit Institute)

I. General Governance (Approved 1-28-07)

The Construction Field specialization within the College of Engineering Unified Ph.D. Program is to operate on a Field Co-Chair system. One Co-Chair will be elected from Omaha, and one Co-Chair will be elected from Lincoln. One Co-Chair will represent the interests of Construction Engineering, and the other will represent the interests of Construction Management. Field Co-Chairs and all other elections/selections for field committees will be derived from the pool of graduate faculty electing Construction as their area of specialization.

Voting

Policy changes and elections are subject to approval of two-thirds majority vote subject to the requirement that at least two-thirds of the voting members cast ballots. Votes will be collected over a three (3) week time frame.  If after three weeks, the two-thirds votes are not cast, the item fails.  The item in question can be reestablished and a new vote taken.  Field meetings require two-thirds attendance for a quorum.

Acceptance Committee

A four-person graduate Acceptance Committee will be established from among faculty electing construction as their area of specialization to oversee the application review in accordance with university's Graduate Governance Document. The two Field Co-Chairs along with one faculty elected from each campus make up the four-person Acceptance Committee.  All four positions have two year term limits with elections for the Co-Chairs in the opposite year of the campus representatives. The first term of the campus representatives will be three years to establish the alternating election years. 

It is the responsibility of this committee to assemble the applications, disseminate applications to appropriate Field faculty, collate responses, and make acceptance determinations.  Waiving any acceptance and/or application requirements, along with accepting applicants into the Construction Field and requires approval of three (of the four) Acceptance Committee member."

II. Acceptance Requirements (Approved 2-8-07)

Provisional acceptance into the Field will be considered on an individual basis.  Ultimately any provisional admission into the Unified Ph.D. program is the prerogative of the Graduate College.  Typically all admissions to the program are unconditional; however, there have been rare conditional admissions allowed by the Graduate College due to certain circumstances within an applicant's specific situation.

Applicants to the construction Ph.D. program are persons who, as a result of their academic and professional experiences in a construction related field, have well-defined plans for advanced development in either construction engineering or construction management. As they progress through the Ph.D. program, students will be expected to work with the faculty to determine their courses of study in accordance with their chosen area of construction knowledge. To this end, a willing protem advisor is designated for the entering student until that student assembles his/her dissertation advisor and supervisory committee which will approve the student's program of study.

Applicants must meet general university graduate admission standards. Applicants from other disciplines who have the qualifications to undertake doctoral studies will be considered on an individual basis. These applicants are expected to have completed a core body of knowledge from their undergraduate degree in science (i.e., physics, chemistry), statistics, calculus, engineering mechanics, and structural design. If not, successful applicants may be required to take additional course work to eliminate any deficiencies identified.

Acceptance may also be dependent upon the availability of appropriate faculty members having interest and expertise in the applicant's proposed program of study who consent to work with and to advise the student during initial stages of the student's matriculation. Acceptance can be dependent on available funding and physical office or laboratory space.

In addition to meeting the preceding requirements the applicant will also (unless waived by the Acceptance Committee):

• Present evidence of qualifications for study in the proposed field of emphasis. Usually this evidence comes from educational institution transcripts exhibiting a minimum GPA of 3.0 x 4.0 earned in pursuit of the most recent degree.
• Arrange to have sent three letters of reference from educators or other supervisors familiar with the applicant's work but not related to the applicant
• Send a current resume or curriculum vitae.
• Provide a clear statement of purpose and a general outline of proposed study.
• Be able to appear for an on-campus interview, if requested by the Acceptance Committee.
• Comply with University application deadlines. Students wishing to be considered for financial assistance should submit all application materials to the University and program before the required dates. Students will apply electronically on the Office of Graduate Studies web site.
• Submit a GRE score.
• For international students from countries whose native language is not English, the following requirements are in addition to other admission criteria:

 

• A minimum TOEFL score of 550 is required (213 if computer-based or 80 (no component less than 15) if Internet-based) for international students must be achieved. 
• If the international student did not earn at least a four year baccalaureate degree at a U.S. institution of higher learning, the program requires that the students also take the English Language Proficiency Exam (ELPE) and pass all sections with a grade of “80” or higher.  Students who score less than “80” on any section are required to take the courses at the University of Nebraska Programs in English as a Second Language (PIESL) until they achieve a “certified” status according to University requirements. 

 

III.   Policy for Admitted Students (Approval pending)

Each admitted Ph.D. student will be assigned a protem faculty advisor upon admission. This advisor will coordinate the enrollee's initial coursework preceding formation of the enrollee's dissertation supervisory committee. It is the enrollee's responsibility to assemble a research program and an advisor within the first two semesters of coursework.  Before the completion of 45 credit hours (including work done for the masters degree, transfer credits, and dissertation), the student, in consultation with his/her dissertation advisor, must select at least a 4 member dissertation supervisory committee. The committee consists of a principal dissertation advisor and at least 2 other construction area graduate members, and at least 1 other member from an area of specialization outside of, but related to, construction. Three weeks after the approval of the supervisory committee by the Dean of Graduate Studies, the supervisory committee must meet and subsequently file a complete program of studies to the Graduate Studies Office (the student is expected to prepare this program of studies in consultation with his/her dissertation advisor and present it to the supervisory committee).

During the program of studies, each enrollee will satisfy a requirement to show presentation and teaching proficiency by serving as an unpaid Teaching Assistant in two designated classes taught by two different construction faculty members. The student will enroll in a noncredit course for this purpose. The enrollee will pass a qualifying examination to be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree during the first two semesters of study. This examination will be supervised by the dissertation adviser and supervisory committee. Upon successful completion of the qualifying examination, candidate will complete a dissertation under the supervision of the committee. The dissertation process will conform to established Graduate Studies procedures.

The minimum number of semester hour graduate credits for the Ph.D. program is 90 credits; which may include up to a maximum of 55 credits of dissertation (minimum of 12 hours of dissertation), and may include transfer credits from a masters degree. At least 45 of these credits must be completed at the University of Nebraska after appointment of the Supervisory Committee and the filing of the program of studies.

A doctoral student must establish residency by taking at least 27 credit hours of graduate work within a consecutive 18 month period or less, with the provision that 15 of these 27 credits must be taken after receiving the masters degree or its equivalent.  To receive a Ph.D., a student must complete at least 90 credit hours beyond the undergraduate degree (this can include work done for the masters degree, transfer credits, and dissertation).  It must be noted that neither the courses taken nor the time spent in study determines the granting of the degree.  It is primarily given for high attainment in Construction Engineering or Construction Management and for demonstrated independent research in a component of construction knowledge.

Summary: The steps to complete the Ph.D. degree

• Admission to Ph.D. Program by Graduate Studies and designation of protem advisor within the Field
• Selection of dissertation advisor and  supervisory committee
• Development and approval of the program of study
• Completion of teaching requirement
• Qualifying examination for admission to the candidacy for the Ph.D.
• Application for doctoral degree
• Submission of dissertation to advisor and supervisory committee
• Final examination (dissertation defense)
• Final approval and submission of dissertation