PhD (Civil Engineering) - School of Civil Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) post-graduate programmes are research based programmes offered by the School of Civil Engineering. The programmes aim to produce research scholars who are capable of advancing knowledge and educating future scholars for the benefits of mankind. Students enrolled in these programmes are required to complete an original research of high quality in the form of a thesis under the supervision of an appointed academic staff as main supervisor. Supervision of research study may also be assisted by appointed co-supervisor(s). The award of PhD degree is decided based on a viva-voce to be conducted after a thesis is submitted for examination. The research studies for MSc or PhD degree cover all major disciplines in civil engineering: environmental engineering, geomatic engineering, geotechnical engineering, highway and transportation engineering, structural engineering, water resources engineering and management in engineering. More detailed listing of specific specialisations under each of the major discipline, admission requirement and fees are given below. 

Research Thrust Areas:

Environmental Engineering

• Landfill Technology
• Composting
• Water and Wastewater Treatment
• Industrial Wastewater Treatment
• Solid Waste Management
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) & Environmental Management Plan (EMP)
• Air Quality Studies
• Sludge Management
• Noise Pollution Control & Management
• Water Quality Studies
• Geo-Environment
• Other Fields in Environmental Engineering

Geotechnical Engineering

• Slope Stabilization (Soil/Rock)
• Ground Improvement
• Reinforced Soil
• Landslide Risk Management
• Application of Geosynthetics
• Rock Mechanics
• Blasting & Vibrations
• Foundation Engineering
• Land Reclamation & Rehabilitation
• Geotechnical Assessment
• Piling Vibrations
• Geo-Spatial Analysis
• Probabilistic Methods in Geotechnical Engineering
• Soft Clays
• Collapsible Soil
• Risk Assessment in Geotechnical Engineering
• Other Fields In Geotechnical Engineering

Water Resources Engineering

• Water Supply
• Urban Storm Water Management
• Hydrological
• Flood Forecasting
• River Engineering
• Integrated Water Resource Management
• Urban Hydrology
• Sediment Transport
• Modelling of Pump Station
• Irrigation & Drainage
• Hydraulics
• Fluid Mechanics
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Eco-Hydrology
• Remote Sensing & GIS Application in Water Resources
• Coastal Engineering
• Hydraulic Structures
• Other Fields in Water Resources Engineering

Highway and Transportation Engineering

• Pavement Engineering
• Asphalt Technology
• Traffic Engineering
• Road Safety
• Intelligent Transport System
• Public Transport Studies
• Highway Capacity Studies
• Travel Behaviour Studies
• Sustainable Transport
• Remote Sensing & GIS Application in Transportation
• Other Fields in Highway, Traffic & Transportation Engineering

Structural Engineering

• Concrete Technology
• Construction Technology
• Masonry Engineering
• Concrete Repair Materials and Techniques
• Wind Engineering
• Earthquake Engineering
• Timber Engineering
• Shell and Spatial Structures
• Computational Mechanics
• Advanced Structural Analysis
• Structural Dynamics
• Steel Structures
• Water Retaining Structures
• Structural Health Monitoring
• Structural Retrofitting
• Other Fields in Structural Engineering

Geomatic Engineering and Management

• Monitoring System
• Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Decision Support System (DSS)
• Geo-Information Sciences (GIS)
• Digital Mapping and Imaging
• Engineering Survey
• Spatial Statistics
• Cadastral Survey
• Sub-Surface Detection and Assessment
• Other Fields in Geomatic Engineering

Management in Engineering

• Management
• Stress Management
• Emotional Intelligence
• Engineering Entrepreneurship
• Project Management
• Construction Management
• Other Fields in Engineering Management

Expertise available in the following School:
School of Civil Engineering
www.civil.eng.usm.my

Applicants should possess the following:

I.     Master degree (Coursework or Mixed Mode)

A) CGPA of at least 3.00 / 4.00; or

B) CGPA of 2.50 - 2.99 with; or

• Research experience – 2 years; or
• Professional experience in related field – 2 years; or
• Two (2) academic publications in the field; or
• Grade B+ for major/elective courses; or
• Grade B+ for Coursework Mode or P for Mixed Mode dissertation/project;

II.    Master degree (Research Mode)

Applicable for international students

• A minimum of Band 5 for IELTS; or
• A minimum score of 40 for TOEFL (Internet-based); or
• A minimum of Band 7.5 for TOEFL Essentials (Online); or
• A minimum score of 154 for Cambridge English: Advance (CAE)/Proficiency (CPE) /Preliminary (PET) /First (FCE)/ Linguaskill Online; or
• A minimum score of 47 for Pearson Test of English (PTE); or
• A minimum of Band 107 for (CIEP Level) ELS; or
• A minimum of Band 3.5 for Malaysian University English Test (MUET)

Exemption CAN BE CONSIDERED to candidate if:

• English is the candidate’s mother tongue or National Language; or
• Candidate graduated from an Institution of Higher Learning in which the medium of instruction at Bachelor and/or Master degree level is English (statement of proof required)

Full-time: Min 4 semesters / Max 10 semesters

Part-time: Min 6 semesters / Max 15 semesters

** Fees are subject to change