GRADUATE MANUAL

FOR
THE GEOTECHNICAL PROGRAM
IN
THE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
TEMPE, AZ 85287
Effective August 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
GRADUATE PROGRAM
Admission Requirements
Advancement Procedure
Financial Aid Policy
LIST OF COURSES
M.S. Program Ph.D. Program

INTRODUCTION

It may be helpful to download and examine the Graduate Handbook that contains more
information on the Civil Environmental and Sustainable Engineering graduate program.
This document is intended to answer all the major questions that are specific to the
Geotechnical graduate program. The Geotechnical Group faculty is actively involved in
teaching, research and public service. The teaching responsibilities include teaching the
engineering core courses, the undergraduate and graduate geotechnical courses. The
faculty is also involved with sponsored and unsponsored research in different areas of
geotechnical engineering, materials and mechanics. In addition, the faculty provides
expertise to local and national agencies, organizations and companies in the form of
consulting, report writing, committee participation, workshops, invited lectures,
conference organization, professional exam reviews, etc.
GRADUATE PROGRAM

The admission policies for the graduate program are designed to encourage all qualified
students to apply and be considered for regular admission to the geotechnical graduate
program. There are two graduate programs - the Master of Science (M.S.) and the Doctor
of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs. Students may also be admitted on a provisional basis
(certain deficiencies must be met before the status is changed to regular). Students who
cannot meet the minimum admission standards may opt to enroll as an unclassified
graduate student so as to take a select number of deficiency courses. They may, upon
completion of those courses, request to have their credentials reviewed for possible
admission into the graduate program.

Admission decisions are made by the entire tenure-track geotechnical faculty (members
of the Geotechnical Group). The Specialty Area Coordinator (SAC) communicates the
decision to the Graduate Student Academic Advisor of the department who then
communicates the admission decision to the Division of Graduate Studies (DGS). DGS
issues the formal letter of admission and supporting documents.

Admission Requirements

The Graduate College requires the applicant to submit a formal application which
contains basic personal and educational information, and the official transcript. In
addition, the following is also required by the Geotechnical Group.

(i) Statement of Purpose. All applicants are required to indicate an area or areas of
specialization within the geotechnical research program at ASU. Information of
faculty research interests can be found on the geotechnical program web site. The
intent of this requirement is to match the student's interests with those of the
faculty. The statement of purpose should not only address the specialization
area(s) within the geotechnical program but also such issues as applicant's career
goals and the reason for pursuing graduate studies.

(ii) Letters of Recommendation. All applicants are encouraged to submit three

letters of recommendation.

(iii) TOEFL or IELTS. The Test of English as Foreign Language or International

English Language Test for Students for is required of foreign students for whom
English is a second language. A minimum score of 80 (TOEFL) or 7.5 (IELTS) is
required for regular admission. However, the requirement for a TOEFL of IELTS
exam may be waived at the discretion of the SAC if the student has a degree from
a University where courses are taught in English.

(iv) M.S. Students Continuing for the Ph.D. Upon completion of the MS program,
a student may be admitted directly to the doctoral program if recommended by the
student's Graduate Supervisory committee (GSC) and approved by the
Geotechnical faculty.
 (v) Graduate Record Examination. This exam is required of all students applying
to graduate school at ASU who are seeking financial aid from the Geotechnical
program except those who have a degree from ASU.

For graduates of accredited US institutions, a minimum GPA of 3.0 (B) is a requirement

for regular admission to the M.S. program, and 3.2 for the Ph.D. program. For graduates
of foreign institutions, GRE scores are used to assess the relative achievement and
capabilities of candidates from a variety of institutions and with varying backgrounds. An
applicant who does not meet the above GPA requirements may be admitted to the
Geotechnical graduate program with regular status with a strong performance on the GRE
and an applicant who does meet the minimum GPA requirements who performs poorly
on the GRE exam or who has poor letters of recommendation may be denied admission.

If the applicant does not have an undergraduate degree in civil engineering, the following
deficiencies constitute the minimum requirement. Additional requirements may be placed
based upon the applicant's background.

(i) Sufficient courses in Mathematics including but not limited to Calculus,

Differential Equations
(ii) CEE210 Statics or equivalent.
(iii) CEE213 Introduction to Deformable Solids or equivalent.
(iv) CEE351 Geotechnical Engineering or equivalent..

Advising Procedure

Once admitted to the graduate program, upon arrival on campus the applicant must first
meet with the geotechnical group Specialty Area Coordinator (SAC) or the student’s
Faculty Advisor. The name of the SAC is available from the Graduate Academic Advisor
(GAC) working in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
(SSEBE) Advisement Office. If the student has been offered a research assistantship, the
student must meet with the particular faculty who has offered such assistantship; this
same faculty is the student’s Faculty Advisor. For students who do not have a research
assistantship, the SAC will assign the student a temporary advisor by matching the
student's interests with the faculty. A permanent advisor, mutually agreed upon by the
student and faculty member, must be assigned by the end of the first semester of graduate
study.

Because some geotechnical engineering graduate courses are only offered every other
year, ASU students in the “4+1” program are encouraged to identify an advisor upon
entry to the program and no later than the first semester of their senior year. The name of
the student's advisor must be on file with the SSEBE Advisement Office. A request for
subsequent change of advisor must be in writing with both the current and the new
advisor formally informed of the change.
Financial Aid Policy

The Civil Engineering Department offers various forms of financial support to new and
continuing graduate students. The most common forms of support are teaching and
research assistantships. Teaching assistantships (TAs) are awarded by SSEBE based
upon recommendations from the SAC to fill the positions allocated to the geotechnical
group. The SAC consults with other geotechnical group faculty members prior to making
recommendations for available TA position to SSEBE.

Research assistantships (RAs) are offered to new and continuing students by individual
faculty members. Financial support is not a requirement for entry to the graduate
program. However, students in the PhD are generally expected to have some type of
financial support, either from ASU as a TA or RA or through some other recognized
funding source.

Except in rare circumstances, students are not admitted to the Geotechnical PhD program
unless they have some recognized source of financial aid.

LIST OF COURSES

The graduate geotechnical courses taught in CEE and some of the recommended courses
outside the geotechnical area that may be included in a MS or PhD Program of Study
(POS) are listed below. Other courses may be included in a POS with the approval of the
student’s Graduate Supervisory Committee (GSC).

Graduate Geotechnical Courses

CEE 550 Soil Behavior

CEE 551 Advanced Geotechnical Testing**
CEE 552 Soil Improvement**
CEE 553 Advanced Soil Mechanics
CEE 554 Shear Strength and Slope Stability
CEE 555 Advanced Foundations**
CEE 557 Geoenvironmental Engineering**
CEE 558 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics**
CEE 559 Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering**
CEE 598 Foundations*
CEE 598 Theoretical Soil Mechanics
CEE 598 Engineering Geology
CEE 598 Introduction to Biogeotechnics
CEE 598 Bio-inspired Design

* CEE 598 Foundations meets with CEE 452, Foundations and is only for students who
have not has an undergraduate course in Foundation design
** Course offered every other year.
M.S. Program with Thesis

The student’s geotechnical advisor, in consultation with the student, will establish a
Graduate Supervisory Committee (GSC). The GSC shall be composed of a minimum of
three members from the SSEBE graduate faculty. At least two GSC members must be
from the Geotechnical Group. The advisor shall serve as the chair of the student’s GSC.

As soon as possible, but no later than the middle of the semester following completion of
9 hours of coursework that will count towards their degree, the student, in consultation
with the GSC, must file a program of study (POS) with the SSEBE Advisement Office.
Changes to the POS must be approved by the advisor and the other members of the GSC.

The POS must be in accordance with university Graduate College and School of
Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment requirements. SSEBE requirements
for the Master of Science (M.S.) degree are given in the Graduate Handbook. The
candidate must complete at least 30 semester hours of approved course and research work
distributed as follows:

1) At least eighteen (18) hours of Graduate Geotechnical courses, including:

a) nine (9) hours of core courses (CEE554, 553, and 550);

b) at least three more geotechnical engineering classes from the list of

courses above;

2) Not more than three (3) hours of CEE590;

3) Not more than 7 hours of 400-level courses from outside of the geotechnical
curriculum

4) Not more than six (6) hours of research and thesis.

No 700-level graduate courses may be included in the POS for a M.S. degree.

For transferring students, the transfer credits will have to be approved first by the
Graduate College and then by the GSC as being equivalent to one or more courses at
ASU.

A final defense of the thesis will be administered by the GSC. A student who fails the
final defense the first time may be allowed at the discretion of the GSC to retake the
exam once more.
M.S. Program – No Thesis

The Graduate Supervisory Committee (GSC) shall consist of at least 3 tenure-track

SSEBE faculty. At least 2 GSC members must be from the Geotechnical Group. The
advisor shall serve as the chair of the GSC. As soon as possible, but no later than the
middle of the semester following completion of 9 hours of course work towards the M.S.
degree, the student, in consultation with the GSC, must file a program of study (POS)
with the School. Changes to the POS must be approved by the advisor and the other
members of the GSC.

The POS must be in accordance with university Graduate College and School of
Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment requirements. SSEBE requirements
for the Master of Science (M.S.) degree are given in the Graduate Handbook. The
candidate must complete at least 30 semester hours of approved course work, including at
least nine (9) hours of core courses (CEE554, 553, and 550) and 9 additional hours of
Graduate Geotechnical courses. The POS may not contain more than 3 hours of CEE 590
and 3 hours of CEE 592. The POS may contain up to 7 hours of 400-level courses not in
the geotechnical curriculum.

No 700-level graduate courses may be included in the POS for the M.S. degree.

A final comprehensive exam will be developed and administered by the GSC. The
exam is generally administered at the end of the semester in which the candidate has
completed the POS. The exam is usually an 8-hour exam administered over a 2-day
period (4-hours per day) in which each member of the GSC submits one or two questions
to the candidate that are based upon courses the candidate took as part of the POS. The
GSC decision on whether to pass of fail the student will be based on the results from the
comprehensive exam. A student who fails the comprehensive exam the first time can
retake the exam once more.

Ph.D. Program

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program is for students conducting original research.
The student must write and defend a dissertation which describes an original contribution
within the chosen discipline.

If an applicant has an exceptional record, the Geotechnical Group may admit the student
directly to the doctoral program without a MS degree. Applicants are generally not
admitted to the Ph.D. program unless a geotechnical faculty member has agreed to serve
as the students Ph.D. advisor.

Dissertation and Program Committee

Upon admission to the Ph.D. program, the student will be assigned an advisor from
among the geotechnical faculty members of the SSEBE graduate faculty. The advisor is
generally the faculty member funding the student or who sponsored the student’s
application. The advisor, in consultation with the student, will establish a Graduate
Supervisory Committee (GSC), the purposes of which are to:

1) Approve the POS.

2) Provide guidance for the student's research.
3) Administer the qualifying exam
4) Administer the comprehensive exam.
5) Administer the dissertation defense.

The GSC shall consist of at least three members. The advisor and one other member of
the GSC must be tenure track ASU Geotechnical group faculty as follows:

The third member of the GSC may be any graduate faculty member from any ASU
academic program or a tenured faculty member from a Research 1 University. Other
suitably qualified persons may be included on the committee at the discretion of the GSC
and with approval from the Graduate Division in accordance with ASU requirements.
The GSC may have more than three members provided all members meet the above
criteria. A change in the GSC requires the change be in writing with both the current and
the new advisor formally informed of the change.

Qualifying Examination
The purposes of the qualifying examination are to assess if the student is qualified to
continue in a Geotechnical doctoral program. With this understanding, the qualifying
examination is to be taken by a student admitted to the Ph.D. program early in his or her
residence, but no later than the second semester of residence. The qualifying exam will
include a written component and an oral component. A M.S. thesis from ASU or
successful completion of the M.S. comprehensive exam may be considered as written
components of the qualifying exams at the discretion of the student’s GSC. A written
summary and critique of a series of refereed journal papers related to the candidates
proposed area of research, a series of papers published in reputable refereed journals
authored or co-authored by the candidate, or a research proposal on a topic approved by
the GSC may also be considered as written components of the qualifying exam, at the
discretion of the GSC. The oral exam will generally consist of a 30-45 minute
presentation by the candidate focusing on the written component of the qualifying exam
or the students proposed research. However, the GSC may question the candidate on any
geotechnically-related issue during the exam.

Program of Study
The student in consultation with his/her advisor and the GSC must file a POS. The POS
must be in accordance with university Graduate College and School of Sustainable
Engineering and the Built Environment requirements. SSEBE requirements for the PhD
degree are given in the Graduate Handbook. A preliminary POS shall be completed
during the candidates first semester after admission to the Ph.D. program. The final POS
must be filed upon completion of 18 hours of course work towards the Ph.D. degree.
Comprehensive Exam
The comprehensive exam is not the same as the qualifying exam. The comprehensive
exam shall consist of two parts:

1) An examination of the student's competency in his/her area of research.

2) A written and oral report on the student's proposed research. [Prospectus]

The format of the comprehensive exam is established by the GSC and will include both
written and oral components. At a minimum, the student will be required to present to the
GSC a written description of the proposed research, anticipated approaches, expected
results and projected research contributions. The candidate will also be required to give
an oral presentation of the proposed research and to defend the research proposal to the
GSC. If the student fails the exam, he/she may retake the exam one more time. The
comprehensive examination is generally taken by a student no later than the third
semester following satisfactory completion of the qualifying exam.

Final Oral Exam

The dissertation defense is an oral exam administered by the GSC in accordance with the
Graduate College guidelines. The purpose of the exam is to evaluate the student's
research efforts and written presentation (dissertation), and to determine if the candidate
is worthy of conference of a Ph.D. degree. The major area of emphasis of this
examination is the student's research dissertation and the general areas of study related
thereto. If the student fails the exam, he/she may retake the exam once more.