Construction Materials Engineering
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

[ Home ] [Faculty ] [General Information ][ CEE Home ] [ UIUC Home ]

[Top ] [Faculty and Staff] [Undergraduate Program] [Graduate Program] [ Contact Us ]

Greetings to prospective students!!  The faculty and staff of the Construction Materials Group welcome you.
 

Faculty and Staff

The current faculty in Construction Materials are:

• Professor Leslie Struble, Chair Materials Group
• Associate Professor David Lange
• Assistant Professor John Popovics

Instruction and technical support are provided by:

• Dr. Gzregorz Banas, Senior Research Engineer

Staff support is provided by:

• Ms. Margaret Krause, Program Coordinator

[Back to Top ]

Students wishing to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering must complete 133 credit hours of course work.  The first two years of study build the base needed for the civil and environmental engineering education:  students take physics, math, chemistry, theoretical and applied mechanics, and some general engineering courses.  There are also several electives available at this time.

The last two years are dedicated primarily to civil and environmental engineering courses.  Students choose a major and a secondary area of study from the eight areas of concentration within the department: construction management, construction materials, environmental engineering and science, environmental hydrology and hydraulic engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering and the newest of our programs, information technology.

The construction materials engineering undergraduate curriculum provides a broad understanding of the composition, microstructure, and engineering behavior of various materials used in civil engineering applications. The curriculum begins with CEE300: its core course and the prerequisite for its advanced technical electives. The curriculum has two advanced technical electives from materials engineering, CEE400 and CEE401, and one from transportation engineering, CEE405.

As described in the CEE Undergraduate Handbook, students who choose construction materials for their major area are required to take CEE300, CEE400, CEE401, and CEE405. Additional core courses and advanced technical courses are recommended. Students who choose construction materials for their secondary area are required to take CEE 300 and two of the recommended advanced technical courses. Click here to view the current undergraduate primary and secondary requirements.

[Back to Top ]

Graduate Program

Many positions within industry require an advanced degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Our department has been consistently ranked as one of the top programs by U.S. News & World Report. 

The construction materials engineering graduate curriculum provides detailed understanding of composition, microstructure, and engineering behavior of various materials for civil engineering applications, especially concrete. The curriculum includes several graduate courses: CEE400, CEE401, CEE498SH, CEE501, CEE502, CEE598IR, CEE598FF (Fatigue and fracture of concrete), CEE598D (Durability of Construction Materials), and CEE598NDT (Non-destructive testing of concrete). The curriculum also includes several graduate courses from other areas in CEE and from other departments at UIUC. Thus, a number of courses are available to meet the requirements, click here to view the current graduate course list.

The MS degree can be completed with or without a thesis.  The MS degree requires 8 units of graduate course credit (thesis option) and 9 units (non-thesis option).  The student must complete 400- or 500- level courses in two categories: construction materials (concrete, metals, polymers), and engineering behavior (mechanics, durability, and testing). For the thesis option, students must complete at least 24 hours of graduate level coursework and eight hours of thesis research, with 16 hours in the areas of construction materials and engineering behavior. For the non-thesis option, students must complete at least 36 hours of coursework, with 16 hours in the areas of construction materials and engineering behavior. Click here to view the MS requirements.

The PhD program requires 8 additional units of coursework, a comprehensive research program and preparation of a dissertation.  The student must complete 400- or 500- level courses in two categories: construction materials (concrete, metals, polymers), and engineering behavior (mechanics, durability, and testing). The student must complete at least 32 hours of coursework and 32 hours of thesis research. Click here to view the PhD requirements.

As described in the CEE Graduate Handbook, PhD students must pass the qualification procedures set by their area of specialization. The procedures in the construction materials engineering area are that, during the first 12 months after acceptance into the CEE PhD program (after the student has completed two courses in construction materials and two courses in engineering behavior, and after one of the construction materials faculty has consented to serve as advisor), the student shall submit to this advisor a written request for admission to the PhD program. If the student has a GPA of 3.5 or greater, he or she is deemed to be qualified for PhD studies; if not, the student's qualifications will be reviewed by the construction materials faculty and a decision made regarding the qualifications.

Remaining requirements for preliminary examination and final examination are described in the thesis CEE Graduate Handbook.

Students may also elect one of two joint degrees:  Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Civil Engineering (Construction Materials option), or a Joint Master of Business Administration and Construction Engineering and Management. 

For more detailed information, please visit the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering website at:
http://cee.uiuc.edu

[Back to Top ]