Civil Engineering - Doctor of Philosophy - PHD - Postgraduate / Graduate Program - UBC Grad School

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Overview

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the natural and built environment. It is a very broad field made up of several sub-disciplines such as environmental engineering, construction engineering, geotechnical engineering, hydrotechnical engineering, materials engineering, structural engineering, and transportation engineering. Many of the sub-disciplines of civil engineering are themselves very broad and are made up of further distinguishable sub-disciplines. For example, hydrotechnical engineering includes water resources engineering, offshore engineering and coastal engineering.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

UBC is one of Canada's leading research-intensive universities, known for its high academic standards and reputation for producing top-notch research. UBC not only houses well-equipped laboratories, libraries, and research centers, but also consists of renowned faculty members. I was interested to pursue my Ph.D. degree in Canada because the country offers high-quality education as well as high quality of life offering a safe, clean, and diverse environment for Ph.D. students to thrive both academically and personally. Being a nature lover, the scenic landscape of beautiful British Columbia attracted me to apply here.

Rubaiya Rumman

Quick Facts

Faculty Faculty of Applied Science

Mode of delivery In person at UBC Vancouver

Program Components

Dissertation

Academic Unit Department of Civil Engineering

Specialization Civil Engineering

Tuition (First Year) Domestic: $5,626.02 | International: $9,883.98

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Program Enquiries

Admission Information & Requirements

1) Check Eligibility

2) Meet Deadlines

3) Prepare Application

4) Apply Online

Research Information

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Fees	Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat	International
Application Fee	$116.25	$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year	3	3
Tuition per installment	$1,875.34	$3,294.66
Tuition per year (plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)	$5,626.02	$9,883.98
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible)		$3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)	$1,144.10 (approx.)
Costs of living	Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.

* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

From September 2024 all full-time students in UBC-Vancouver PhD programs will be provided with a funding package of at least $24,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships. Please note that many graduate programs provide funding packages that are substantially greater than $24,000 per year. Please check with your prospective graduate program for specific details of the funding provided to its PhD students.

Average Funding

Based on the criteria outlined below, 52 students within this program were included in this study because they received funding through UBC in the form of teaching, research, academic assistantships or internal or external awards averaging $29,745.

36 students received Teaching Assistantships. Average TA funding based on 36 students was $5,079.
45 students received Research Assistantships. Average RA funding based on 45 students was $15,880.
7 students received Academic Assistantships. Average AA funding based on 7 students was $3,069.
52 students received internal awards. Average internal award funding based on 52 students was $11,568.
1 student received external awards valued at $21,000.

Study Period: Sep 2022 to Aug 2023 - average funding for full-time PhD students enrolled in three terms per academic year in this program across years 1-4, the period covered by UBC's Minimum Funding Guarantee. Averages might mask variability in sources and amounts of funding received by individual students. Beyond year 4, funding packages become even more individualized.
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Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union.

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 24 hours a week during academic sessions.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Outcomes

96 students graduated between 2005 and 2013: 1 graduate is seeking employment; for 12 we have no data (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016). For the remaining 83 graduates:

RI (Research-Intensive) Faculty: typically tenure-track faculty positions (equivalent of the North American Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor positions) in PhD-granting institutions
TI (Teaching-Intensive) Faculty: typically full-time faculty positions in colleges or in institutions not granting PhDs, and teaching faculty at PhD-granting institutions
Term Faculty: faculty in term appointments (e.g. sessional lecturers, visiting assistant professors, etc.)

Sample Employers in Higher Education

University of British Columbia (5)
British Columbia Institute of Technology (3)
University of Lethbridge
American University of Sharjah
University Centre in Svalbard
Cairo University
University of Chile
King Mongkut's University of Technology
Carleton University
University of Toronto

Sample Employers Outside Higher Education

BC Hydro (5)
Golder Associates (3)
City of Vancouver (2)
Klohn Crippen Berger (2)
Tetra Tech EBA (2)
General Electric
AECOM
Sightline Engineering Ltd.
Glotman Simpson
Ecofish Research

Sample Job Titles Outside Higher Education

Senior Geotechnical Engineer (6)
President (3)
Senior Project Engineer (2)
Engineer (2)
Structural Engineer (2)
Geotechnical Engineer (2)
Principal Consultant (2)
Principal (2)
Associate (2)
Founder, CEO

PhD Career Outcome Survey

You may view the full report on career outcomes of UBC PhD graduates on outcomes.grad.ubc.ca.

Disclaimer

These data represent historical employment information and do not guarantee future employment prospects for graduates of this program. They are for informational purposes only. Data were collected through either alumni surveys or internet research.

Career Options

Many graduates from the Civil Engineering program at UBC use the knowledge and experience they gain from the broad academic program as a stepping stone to non-engineering careers, such as in business and management, or go on to other academic disciplines such as architecture or medicine.

Graduates from the Civil Engineering program at UBC who go on to practice as professional engineers are employed by small and large consulting engineering companies – some providing more specialized services and others more comprehensive services; engineering companies that provide large-scale infrastructure projects; crown corporations such as BC Hydro; and various levels of government – municipal, provincial and federal governments, and government branches and agencies

Alumni on Success

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Applications	90	102	123	114	122
Offers	16	13	22	20	12
New Registrations	10	7	17	16	11
Total Enrolment	79	81	81	78	71

Upcoming Doctoral Exams

Research Supervisors

Doctoral Citations

A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.

Year	Citation
2018	Release of antibiotic resistant bacteria from wastewater treatment systems can have serious side effects. Dr. Mohammadali evaluated treated effluent and demonstrated that waste foam is also a reservoir for the generation of resistant microorganisms. These findings will inform the effective monitoring of wastewater and safe disposal of foam.
2018	Dr. Osama introduced a comprehensive framework for identifying, diagnosing and providing solutions for transportation safety issues. He applied this framework in the City of Vancouver, and discovered new insights into bike and pedestrian networks, crash models and hot zones. His work will contribute to policy recommendations for safer active commuting.
2018	Dr. Goffin studied the corrosion of epoxy-coated rebar in concrete and its non-destructive detection. Findings revealed insights into the mechanisms of corrosion and that it could not be reliably detected by conventional techniques. She further developed novel techniques of detection that will make our infrastructure safer and more durable.
2018	Dr. Zheng developed a method and process to minimize sludge production in municipal biological wastewater treatment. This method reduces operational costs and environmental impacts.
2018	Dr. Seidalinov developed a theoretical model for stress-strain response of soft soil deposits during earthquake events. He implemented his model in a versatile computational framework and validated it in complex loading scenarios. Researchers and engineers can use this tool to evaluate the stability of clay deposits and related infrastructures.
2018	Dr. Roghanian developed a novel cement-free, corrosion-resistant coating material to enhance the durability and service-life of aged or deteriorated concrete pipes. She further designed an accelerated chamber to simulate the bio-corrosion process in sewage pipes and successfully tested this coating.
2017	Dr. Winter studied Nanofiltration, a technology that can treat drinking water from polluted sources in a single step. His research identified optimal design and operating conditions that make this advanced technology economically attractive.
2017	Dr. Cavka studied the digital representation of physical spaces. He developed a framework to characterize alignment between organizational constructs, and designed a methodology to deploy and evaluate building information modeling requirements. His work contributes to the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a variety of public works.
2017	Dr. Allahdadian studied building structures and their irregularities. He developed and validated several theories and methods to detect the existence and location of damage to bridges and towers. His work not only helps in assuring the safety of these structures, but also greatly minimizes their maintenance cost.
2017	Dr. Amini Niaki studied computational mechanics and structural analysis. He developed a multi-phase, integrated model to simulate the processing of composite materials. His work will provide engineers and researchers in the composite manufacturing industry with a fast, convenient, and accurate simulation tool.

Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD)

Canadian Immigration Updates

Overview