Catalog Home Graduate College Transportation Studies

Transportation Studies

Transportation is vital to modern society. The United States, like other nations, faces many critical transportation problems and issues. The highway system is reaching an advanced stage of its life cycle, public transit operating deficits are growing, the quality of transportation available to many citizens is unacceptably low, serious inequities exist between transportation modes, and extensive changes are called for in traditional transportation institutions. New approaches to financing the nation's road system are badly needed.

Transportation engineers and planners draw on a number of skills to respond to the challenges they face. They must analyze and forecast the movement of people and goods within and between cities; identify effective and efficient means for providing desired transportation services; price these services properly; and evaluate the impact that transportation changes have on land use, environmental quality, the local or regional economy, and various subgroups within society.

No single academic discipline can supply all of the theories, principles, or methods needed to address the varied and complex problems in transportation. Recognizing this, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Urban and Regional Planning Program participate in the interdisciplinary Transportation Studies Program, through which students in the participating units can earn the Certificate in Transportation along with their graduate degrees.

The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering also participates in the transportation certificate program, offering courses in human factors and safety issues in transportation, and the Department of Geography offers courses in geographic information systems (GIS), location theory, and other related areas.

Certificate

The Certificate in Transportation Studies requires 18 s.h. of graduate credit. Students may earn the certificate in conjunction with an M.S. or Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering, or with an M.A. or M.S. in urban and regional planning.

The Certificate in Transportation Studies is coordinated by the Public Policy Center in conjunction with the Graduate College. Completion of the certificate requirements is noted on the student's transcript. The certificate is awarded in conjunction with the established degree requirements of the individual academic units.

Students who enroll in a course of study leading to the certificate also may wish to participate in faculty-led transportation research, which may explore topics such as system planning, traffic operations and engineering, spatial data systems and analysis, simulation applications, and policy issues.

Certificate with M.S. or Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers a subtrack in transportation at both the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy levels. The M.S. requires a minimum of 30 s.h. of graduate credit and may be earned either with or without thesis. Thesis students may count up to 6 s.h. of credit for thesis research toward the 30 s.h. required for the degree. Nonthesis students usually are required to complete a research paper based on independent study and to defend the paper in an oral examination.

Students who wish to complete the M.S. in a single academic year must complete 15 s.h. during both the fall and spring semesters.

The Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 72 s.h. of graduate credit; up to 18 s.h. may be earned for dissertation research. A minimum of one year of campus residency is required. For detailed information on the residency requirement, see section XII.C of the Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College.

Individuals with degrees in other transportation-related disciplines are encouraged to apply to the Transportation Studies Program. Depending on a student's background, additional course work in statistics, computer programming, simulation, mathematics, and operations research may be required for the certificate. Credit earned in these courses may not be applicable to the student's degree program.

Students pursuing an M.S. or Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering must complete 18 s.h. from the following courses in order to earn the Certificate in Transportation Studies. Not all courses are offered every semester; consult ISIS to determine when specific courses are offered.

Fall Semester

Spring Semester

Engineering students may apply to the certificate program through the Graduate College and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Certificate with M.A. or M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning

The graduate Urban and Regional Planning Program offers Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees with a transportation concentration. Both degrees require 50 s.h. of graduate credit. During the first year, students complete an integrated core curriculum (21 s.h.) consisting of courses in planning economics and public finance, analytic methods, planning theory, and law. Beginning in the second semester, students take courses in an area of concentration (minimum of 9 s.h.), such as transportation, where core concepts are applied to a selected specialization. The planning curriculum is intended to provide students with the capability to examine policy in transportation, devise workable options, evaluate these optional courses of action, and work toward the implementation of policy solutions.

Electives complete the remaining credit. Students who select the thesis option may register for up to 6 s.h. of thesis credit and 8 s.h. of readings. Students may apply 3 s.h. of readings to the area of concentration requirement and substitute the thesis for the portfolio.

Students pursuing an M.A. or M.S. in urban and regional planning must complete 18 s.h. from the following courses in order to earn the Certificate in Transportation Studies. Not all courses are offered every semester; consult ISIS to determine when specific courses are offered.

Fall Semester

Spring Semester

Urban and regional planning students may apply to the certificate program through the Graduate College and the Urban and Regional Planning Program.