Degrees Offered
What are Future Infrastructure Systems?
The Future Infrastructure Systems track targets innovative ideas and technologies to advance the current built environment and create new, livable space for future generations. Future worlds will be dramatically different from today. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ Future World Vision has categorized several future cities such as the Mega City, a city of 50 million people; Floating City, an offshore city as sea levels rise; Rural City, self-sufficient agricultural communities; Frozen City, cities in the Arctic region due to climate change; and Off-planet City, Lunar/Martian habitats.
The roles and challenges civil engineers will face in future infrastructure systems are unprecedented and require interdisciplinary work across civil-environmental engineering and cross/trans-disciplinary fields, supported by other disciplines.
Examples of research areas in this track include, but are not limited to, smart transportation, integrated urban infrastructure, innovative construction materials, structures/materials with the environment, green materials/buildings, energy and environment, innovative design and construction, smart water and waste management, etc. Courses for this track should be designed by the Ph.D. committee and the student to best benefit the specific doctoral research topic.
Degree Information
Students can earn a Ph.D. degree in civil engineering in the Future Infrastructure Systems track.
Doctor of Philosophy
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is a research-oriented degree requiring a minimum of 64 semester credit hours of approved courses and research beyond the Master of Science (M.S.) degree [96 credit hours beyond the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree]. The university places limitations on these credit hours in addition to the requirements of the Department of Civil Engineering.
A complete discussion of all university requirements is found in the current Texas A&M University Graduate Catalog