The Graduate Adviser serves as the department’s representative to the Office of Graduate Studies and the College of Engineering. The Graduate Adviser is a resource for who provides advising on academic requirements, policies and procedures. The Graduate Adviser’s signature is required on most forms related to graduate affairs such as petitions for exception, change of major requests, PELP requests, Programs of Study and Advancement to Candidacies. The Graduate Adviser also chairs the Departmental Graduate Program Committee (GPC), and reports on graduate matters to the faculty.
Graduate Program Coordinator
The Graduate Coordinator is the first point of contact in the CEE department for all administrative issues pertaining to the graduate program. They handle the administration of all required forms and petitions, graduate student questions and referrals, and monitors desk space assignments for all graduate students. All forms and petitions that require a signature from the Graduate Adviser must first be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator, who will obtain the signature and submit the forms to the appropriate office(s).
Major Professor (Faculty Advisor/Principle Investigator)
All students must have a Major Professor. New students should establish who will serve as their Major Professor (Faculty Adviser) before completing their first quarter, or in the second quarter at latest.
Students should discuss with a potential major faculty member their willingness to serve as the Major Professor for the indicated degree objective and must obtain the faculty members consent to serve as their Major Professor. The Major Professor relationship is established by mutual agreement.
While students should feel free to discuss academic matters with any faculty member, typically the Major Professor will oversee most of the student's research and progress during their degree program. Students may change major professors at any time as their research and educational interests change and develop. Students working on research jointly with more than one professor also may have two co-advisors.
The Major Professor submits the annual “Graduate Student Annual Progress Report” via the online SPA system to the Office of Graduate Studies. New students are temporarily assigned to the Graduate Program Committee member for their group, also referred to as the Area Advisor, who can assist in formulation and approval of a coherent course of study.
Graduate Program Committee (GPC)
This committee is composed of the Chairperson of the GPC, the CEE Department Chair, a member from each of the five research groups within CEE: Environmental, Water Resources, Geotechnical, Structural, and Transportation Engineering; and an ex officio member of the GSAC (Graduate Student Advisory Committee).
The committee’s responsibilities are outlined in detail in the bylaws of the CEE Graduate Program (Appendix A) and summarized here. The GPC administers the Graduate Program, acts on issues regarding graduate admissions and degree requirements, recommends TA assignments, advises on fellowship support for graduate students, and reviews and approves Programs of Study for doctoral students.
Additionally, the five members of GPC from each of the research groups within CEE serve as temporary Area Advisers to new graduate students until the selection of a Major Professor. Current membership for the GPC can be found below.
Area Advisor (GPC Representatives)
Each research area is overseen by a faculty representative. The GPC Rep/Area Advisor is the primary point of contact for graduate students. If you have any questions about who your faculty advisor is, please contact Lauren Worrell. The Area Advisor will serve as your initial faculty advisor until you find your major professor (permanent faculty advisor) – you should establish who your major professor is by your second quarter.
Secondary Area Advisors
In addition to the GPC Representative/Area Advisor, each research area also has a Secondary Advisor, as listed below. The Secondary Advisor can provide basic mentoring and advising for students in the event the GPC Rep is unavailable. Please be sure to use the GPC Rep/Area Advisor as your initial point of contact.
COE Graduate Study Committee (GSC)
The Graduate Study Committee is composed of the individual Graduate Advisers or their designees from each Graduate Program in the College of Engineering. The function of this Committee is to coordinate and communicate matters of common interest to all graduate programs in the College of Engineering. Within the policies and procedures of Graduate Council, the GSC committee reviews cross-department graduate curricula issues, awards graduate fellowships and scholarships administered by the College, disseminates information pertaining to engineering graduate studies, and addresses issues related to graduate student welfare in the College.
Office of Graduate Studies
Find additional forms, handbooks, and policies including degree completions checklists, advance to candidacy forms, QE information and application, filing fee information, steps to file to graduate, graduate student handbook, and other information for continuing students.
In addition to the GPC Representative/Area Advisor, each research area also has a Secondary Advisor, as listed below. The Secondary Advisor can provide basic mentoring and advising for students in the event the GPC Rep is unavailable. Please be sure to use the GPC Rep/Area Advisor as your initial point of contact.
