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Future students

Doctorate of Philosophy

student looking at sample

Students in the UW CEE Ph.D. program work closely with distinguished faculty on research and pursue their own innovative projects, preparing them to make a difference in the world. Students who pursue Ph.D. degrees often obtain high-level jobs in industry or go on to work in academia.

The UW CEE Ph.D. program is intended for candidates who possess a high level of scholarship and are passionate about conducting independent and original research in their chosen field of interest. The academic standard is high for students admitted to the Ph.D. program. See Admission Statistics.

Deadline

The department admits Ph.D. students in autumn quarter. Preference is given to applications for admission and financial support that are received by December 15, 11:59pm, Pacific Standard Time. Applications received after the deadline will be considered on a space available basis.

Applicants may check the status of their application by logging into their online application and checking the status page. Applications will not be reviewed unless they are complete.

Six research areas

Ph.D. students work closely with renowned faculty on cutting-edge research projects as well as pursue their own innovative projects. Students focus their studies on one of the department’s six research areas:

The Future Rivers NSF Research and Training

In partnership with the College of Environment, the College of Engineering, the eScience Institute, EarthLab and the Freshwater Initiative at UW, CEE is excited to offer a unique training and mentorship program called The Future Rivers NSF Research and Training Program (Future Rivers NRT). Interested graduate applicants should apply to both the graduate program (M.S. or Ph.D.) and to the Future Rivers NRT where they may be selected for financial support. Applicants should mention if they intend to apply to the Future Rivers NRT with a brief description of why in the CEE application material. Additional details and how to submit your NRT application is available on the Future Rivers NRT website. Please contact futurerivers.uw.edu if you have questions. 

Data Science Option

With the Data Science Option (DSO), graduates will be equipped to tackle modern civil and environmental engineering challenges using large datasets, machine learning, statistical inference and visualization techniques.