Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD)

University of British Columbia

Canada, Vancouver

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Home/Canada/Vancouver /University of British Columbia/Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD)

University of British Columbia

Canada , Vancouver

Key Facts

Program Level

PhD (Philosophy Doctorate)

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Campuses

Vancouver

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake DeadlinesSeptember-2026

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 6 year(s)

Tuition Fee

CAD 9,884 / per year

Next Intake September-2026

Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD)

About

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.

Disciplines

Faculty of Applied Science

Requirements

Entry Requirements

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement: 100

Reading

Writing

Speaking

Listening

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement: 7.0

Reading

6.5

Writing

6.5

Speaking

6.5

Listening

6.5

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is optional.

Prior degree, course and other requirements

Career

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