Graduate Programs

About Our Department

For 2022 U.S. News ranks UNM in the top 100 of the Best Engineering Schools in the country for graduate study! The categories in which we were in the top 100 are: Best Graduate Civil Engineering Program #84, Best Graduate Environmental Engineering program #59, and Best Engineering Schools for Graduate study #84.

The UNM Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (CCEE) is New Mexico’s premier and most comprehensive department of civil engineering. Housed within UNM’s impressive Centennial Engineering Center (CEC), the Department has more faculty than all other civil engineering departments in the state combined and offers active research programs in construction, environmental, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources engineering.

The CEC building, occupied in the fall of 2008, is home to spacious classrooms; hydraulics, environmental, and structures laboratories; and state-of-the-art equipment that affords students unique research opportunities and exceptional hands-on experience.

The department offers three master’s degrees and the PhD degree:

Our Graduate Student Manual provides detailed information on topics pertinent to all of our graduate degrees.

Eyes on the Future

Sustainability within civil engineering – within engineering as a whole, for that matter – is becoming an increasingly important concept. As civil engineers, construction engineers, and construction managers, we are concerned with sustainable infrastructure – green building, intelligent transportation systems, industrial ecology, aquifer management, and smart structures. We have a responsibility to find and implement solutions that balance functionality with environmental efficiency. Engineering is about solving problems responsibly, making decisions that affect society positively, and designing sustainable infrastructure that meets the needs of a community without compromising the natural environment or future generations.

The CCEE Department at UNM is increasing its focus on sustainability in engineering and construction in order to better prepare our students for the future. Our curricula, training, and research focus heavily on the concept of sustainability, and we are continuing to add new graduate courses on sustainability in addition to introducing sustainability topics into our undergraduate curriculum. Graduates of our program will be equipped to solve the challenges associated with creating sustainable infrastructure; furthermore, they will be poised for success as leaders and innovators in their respective fields.

Commitment to Success

The CCEE Department is committed to excellence in education. We promote success within our program by fostering a strong community – a community that promotes diversity, camaraderie, respect, and integrity.

Over the past several years, our department has undergone a number of exciting changes that have served to strengthen our position as a leading educator in the engineering and construction disciplines. We have hired several new faculty members, all of whom have developed active research programs. Students in our program achieve academic and professional success for a number of reasons – they are innovative, intelligent, and forward-thinking; they have the support of dedicated faculty and staff; and they have access to unique research opportunities in the various branches of engineering and construction that are not offered elsewhere in the state of New Mexico.

Diversity

Our department prides itself on fostering a multicultural environment that enriches every program we offer. Our students come from all reaches of the globe and bring with them unique experiences and backgrounds that truly strengthen the CCEE Department.

As a department, and within the entire UNM School of Engineering (SOE), diversity is a priority. For 2018 the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities has ranked UNM #16 in the list of Best Colleges for Hispanic, Latino/a, and Chicano/a students. Schools were ranked on academics as well as the percentage of Hispanic students currently enrolled, in- and out-of-state tuitions, cultural center, and degree programs or scholarships dedicated to enhancing the experience of Hispanic students.

Excellence in Research

Civil engineering is an extremely broad field. There are opportunities for research in a number of subjects – structures, roads, bridges, microbiology, and air and water pollution. Some of the current research taking place within the CCEE Department is concerned with nanotechnology, solar system design, and sustainable water resources management.

Community Involvement

The Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department is actively engaged with the community in a variety of ways:

  • Education and research collaborations
  • Economic development
  • Programs to encourage young people to pursue education in science, technology, engineering, and math

We believe community involvement is essential to the success of the CCEE Department and of our students. In addition to collaboration with local professionals, we work hard to encourage young people to pursue degrees in science, math, and engineering related programs. We also promote community involvement within the department and amongst our own students by supporting student organizations like Engineers Without Borders (EWB) that work to improve the living conditions for people in disadvantaged communities.