Civil and environmental engineering is an indispensible field of engineering for human life and industrial activities. It provides society with infrastructure in relation to housing, industry, transportation, etc. Its research subjects are to enhance human well-being and to protect, improve and effectively develop natural resources and environments. Accordingly, civil and environmental engineers are involved in planning, designing, constructing, managing and maintaining infrastructure systems such as highways, railroads, airports, tunnels, bridges, harbors, dams, offshore structures, manufacturing plants, and underground facilities, as well as environmental management systems, water and wastewater treatment systems, and solid waste management systems.
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at KAIST was established in August 1982. Currently the department offers undergraduate and graduate programs. The mission of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is to maintain a quality goal-oriented program that emphasizes education, research and service, and to enable a new generation of civil and environmental engineers to meet the challenges of the future. Our vision is to promote a sense of scholarship, leadership, and service among our graduates; to create, develop and disseminate new knowledge; to foster interdisciplinary educational and research programs fundamental to solving the problems inherent in today's complex society; and to provide national leadership in a civil and environmental profession that is increasingly being driven by advances in technology.
Civil and environmental engineering is an indispensible field of engineering for human life and industrial activities. It provides society with infrastructure in relation to housing, industry, transportation, etc. Its research subjects are to enhance human well-being and to protect, improve and effectively develop natural resources and environments. Accordingly, civil and environmental engineers are involved in planning, designing, constructing, managing and maintaining infrastructure systems such as highways, railroads, airports, tunnels, bridges, harbors, dams, offshore structures, manufacturing plants, and underground facilities, as well as environmental management systems, water and wastewater treatment systems, and solid waste management systems.
The department has three main research areas:
1. Structural Engineering: Structural engineering combines art and science to design and build modern infrastructures that safely resist natural and man-made forces. Buildings, bridges, stadiums, offshore structures and other civil facilities define the traditional core of structural engineering. At the periphery of the field, structural engineering shares common interests with mechanical, aerospace, and naval engineering for the design of large, complex systems such as power plants, pipelines, aerospace vehicles, ships, and submarines. We have five laboratories devoted to various research activities including dynamics analysis, quantitative analysis of stresses in concrete, seismic analysis and vibration control of large structures such as bridges, buildings and nuclear power plants, and to studies on safety and reliability, structural health monitoring, and designing an effective structure system through the investigation of the nonlinear behavior of structures.
2. Geotechnical Engineering: Geotechnical engineering, as the name implies, is concerned with the application of civil engineering technology to aspects of the earth. Geotechnical engineering is fundamental for construction of all type of civil structures such as large underground space and tunnel, subway and highway, railroad, port and airport structures, etc. Since geotechnical materials are ambiguous, which are not easy to determine their engineering properties, the successful geotechnical engineer must develop a 'feel' for soil and rock behavior before designing a safe and economic geotechnical design. Three of our laboratories perform research on the analysis, design, construction, and maintenance of earth structures related to soft clay and granite soil. Our researchers are also involved in geotechnical earthquake engineering, site investigation, non-destructive testing using elastic wave propagation characteristics, and development of geophysical characterization techniques on rocks in an effort to understand the shear behavior of jointed rocks for use in large underground spaces.
3. Environmental Engineering: Environmental engineers find solutions for environmental problems. Environmental engineering provides safe drinking water, treats and properly disposes of wastes, maintains air quality, controls water pollution, and remediates sites contaminated by spills or improper disposal of hazardous substances. Environmental engineering is multidisciplinary by nature. It involves traditional engineering components such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and engineering design. Environmental engineering education and practice also requires knowledge of a range of other disciplines such as biology, microbiology, ecology, public health, geology, meteorology, economics, political science, and computer science. Two of our laboratories are actively pursuing fundamental and practical research on biological approaches to treating water, wastewater, and solid waste, and on managing environmental resources.
Students wishing to major in Civil and
Environmental Engineering must first complete all the general requirements for KAIST
undergraduates. They must then pass all the courses marked as "mandatory"
in the table below, plus enough additional courses listed in the table to
bring the total number of Civil and Environmental Engineering credits up
to 45. In addition, students are required to complete 3 credits of
research (
| Course Number | Course Title | Lecture: Lab : Credit (Assignment) |
Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandatory | |||
| CE201 | Mechanics of Materials | 3:0:3 (15) | spring |
| CE202 | Structural Materials I | 3:0:3 (6) | fall |
| CE203 | Fluid Mechanics | 3:0:3 (8) | spring |
| CE303 | Vibration Engineering | 3:1:3 (12) | spring |
| Elective | |||
| CE205 | Engineering Drawings and Computer Graphics | 2:3:3 (6) | fall |
| CE207 | Elementary STructural Engineering and Laboratory | 2:3:3 (14) | fall |
| CE211 | Elementary Civil Environmental Engineering | 3:0:3 (5) | spring |
| CE230 | Soil Mechanics and Laboratory I | 2:3:3 (5) | spring |
| CE231 | Soil Mechanics and Laboratory II | 2:3:3 (5) | fall |
| CE251 | Hydraulics | 3:0:3 (8) | fall |
| CE272 | Environmental Science | 3:2:3 (2) | spring |
| CE273 | Environmental Microbiology | 3:2:3 (2) | spring |
| CE291 | Surveying and Gls | 3:2:3 (10) | fall |
| CE312 | STructural Mechanics II | 3:0:3 (5) | spring |
| CE313 | Computational Methods in Structural Analysis | 3:0:3 (12) | fall |
| CE314 | Design ofReinforced Concrete Structures | 3:0:3 (6) | fall |
| CE315 | Reinforced Concrete and Laboratory | 2:3:3 (5) | spring |
| CE331 | Rock Mechanics | 3:0:3 (8) | fall |
| CE332 | Foundation Engineering | 3:0:3 (7) | spring |
| CE333 | Soil Dynamics | 3:1:3 (7) | fall |
| CE354 | Coastal and Harbor Engineering | 3:0:3 (12) | fall |
| CE371 | Environmental Chemistry | 3:1:3 (12) | spring |
| CE372 | Water and Wastewater Engineering | 3:0:3 (8) | fall |
| CE373 | Hydrology | 3:0:3 (15) | fall |
| CE374 | Unit Operation in Environmental Engineering | 3:0:3 (8) | fall |
| CE376 | Wastes management Engineering | 3:1:3 | spring |
| CE411 | Practice in Structural Engineering | 2:3:3 | spring |
| CE412 | Design of Steel Structures | 3:0:3 | fall |
| CE413 | Prestressed Concrete | 3:1:3 (4) | fall |
| CE414 | Structural Planning | 3:0:3 (6) | spring |
| CE415 | Design in Civil Engineering | 1:6:3 | fall |
| CE417 | Structural Design of Buildings | 3:1:3 (5) | spring |
| CE418 | Design Practice of Structures | 3:2:3 (5) | fall |
| CE431 | Geotechnincal Engineering Practice | 2:3:3 | spring |
| CE433 | Pavement and Traffic Engineering | 3:1:3 | fall |
| CE434 | Computer Methodds in Geotechnical Engineering | 2:3:3 (5) | fall |
| CE435 | Geotechnical Engineering I | 3:0:3 (6) | spring |
| CE436 | Geotechnical Engineering Design II | 3:0:3 (6) | fall |
| CE471 | Sanitary Systems Engineering and Design | 3:1:3 (5) | spring |
| CE481 | Environmental Engineering Practices | 3:0:3 | spring |
| CE491 | Civil Construction Technology | 3:0:3 | spring |
| CE493 | Construction Management and Project Scheduling | 3:0:3 | fall |
| Research | |||
| CE490 | B.S. Thesis Research | 0:6:3 | |
| CH495 | Individual Study | 0:6:1 | |
Students wishing to double major in Civil and Environmental Engineering and another subject must still satisfy all of the requirements for Civil and Environmental Engineering degree, except for the research credits, which are waived.
Students wishing to minor in Civil and Environmental Engineering must pass a total of 12 Civil and Environmental Engineering credits in the "mandatory" category and 9 more in the "elective" category, for a total of 21 credits.
The department offers exciting opportunities and unique advantages for students to pursue their studies in the fields of physical, organic, inorganic, analytical and polymer chemistry, and biochemistry, leading to an M.S. and Ph.D. degree. The main objective of our program is to provide a suitable environment and necessary guidance to enable students to become independent scientists. Research is the main focus of the program. Through active participation in original research, built around a student's own interest and that of their chosen supervisor, the student can develop his/her creativity and become fully prepared for successful career in an academic or industrial institution. This department actively promotes joint research with industrial and other research organizations in both basic and applied chemistry; there is a minimum two semester-residency requirement for all Master's program students. In addition, all students are required to obtain a minimum total of 36 credits including the courses related to their thesis research.
These courses include a minium of 1 general course and 3 departmental elective courses from the two of four different areas of inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry and biochemistry. All students are requested to conduct research. A successful oral presentation of their work, to a committee comprising three faculty members, is required for the completion of the program.
All predoctoral students must attend for a minimum of four semesters and complete all course requirements described in the Master's program.
Doctoral students take additional courses for a total requirement exceeding 72 credits, including 39 course credits. The oral examination is divided into two parts: a preliminary oral test and a final oral defense. Usually the preliminary oral test is scheduled before the completion of the sixth semester. During the oral examination, the doctoral candidates are expected to demonstrate their competence by presenting their research progress and future research plans in an organized manner to a committee made up of five faculty members. The final oral defence on the research thesis culminates in a Ph.D. degree. Most candidates complete their Ph.D. program within 3 to 4 years after the completion of the Master's Program.
In addition to satisfying the general requirements of KAIST, all graduate students in Civil and Environmental Engineering must take:
| 1. | One of the courses CC510, CC511 or CC512. | |
| 2. | At least two courses from the "core" section of the table below. | |
| 3. | At least two seminar credits. |
Master's students must take at least 18 credits from the "elective" section of the table below, and may take no more than 9 credits from the research section (7 beyond the required seminar). Doctoral students must take at least 39 credits from the "elective" section below, and no less than 30 research credits (28 beyond the required seminar).
| Course Number | Course Title | Lecture: Lab : Credit (Assignment) |
Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | |||
| CE501 | Advanced Mechanics of Solids | 3:0:3 (5) | spring |
| CE502 | Advanced Soil Mechanics | 3:1:3 (4) | spring |
| CE503 | Advanced Fluid Mechanics | 3:1:3 (8) | spring |
| CE504 | Advanced Environmental Chemistry | 3:1:3 (6) | spring |
| CE505 | Applied Mathematics | 3:0:3 | spring |
| Elective | |||
| CE513 | Properties of Concrete | 3:1:3 (5) | fall |
| CE514 | Sructural Dynamics | 3:1:3 (12) | spring |
| CE515 | Mechanics of Composite Materials | 3:1:3 (12) | spring |
| CE516 | Finite Element Analysis | 3:1:3 (6) | spring |
| CE517 | Computer Methods in Structural Engineering | 1:6:3 (6) | fall |
| CE518 | Reliability Analysis of Structures | 3:0:3 (8) | fall |
| CE519 | Bridge Engineering | 3:1:3 (6) | fall |
| CE520 | Introduction to Smart Structure Technology | 2:3:3 (5) | fall |
| CE521 | Design of Structures under Wind Load | 2:3:3 (6) | spring |
| CE531 | Geotechnical Experiments | 1:6:3 (6) | summer |
| CE532 | Rock Engineering | 3:1:3 (4) | fall |
| CE533 | Site Investigation and Monitoring | 3:1:3 (6) | spring |
| CE534 | Theoretical Soil Mechanics | 3:0:3 (4) | fall |
| CE535 | Advanced Foundation Engineering | 3:0:3 (4) | fall |
| CE536 | Underground Structures | 3:1:3 (4) | spring |
| CE537 | Soil Improvement and Reinforcement | 3:1:3 | spring |
| CE539 | Earth Retaining Structures | 3:0:3 (4) | fall |
| CE571 | Environmental Engineering Laboratory | 1:6:3 (10) | summer |
| CE573 | Biological Wastewater Treatment Processes | 3:1:3 (6) | spring |
| CE575 | Industrial Wastewater Treatment | 3:0:3 (4) | fall |
| CE577 | Water Quality Management | 3:1:3 (5) | fall |
| CE578 | Advanced Groundwater Engineering | 3:0:3 (5) | spring |
| CE579 | Hazardous and Industrial Waste Treatment | 3:1:3 (8) | fall |
| CE611 | Inelastic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Structures | 3:1:3 (6) | fall |
| CE612 | Plastic Design | 3:1:3 (3) | spring |
| CE613 | Optimal Design of Structures | 3:0:3 | spring |
| CE614 | Stability of Structures | 3:1:3 (6) | spring |
| CE615 | Application of Finite Element Methods | 3:1:3 (12) | fall |
| CE616 | Probabilistic Methods in Structural Dynamics | 3:1:3 (12) | fall |
| CE617 | Earthquake Engineering | 3:1:3 (8) | spring |
| CE618 | Computational Methods in Structural Dynamics | 3:1:3 (12) | fall |
| CE619 | Vibration Control of Structures | 3:1:3 (12) | fall |
| CE620 | Nonlinear Computational Mechanics | 3:1:3 (6) | fall |
| CE621 | Advanced Design of Steel Structures | 3:0:3 | fall |
| CE622 | Structural Analysis of Plates and Shells | 3:0:3 | fall |
| CE631 | Advanced Numerical Soil Mechanics | 2:3:3 (6) | fall |
| CE632 | Soil Behavior | 3:0:3 (4) | spring |
| CE633 | Advanced Soil Dynamics | 3:1:3 (6) | spring |
| CE634 | Signal Processing for Civil Engineering | 3:0:3 (4) | spring |
| CE635 | Seepage and Slope Stability | 3:0:3 (4) | spring |
| CE636 | Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering | 3:0:3 (4) | fall |
| CE637 | Theory of Geophysics | 3:0:3 (4) | fall |
| CE638 | Pavement Engineering | 3:0:3 | fall |
| CE671 | Water Quality Modeling | 3:1:3 (5) | fall |
| CE672 | Physical Principles in Environmental Engineering | 3:1:3 (5) | fall |
| CE673 | Contamination of Soil and Groundwater | 3:1:3 (4) | fall |
| CE715 | Special Topics in Structural Engineering | 2:3:3 | spring |
| CE731 | Special Topics in Geotechnical Engineering | 3:1:3 (4) | spring |
| CE771 | Special Topics in Environmental Engineering | 3:1:3 (4) | spring |
| Research | |||
| CE960 | M.S. Thesis | ||
| CE966 | M.S. Seminar | 1:0:1 | |
| CE980 | PhD Thesis | ||
| CE986 | PhD Seminar | 1:0:1 | |
All students must submit an acceptable thesis to graduate.