UMass Amherst Home
 [Home]  [Programs and Courses]  [Degree Requirements]  [Application Procedures]  [Financing Your Degree]  [Site Index]  [Apply Now]
Program Listings:  [Program Listing: A-D]  [Program Listings: E-L]  [Program Listings: M-Z]  [Program Listings: Show All]

Civil & Environmental Engineering Courses

Program | Faculty | Master's | Doctoral | Courses

All courses carry 3 credits unless otherwise specified.

509 Transportation Systems Analysis
Introduction to transportation systems analysis and modeling as applied to the urban transportation planning process, multiple transportation modes, and the larger metropolitan environment. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 310.

510 Public Transportation Systems
Relationship of public transportation to technological innovation; financing and regulation; supply, demand, and price considerations; performance evaluation; routing and scheduling; application of microcomputers; and project planning and design. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 310 or equivalent.

511 Traffic Engineering
Characteristics of traffic system components including drivers, vehicles, and roadways. Fundamental principles of traffic flow, operations, and controls. Traffic demand analysis and highway capacity analysis. Traffic engineering studies involving volume, speed, travel time, and delay. Techniques of field data collection and methodology of office analysis. Intersection design and analysis. Signalized intersection control involving signal phases and timing. Emphasizes both methodology and practice. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 310.

515 Pavement Design
Design procedures for flexible highway pavement structures including AASHTO and the Asphalt Institute methods; determination of design parameters for mixed traffic, materials, and performance characterization; reliability of design. A design project, written engineering report, and oral presentation. Prerequisites: CE-ENGIN 310 and 320.

516 Transportation Design
Highway location and geometric design principles for streets and highways with emphasis on roadway safety. Includes state-of-the-art design policies and current research findings. AutoCAD and transportation design computer software used for class assignments and the class project. Students work in design teams on transportation design projects with an emphasis on creative design and problem solving through transportation systems management techniques. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 310.

518 Intelligent Transportation Systems
A review of intelligent transportation systems, technologies, and user services with an emphasis on the operation of advanced public transportation systems (APTS) and technologies including wire and wireless communication, sensors, automated vehicle location, information processing and other technological applications; user services including traffic signal priority control, en-route and pre-trip traveler information, electronic payment, and management and operations as they pertain to public transit and paratransit services in both large metropolitan areas and small urban and rural communities. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 310 or consent of instructor.

523 Ground Improvement and Geoconstruction
Engineered ground improvement; slurry trenches, dewatering systems; grouting; deep dynamic compaction, vibro compaction; stone columns; wick and vertical sand drains. Emphasizes basic principles and design methodology. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 320.

525 Environmental Geotechnology
Geotechnical engineering related to environmental issues. Topics include site investigation techniques for environmental drilling; site instrumentation procedures; groundwater sampling methods; methods of evaluating in situ and laboratory hydraulic conductivity for use in design; design of containment facilities; and current methods for addressing subsurface environmental problems. Written engineering reports. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 320.

535 Matrix Analysis of Structures
Development and use of flexibility and stiffness methods of matrix analysis for determinate and indeterminate structures. Use of computer programs for the analysis of simple structures. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 331.

536 Advanced Topics in Reinforced Concrete Design
Design of various types of reinforced concrete systems including one- and two-way slabs, continuous beams, building frames, and beam-column joints. Moment-curvature analysis of reinforced concrete sections, moment redistribution of continuous systems, and strut-and-tie modeling techniques. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 433.

540 Strength of Materials II
Stress-strain-temperature relations in elastic and plastic structural systems. Energy methods. Stress concentration and stress in-tensity factors. Role of linear fracture mechanics in design. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 241.

541 Structural Dynamics
Behavior of structures and structural components exposed to time dependent loadings. Vibrations of systems; descriptions of dynamic systems. Prerequisites: CE-ENGIN 331 and MATH 331.

542 Advanced Topics in Steel Design
Expands on the basic design methods of CE-ENGIN 434. Includes non-compact and slender beam girder design, composite steel and concrete member design, overall structure considerations, and other topics, some extending on previous class descriptions and others as entirely new concepts. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 434.

549 Structural Stability
Linear and nonlinear buckling of columns, beam-columns, frames and plates. Role of linearization in formulation of stability problems. Adjacent equilibrium, kinetic, imperfection and energy criteria for stability analysis. Variational approaches for formulating and solving buckling problems. Prerequisites: CE-ENGIN 331 and MATH 331.

560 Hydrology
A quantitative account of elements of the hydrologic cycle, including precipitation, evapotranspiration, snowmelt, infiltration, and surface runoff. Basic laws from such various disciplines as physics, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics combined into simple mathematical descriptions used in the hydrologic design process. Prerequisites: CE-ENGIN 357 and M&I-ENG 230 or equivalent.

561 Open-Channel Flow
A rigorous mathematical study of flow in open channels, including uniform, gradually varied, rapidly varied, tidal, and flood flows. Analytical and numerical solutions to the governing conservation equations developed with the aid of the computer, and stable channel design addressed. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 357.

572 Environmental Engineering Analysis
With lab. Basic concepts of physical and chemical parameters used to measure water quality in natural aquatic systems and in treatment plants. Laboratory covers important water analysis techniques including gravimetric, volumetric, colorimetric, and alkalinity-acidity titration. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 370 or consent of instructor.

573 Environmental Engineering Microbiology
With lab. Microbiological and biochemical properties of microorganisms important in environmental engineering practice. General fundamentals of microbiology and their application to drinking water treatment and distribution, water pollution control, and natural systems. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 371.

575 Advanced Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
Introduction to municipal solid waste management and hazardous waste management. Relationship between the properties of wastes, the techniques and hardware used for waste handling and processing, and the ultimate disposal (containment) of waste and other residual materials. Remediation of contaminated areas. Design of systems for the management and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes subject to economic factors, safety, reliability, and ethical and social implications. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 371.

577 Surface Water Quality Modeling
Evaluation and control of water quality in streams, lakes, and estuaries. Mathematical analyses of patterns of water movement and their relationship to water quality. Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) allocation design. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 371.

579 Air Quality
The sources, fate, transport, and control of the major categories of air pollutants. Topics include sources and characteristics of air pollutants; atmospheric chemistry and physics; effects of air pollutants on human health and the environment; global climate change; atmospheric dispersion modeling; and design of systems for the control of gaseous and particulate air pollutants. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 371.

605 Finite Element Analysis
Introduction to finite element method in engineering science. Derivation of element equations by physical, variational, and residual methods. Associated computer coding techniques and numerical methods. Applications. Prerequisites: programming ability, ordinary differential equations, basic matrix algebra. Same as M&I-ENG 605.

610 Transportation Analysis and Planning
Advanced topics in transportation planning including application of the four-step planning process with transportation model analysis software, econometric model estimation and analysis, use of statistical software with transportation survey data, activity analysis, and various other transportation planning and economics topics. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 509.

611 Transportation Investment and Pricing Analysis
The application of economic principles to transportation investment and pricing analyses; emphasis on highway and public transportation in urban settings. Prerequisites: ECON 103, CE-ENGIN 310 or equivalents.

612 Transportation Planning and Policy Analysis
An intensive survey of current issues in transportation planning and policy. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 310.

614 Advanced Concepts in Traffic Safety
Advanced topics in traffic safety including both motorized and nonmotorized modes with an emphasis on the science of safety. Includes safety management systems, human factors, data needs and limitations, identification of hazardous locations, diagnosis of problems, development of countermeasures, road safety audits/reviews, and crash reconstruction. Safety modeling using the Interactive Highway Safety Design Modules and other modeling platforms incorporated as applicable. Several traffic engineering software packages also used to demonstrate relationships between traffic safety and operational efficiency.

620 Soil Behavior and Shear Strength
Fundamentals of soil behavior, soil mineralogy and structure, soil stresses, stress-strain-strength behavior of cohesionless and cohesive soils, consolidation behavior of saturated soils, and determination of consolidation and strength parameters in practice. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 320.

622 Geotechnical Materials Testing
Experimental investigation of the fundamental aspects of soil behavior including classification, index and engineering properties. Emphasizes experimental determination of the consolidation and stress-strain-strength characteristics of soils for design. Experiments include: classification and basic index tests, hydraulic conductivity, consolidation, triaxial tests and direct simple shear. Prerequisites: CE-ENGIN 320 and 620. Credit, 4.

623 Advanced Foundation Engineering
Geotechnical analysis and design related to shallow and deep foundations. Topics include: site investigations, bearing capacity theory, analysis and design of shallow spread footings, isolated pads and mat foundations; total stress and effective stress design of drilled shaft and driven pile foundations. Emphasis on the presentation of designs in a formal geotechnical report. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 620.

625 In Situ Testing Techniques in Geotechnical Engineering
The theoretical and practical aspects of in situ tests in geotechnical engineering. Tests discussed include: Standard Penetration Test, Field Vane, Piezocone, Dilatometer, Pressuremeter, and Borehole Shear. Emphasis on use of in situ test results for determining engineering properties of soil for design. Prequisite: CE-ENGIN 320. Credit, 4.

630 Advanced Solid Mechanics
Unified treatment of the analysis of solids. Consideration of continuity, mechanical energy, stress and strain. Application to elasticity, thermoelasticity, and plasticity. Same as M&I-ENG 630.

631, 632 Civil Engineering Analysis I, II
Mathematical methods for solution of typical engineering problems. Analytical methods for solution of ordinary differential equations; perturbation methods, special functions, eigenvalue problems. Introduction to complex variable methods. Prerequisite: MATH 331.

639 Structural Mechanics of Composite Materials
Types of composite systems. Analytical models of filamentary and laminated materials. Elastic and plastic analysis of structures subject to static or dynamic loadings. Failure criteria of composites, influence of time, temperature, and moisture. Design of composite material systems. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 241.

643 Elasticity
General equations of the mathematical theory of elasticity in space. General formulation of basic equations and methods of solution.

646 Seismic Structural Analysis
Principles of engineering seismology, including analysis and design of structures to resist earthquake motions. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 541.

660 Subsurface Hydraulics
The transport of water through the unsaturated and saturated zone using rigorous mathematical theory, and analytical and numerical solutions. Topics include hydraulic properties of soils, infiltration, confined and unconfined aquifer flow, consolidations, and well hydraulics.

661 Subsurface Pollution
Transport of contaminants through the unsaturated and saturated zone using rigorous mathematical theory, and analytical and numerical solutions. Topics include the fate and transport of conservative and reactive contaminants in single or multiphase flow fields. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 660.

662 Water Resource Systems Analysis
Methods for designing and managing water resource systems, including optimization, uncertainty and reliability analysis, economic and pricing analysis, water demand and drought planning, and facility siting analysis. Applications to surface water, groundwater, water distribution, flood control, and water qualtiy control systems.

668 Professional Engineering Practice Concepts
Discussion of the concerns and challenges of a professional engineer including project management, writing and presentation skills, negotiations, finance, ethics, organizational structure, and risk and liability. Credit, 2.

670 Transport Processes in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
Transport of fluids and constituents in environmental systems. Advection, diffusion, dispersion, zero and first-order reaction kinetics and equilibrium partitioning processes. Mathematical models solved with analytical and numerical methods. Multi-scale application to surface and subsurface waters and the atmosphere.

671 Environmental Biological Processes
Overview of microbiology fundamentals for environmental engineering, and examination of the biological processes used in water and wastewater treatment, bioremediation and biological air pollution control. Laboratory experiments illustrate important concepts in environmental biological processes. Credit, 4.

672 Physical and Chemical Treatment Processes
Lecture and lab. Fundamentals of physical and chemical processes used in environmental engineering. Applications include processes used in the treatment of drinking waters, industrial waters and wastewaters, municipal wastewaters, and hazardous waste remediation. Credit, 4.

679 Engineering Project
For students enrolled in the M.S. Professional Practice option. Principles and techniques involved in the design of an engineered facility. May not be taken by those selecting CE-ENGIN 689 or 699. Credit, 1-5.

680 Water Chemistry
Chemical equilibrium principles of acids-bases, dissolution-precipitation, oxidation-reduction, and complexation applied to understanding the chemistry of surface waters, groundwaters, and water and wastewater treatment. Credit, 4.

689 Master’s Project
Research carried out and reported under supervision of student’s adviser as partial fulfillment of requirements for Master’s degree in civil engineering or Master’s degree in environmental engineering. May not be taken by those taking CE-ENGIN 679 Engineering Report or CE-ENGIN 699 Master’s Thesis. Credit, 1-6.

691, 692 Environmental Engineering Seminar
Presentation by the graduate student of selected current literature and research. Visiting lecturers. One class hour. Credit, 1.

693, 694 Geotechnical Engineering Seminar
Research presentation by graduate student and faculty. Visiting lecturers. Credit, 1.

693B Structural Engineering Seminar
Research presentation by graduate students and faculty. Visiting lecturers. Credit, 1.

695 Transportation Engineering Seminar
Visiting lecturers. Research presentations by graduate students and faculty. Discussion of current transportation topics. Credit, 1.

696 Independent Study
Credit, 1-6.

697 Special Topics

699 Master’s Thesis
Research carried out and reported under supervision of student’s research adviser as partial fulfillment of requirements for Master’s degree in civil engineering or Master’s degree in environmental engineering. May not be taken by those taking CE-ENGIN 679 Engineering Project or CE-ENGIN 689 Master’s Project. Credit, 1-6.

722 Computer and Numerical Methods in Geomechanics
Computer and numerical methods in soil mechanics, consolidation, seepage, slope stability, stress distribution, and finite element analysis.

724 Soil Dynamics
Dynamic behavior of soils with application to problems of seismic survey, measurement of dynamic soil properties, foundation vibration and performance under earthquake loading.

728 Geotechnical Instrumentation
Design, selection, and use of instrumentation for geotechnical engineering purposes. Laboratory and field instrumentation considered. Topics include: purpose of instrumentation, planning projects, procurement of instruments and services, measuring devices, and examples of applications. Lab demonstration.

770, 771 Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Design
Selection, evaluation, and design of environmental and water resources engineering systems. Corequisites: CE-ENGIN 671 and CE-ENGIN 672. Credit, 2.

772 Instrumental Methods in Environmental Analysis
Principles and techniques of instrumental chemical analysis, including molecular and atomic spectrophotometry, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and electro-analytical methods. Emphasis on solving analytical problems of trace pollutants in water and wastewater. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 572 or equivalent.

774 Processes at the Particle-Water Interface
An analysis of physical and chemical aspects of the behavior of particles in aquatic systems. Topics include surface chemistry, adsorption, nucleation, precipitation, dissolution, forces between interacting surfaces, and the hydrodynamics of particle transport and deposition. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 672. Corequisite: CE-ENGIN 680 or consent of instructor.

776 Bioremediation of Contaminated Soils and Ground Water
Application of biological processes as they are currently used to remediate convention-al, industrial, and hazardous wastes. Fun-damentals of microbial physiology and metabolism as applied to the major groups of hazardous chemicals. Theory and design of remediation technologies. Prerequisite: CE-ENGIN 671 or equivalent.

778 Drinking Water Indicator Organism and Pathogen Microbiology
Focus on sources, epidemiology, measurement, and indicator organisms for major groups of pathogens. Appropriate management strategies and treatment technologies for prevention of pathogen transmission also covered.

780 Mechanics of Materials
Advanced topics related to mechanical behavior of structural materials.

899 Doctoral Dissertation
Credit, 18.