Geotechnical Engineering Courses

Undergraduate Level

CE-ENGIN 320: Soil Mechanics

Click Here for a PDF Course Outline.

Properties of soil used in engineering including: soil classification; compaction; swelling and shrinkage; permeability and seepage; consolidation; strength and stiffness; and implications of soil for civil engineering design.

Prerequisite: CEE 241. Corequisite: CEE 357.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 365 : CEE Laboratory

Click Here for a PDF Course Outline.

With lab. Experimental techniques and measurements for materials, soil properties, fluid mechanics, and environmental engineering. Laboratory reports.

Prerequisite: CEE 241. Corequisites: CEE 320, 357, 370; ENGL 351.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 421: Foundation Engineering

Click Here for a PDF Course Outline.

Methods of site investigation; drilling and sampling procedures; in situ testing techniques; design of shallow and deep foundation systems for bearing capacity and settlement. Design project, a written engineering report.

Prerequisite: CEE 320.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 423: Engineering Geology (with lab)

Interpretation of geology for the purpose of planning, siting, design, and construction of engineered facilities. Includes an overview of geology, engineering geologic mapping, and specific consideration of engineering applications such as dams, reservoirs, and tunnels. Prerequisite: CEE 320.

4 units min / 4 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 486: Civil and Environmental Engineering Design Project

Team designs of comprehensive civil engineering projects. Includes economic factors, feasibility studies, consideration of alternative solutions, detail analysis and design, oral and written reports. Ethics and professionalism.

Prerequisites: CEE 310, 320, 331, and 433 or 434.

4 units min / 4 units max, Lecture

Graduate Level

CE-ENGIN 523: Ground Improvement

Topics of 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: CEE 320.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 525: Environmental Geotechnology

Geotechnical engineering related to environmental issues. Topics include: site investigation techniques for environmental drilling; site instrumentation procedures; groundwater sampling 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: CEE 320.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 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 E 605.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 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: CEE 320.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 622: Geotechnical Material 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: CEE 320 and 620.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 623: Advanced Foundations Design

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: CEE 620.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 625: In Situ Testing

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.

Corequisite: CEE 620.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 660 : Subsurface Hydraulics

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

Prerequisites: Math 431 and Cmpsci 123 or equivalent.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 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 CEE 689 or 699. Credit, 1-5.

1 units min / 5 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 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 CEE 679 Engineering Report or CEE 699 Master's Thesis. Credit, 1-6.

1 units min / 6 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 699: Masters 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 CEE 679 Engineering Project or CEE 689 Master's Project. Credit, 1-6.

1 units min / 6 units max, Dissertation/Thesis

CE-ENGIN 722: Computational & Numerical Methods In Geotechnical Soil Dynamics

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

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 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.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 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.

3 units min / 3 units max, Lecture

CE-ENGIN 899: Ph.D. Dissertation

1 unit min / 9 units max, Dissertation/Thesis