Civil Engineering

About this opportunity

Civil engineering is a broad field that applies engineering principles primarily to the public domain infrastructure, including transportation, water resources, buildings and other structures such as dams and bridges. Civil engineers plan, design and supervise the construction of facilities such as high-rise buildings, airports, roads, water treatment centers and sanitation plants. Civil engineers balance the needs of society with technical and economic feasibility. ASU engineers work to achieve safe and sustainable development through “green” engineering.

By taking CEE courses under an honors designation, CESE honors students work on special projects that provide them an expanded understanding of the course subject matter. These courses allow the students to work on exciting research with faculty members. Such experiences distinguish honors students from other students and help them gain entrance to graduate programs and/or achieve better career.

Most CEE courses are offered for honors credit through the honors enrichment contract. Students wishing to receive honors credit should confer with the course instructor at the beginning of the semester in order to develop a mutually acceptable plan for the honors contract activity. Most honors contracts involve either a project that extends the ideas and techniques covered in the course or outside research on topics relevant to the course work.

Thesis

An honors thesis may be completed in one of two ways within CESE. It can be completed either as a supplement to the CEE Capstone course or as an independent study, separate from capstone, under the advisement of a CESE faculty member (Thesis Director). The thesis can be in any civil engineering area such as environmental, geotechnical, hydrosystems, structures, sustainability, transportation, or another closely related area.

• Capstone: Upon approval, the thesis may be completed as part of the student’s CEE capstone project courses. This would be conducted as part of the standard capstone experience. In most cases, the Thesis Director will be the advisor for the Capstone Project. Students must do something extra for their project, such as more extensive literature review, additional experiments, additional analysis, or a discussion of the social/economic/environmental impact of their project.
• Independent Study: The thesis is an independent project performed under the mentorship of a CESE faculty member with CEE 492/493. 

Committee Structure

The minimum number of committee members is two, one of which must be the Thesis Director. Currently only the director MUST be an ASU faculty member (i.e. tenure-line faculty, research faculty, lecturer, professor of practice). The Second Committee Member may be faculty or non-faculty, depending on the decision of the Thesis Director or the academic unit of the director. A third committee member is not needed unless specified by the director or the academic unit of the director OR unless an external examiner is added (who will be a third committee member).

Academic Preparation

Students are encouraged to plan ahead by completing honors enrichment contracts and starting research early in their academic careers. The Fulton Engineering Student Hub is an excellent resource for students. 

Recommended Timeline

The student must identify a Thesis Director and meet to discuss their intention to work with them and the nature of the proposed honors thesis the semester before they intend to start.
For the both the Capstone and Independent Study options, Honors thesis work is conducted over 2 semesters for 6 credits as follows:

• Semester I – CEE 492 Honors Directed Study (3 credits)
• Semester II – CEE 493 Honors Thesis (3 credits). Honors students may use CEE 493 Honors Thesis as a technical elective with credit towards the BSE degree only if the thesis topic is not related to the CEE Capstone Project. 

Example Honors Thesis schedule

Junior Year (End of Spring Semester)

• Find a faculty member to advise you on your Honors Thesis (the Thesis Director) and begin discussing possible projects. 
• Start work on the Thesis Prospectus. 
• Enroll in thesis credits or code capstone credit for honors thesis credit. 

Senior Year (Fall Semester)

• Work with your Thesis Director to define your project and to formulate an action plan for the project (the Prospectus)
• Finalize the Thesis Prospectus and submit it to Barrett Advising. 
• Complete background review for project.
• Enroll in thesis credits for the spring semester or code capstone credit for honors thesis credit. 

Spring Semester (Before Spring Break)

• Continue working on project and begin preparing thesis document.

   

• Complete first draft of the thesis document and submit to Thesis Director for initial review.
• Schedule your thesis defense - remember this is your responsibility – by completing the Thesis/Creative Project Defense Reporting Form.
• Note that a draft of the thesis should be sent to the entire committee for review at least two weeks before your defense.

After Spring Break

• Prepare for your defense!
• Hold defense and, following a successful outcome, get the Signature Title Page signed by all committee members
• Make any necessary changes to the thesis document based on feedback from committee

Early April

• Submit final thesis document to Barrett!

   

   

   

Other Honors Opportunities

Honors students receive special invitations to various events, including meeting industry, faculty and staff. They can also gain funding for research or travel to conferences held in other cities.