Departmental Unit № 1
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences (CEEES)
PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Full tuition fellowship + 12-month living stipend (~$37,000–$41,000/yr) + health insurance guaranteed for 5 years through University Fellowships and research assistantships.
Fall Priority Deadline: December 15 (Fall Admission)
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 80 minimum (Speaking 23) or IELTS 7.0 minimum
MS in Environmental Engineering (Thesis Option)
Research Assistantship Eligible
Funding Reality: Thesis MS students can receive funding if matched with a funded PI.
Application Deadline: January 15
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (1 Profiles)
Prof. Diogo Bolster
Henry Massman Endowed Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He uses microfluidic flow channels and computer physics to track how invisible chemical spills disperse through underground aquifers, calculating when toxic plumes will hit city drinking wells.
Core Research Topics: Environmental fluid mechanics, subsurface contaminant hydrology, solute transport in groundwater, heterogeneous porous media flow, water quality.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Investigates how complex underground rock fractures and porous soils create unpredictable mixing zones for toxic pollutants, developing non-Fickian stochastic transport models to predict contaminant arrival at drinking water wells.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Stochastic transport simulations, laboratory optical particle tracking, microfluidic experiments, analytical contaminant dispersion models, Python/MATLAB.
Recruiting Context: Department giant in contaminant hydrology and environmental fluid mechanics with continuous NSF support.
Candidate Match:
HydrologyEnvironmental PollutionWater QualityEnvironmental Modeling
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your interest in subsurface contaminant hydrology, solute transport modeling, and environmental water quality protection in the Bolster Lab."