TrSci Home Transportation Science Graduate Program
Goals & Objectives Core Courses Specializations Replication Project Qualifying Exam
Dissertation Reqs Sample Program Course Descriptions Current Students  
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM: [ back to top ]
In response to the varied perspectives required to understand transportation problems, transportation research has evolved into an interdisciplinary field. Most transportation scholars now draw on material and methodologies from outside their own discipline, and all transportation journals have become multidisciplinary. However the formal structure of graduate education has lagged behind scholarly practice. UC Irvine is one of very few graduate programs that offers the relevant training for interdisciplinary transportation research.

The graduate program consists of course work, which includes a core set of general theory courses and courses in a defined area of specialization, and research, including a quarterly graduate research colloquium, a replication project, and a dissertation. We expect our students to graduate with a solid foundation of multidisciplinary theoretical knowledge from the core courses, a professional competency in research design, statistical methodology, and model-building through their research endeavors and their dissertation, and a depth of knowledge in a defined specialized area. Most importantly, our graduates will be able to creatively apply these skills to problems at the frontiers of current research in transportation studies.

 
CORE THEORY CLASSES: [ back to top ]
Students must complete the following courses 1, or apply for exemption from specific courses based upon evidence of prior course work acceptable to the Director of Graduate Studies. It is expected that all students will have sufficient background in one of the core disciplines to be exempted from some of the courses. Substitutions may be approved by the program director.
Civil Engineering CEE 220A: Travel Demand Analysis I
CEE 225A: Transportation Planning Models I or
CEE 225B: Transportation Planning Models II
Urban Planning SE U202: History of Urban Planning, or
SE U212: Transportation Planning
SE U223: Regional Analysis, or
SE U242: Regional Development Theory
Economics Econ H100A-B: Honors Intermediate Economic Theory, I, II 2
Econ 123A-B: Econometrics I, II 2
Econ 282A-B: Transportation Economics I, II
Transport Science Econ 285A-B-C Transportation Science Colloquium 3

1 UCI General Catalogue Course Descriptions are available for all courses.
2 The subject material corresponding to these undergraduate courses is required.
3 All enrolled students must attend the Transportation Science Colloquium, Eco 285A-B-C.
 
SPECIALIZATION AREA COURSES: [ back to top ]
In addition to the General Theory Core Courses, students must take at least six additional courses chosen from among the four specialization areas:
  1. Methods and Analysis
  2. Transportation Economics
  3. Traffic Systems Analysis
  4. Planning and Policy Analysis
At least four of these six courses must be from one specialization. Substitutions may be approved by the program director. UCI General Catalogue Course Descriptions are available for all courses.
 
Methods and Analysis Specialization:

Students may choose courses from among the following:

 
Transportation Systems Economics Specialization:

Students may choose courses from among the following:

 
Traffic Analysis Specialization:

Students may choose courses from among the following:

 
Transportation Planning and Policy Analysis Specialization:

Students may choose courses from among the following:

 
REPLICATION PROJECT: [ back to top ]
Prior to preparing a dissertation proposal, each student who has not completed a master's thesis (or otherwise independently published) must replicate the empirical work of a published paper from a major transportation journal, chosen by the student and approved by the advisor. This replication may involve the collection of new data, the use of better statistical techniques, additional simulations, or the identification and correction of theoretical errors. Through the replication project, students gain direct experience in reducing a general problem to a manageable research project, in using data, and in carrying out a research project.
 
QUALIFYING EXAMINATION: [ back to top ]
Upon completion of the core theory courses, the specialized area courses, and the replication requirements, each student must develop a dissertation proposal defining the research problem, related literature, research methods, and data resources. The Ph.D. qualifying examination consists of an oral defense of that proposal before a candidacy committee chosen according to normal campus regulations, upon the recommendation of the Graduate Director. Typically, this is a committee of at least three members of the Transportation faculty and at least one faculty member who is not associated with Transportation Science.
 
DISSERTATION REQUIREMENT: [ back to top ]
Following advancement to candidacy, the dissertation is supervised by a doctoral committee ordinarily consisting of three members of the candidacy committee. The dissertation must demonstrate the student's ability to originate interesting and significant research problems, to investigate such problems both broadly and deeply, and to write scholarly material of publishable quality. Certification of the dissertation will be by the student's doctoral committee. Dissertation research units should be in the department selected by the chair of the candidacy committee (e.g., CEE 297, ECON 290, or SE 296).
 
SAMPLE Ph.D. PROGRAM: [ back to top ]
During the first year, the student must either acquire or demonstrate competence in theory areas to satisfy the core theory requirements. The number of courses appears to be substantial, but since almost all students will have had a strong background in one of the core theory areas, we expect that almost all students will be exempted from some of the first year courses by presenting evidence of satisfactory prior course work to the Director. In the second year, the student typically would branch to one of the specialty areas and complete the Replication Project. During the third year, the student would prepare a dissertation proposal and be formally advanced to candidacy. Research and completion of the dissertation would occupy the fourth year of study, culminating in the award of the Ph.D.
 
PROGRAM COURSES: [ back to top ]
UCI General Catalogue Course Descriptions are available for all Transportation Science core and specialization courses. The entire UCI General Catalogue, including program and course descriptions, is available on-line (link to the Transportation Science section).
 
CURRENT STUDENTS: [ back to top ]
All Transportation Science must meet annually with their faculty advisor or the program director to review degree requirements. Current Transportation Science students are recommended to review the UCI Graduate Studies web sites for general graduate student policies and annual updates:

The normal time for advancement to candidacy is 3 years (less if the student enters with a masters degree). The normal time for completion of all degree requirements is 5 years (less if the student enters with a masters degree). The maximum time for completion of all degree requirements is 7 years.

Last revised: 28 June 2008 http://www.transci.uci.edu/
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