PhD Opportunities in Structural Engineering in United States

Washington State University is seeking a fully funded MS or PhD graduate student to join the Structural Engineering research group in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Pullman, Washington, beginning in Summer/Fall 2027. The research is part of a multi-year project on hybrid structural systems, with emphasis on timber-concrete composite (TCC) floors. The work will combine structural analytical modeling, finite element analysis, and full-scale experimental testing of TCC sla...

PhD opportunity in civil engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology with research at the intersection of concrete materials and structural concrete . The group is looking for highly motivated U.S. citizen applicants with a B.S. or M.S. degree in civil/structural engineering or a related field; an M.S. is preferred . Relevant experience in the behavior and mechanics of structural concrete , characterization of fresh and hardened properties of novel concrete materials , and experimental t...

Two fully funded PhD positions are available at The Pennsylvania State University in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Architectural Engineering . The openings are with Dr. Botong Zheng and focus on experimental materials and experimental structures . Research directions include developing, fabricating, and testing advanced materials; studying how material properties and processing affect mechanical performance; and designing and running structural experiments with instrume...

Botong Zheng, Assistant Professor at Penn State University, is recruiting two fully funded PhD students to join his research group at Penn State, University Park , starting in Spring 2027 . One opening is in experimental materials research and the other is in experimental structural research . The positions emphasize hands-on experimental work and simulations , making them a strong fit for students interested in structural engineering, materials science, and related research areas. This is a PhD...

Fully funded PhD opportunity at the University of South Carolina for Spring 2027 in Civil Engineering , with a strong focus on Structural Engineering , Bridge Engineering , Materials Science , FRP , and Concrete . The project is led by Dr. Fabio Matta and involves research on corrosion-free FRP-reinforced concrete bridge decks . The position is described as a PhD student / Graduate Research Assistant role and includes collaboration with Clemson University , with support from SCDOT and FHWA . Fun...

PhD opportunity in Civil Engineering and Materials Science at Georgia Southern University (United States), with a research focus on sustainable, resilient, and innovative infrastructure materials . Dr. Thien Tran is seeking a motivated PhD student to join the research group. The post highlights a fully funded PhD and points to an attached flyer for the detailed research areas, funding package, qualifications, and application instructions. This opportunity is especially relevant for students inte...

Penn State University is advertising two fully funded PhD opportunities in structural engineering , with a research focus on timber structures , mass timber structural systems , and the development of new wood products . The positions are based in Tyler Hull’s lab at Penn State and involve a mix of experimental testing , numerical simulations , and the design of wood structural systems . This is a strong fit for students interested in civil/structural engineering, timber engineering, wood scienc...

Fully funded PhD position at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering with Dr. Chenzhi Ma . The project sits at the intersection of structural fire engineering , multi-hazard resilience , and AI-enhanced risk analysis . Research topics include structures and advanced materials in fire, wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire risk , community-scale risk assessment, probabilistic loss analysis, and life-cycle analysis. Applicants should have a BS or MS ...

Dr. Pangil Choi is recruiting motivated PhD students to join his research group in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at Texas Tech University. The group works on Civil Engineering topics related to concrete pavement construction and design , pavement performance data collection and analysis , field instrumentation , forensic evaluation of concrete pavements , and finite element analysis of pavement structures . This is a fully funded PhD opportunity. Applicants...