Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering

Admission requirements and continued admission after your first year of study
To be considered for admission to the PhD-programme you must:
• hold at least an MScEng, MSc, MEng, or MTech degree, all with a significant research component; or
• have reached (in another manner) a standard of competence in your field of study which is deemed sufficient for this purpose by the Senate.

Within your first year of PhD studies, you must get permission to continue your registration. To get this permission you must:
• complete a formal assessment of your research proposal to the satisfaction of the Faculty Board and,
• after completing this assessment, receive the Faculty Board’s approval of your dissertation topic and supervisor(s).

Selection
Irrespective of the admission requirements above, you must be selected for the PhD programme by the home department of the relevant field of study.

Departmental form

Download and fill in the following departmental form, and submit with your application:
https://files.su.ac.za/public/postgraduate-studies/documents/2026-03/ci…

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Dept-PhD(Civil Engineering) Full Time

Evidence of written academic work
A sample of your best written work (e.g., abstract of a research component completed during your studies/ or published journal article).

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Evidence of work / Copy of thesis / Summary of research

Letter of motivation
One-page document explaining what factors are motivating you to apply for the specific programme(s) and describing what makes you a suitable candidate.

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Motivational letter / Essay

Programme composition and requirements for obtaining the PhD degree
The PhD programme comprises 360 credits of research on NQF level 10 that leads to a dissertation.
The University can award the PhD degree to you if you have, in addition to meeting the minimum registration
requirements:
• done original research in the field of engineering sciences:
o under the supervision of a supervisor; and
o to the satisfaction of the University.
• submitted a satisfactory dissertation which in the Senate’s view shows that:
o you have made a specific contribution that enriches knowledge in the particular subject area,
and
o that you have exhibited independent critical judgement.
Also note that along with the dissertation you must submit a declaration stating that the dissertation
has not already been submitted at another university for the purpose of obtaining a degree, and that
it is your own work.
• satisfactorily completed an oral examination, except in special circumstances where the Senate has
approved exemption from the oral examination; and
• submitted proof at your oral examination that you have already submitted a journal article to a
journal of acceptable standard. The article must report the research of your dissertation. If the
dissertation is classified as confidential or secret, you must submit the journal article to the
examination committee at the oral examination.
You must normally be present at your host department when the oral examination is conducted.