INES COURSES
In the course listings
that follow, the following codes are used to explain the course numbering
system for both new and existing courses.
Each course listed carries a four-letter
department or program prefix
Courses at the 8000 level are for doctoral
students only. The designation INES 8XXX
is for INES-specific core courses and for other current or planned courses to
be offered at the Ph.D. level as a part of the INES Ph.D. Program.
All courses numbered at the 6000 level and
offered for graduate students only (Masters and Ph.D.).
Students in the INES
Program are permitted to take courses numbered at the 6000 level (Masters and
Ph.D. students only), but they must take the majority of their courses at the
8000 level (Ph.D. students only). All
students are required to take the core, seminar and case study courses, and
doctoral dissertation research. The INES
courses are listed and described below.
INES REQUIRED COURSES
Core Courses
INES 8XX1 Infrastructure
and Environmental Systems I (3 cr.)
INES 8XX2 Infrastructure
and Environmental Systems II (3 cr.)
INES 8XX3(*) Acquisition and Management of Scientific
Data (3 cr.)
INES 8XX4(*) Laws, Standards, Policies, and
Regulations (3 cr.)
INES 8XX5(*) Economic Principles in INES Management
(3 cr.)
Other Required Courses
INES 8XX6 INES
Case Study Course (3 cr.)
INES 8XX7 INES
Seminar Series (3 cr.)
INES 8999 Doctoral
Dissertation Research (18 cr.)
* Students are required to take one
of the three courses INES 8XX3, INES 8XX4 or INES 8XX5
INES ELECTIVE COURSES
Focus Area
Elective Courses (9-15 cr.)
Directed Study Elective Courses
(0-24 cr.)
INES Core Courses
The INES core courses
focus on basic and advanced level understanding of the principles of
infrastructure and environmental analysis, development, and management. Courses in the core emphasize environmental
analysis and assessment and the effects of the environment on infrastructure as
well as the development and management of the infrastructure and its impact on
the environment. Throughout the core courses, students will study the
configuration, dynamics and operational issues relevant to the management of a
variety of earth, civil, and industrial systems.
INES Ph.D. students
participate in interdisciplinary activities throughout their program of
study. Students begin with a set of
interdisciplinary courses that focus on fundamental aspects of the infrastructure
and the environmental systems present in all applications of INES. These common aspects are reflected in the
five core courses described below. At the midpoint of their studies, students
participate in an interdisciplinary case-study course. Throughout the program
students participate in interdisciplinary seminar courses.
INES Core Courses (9 credits)
All students must take
INES 8XX1 and INES 8XX2.
INES 8XX1 Infrastructure and Environment I (3 credits)
Principles of energy and mass transport as
applied to the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and earth systems and how
these principles impact human activities and the infrastructure. Overview
of emerging environmental issues and technologies in the areas of environmental
impact and sustainability, industrial ecology, waste utilization, and
infrastructure response. Topics
include human impacts on climate variability; geologic instability; the water
balance and atmospheric circulation at local and regional scales.
INES 8XX2 Infrastructure and Environment II (3 credits)
Overview of urban infrastructure development.
Sustainable design features for facilities including municipal, transit,
industrial, agricultural, telecommunications, and waste management. Impact of infrastructure development on
environmental management including storm water quality and quantity, soil and
channel erosion, urban air quality, sprawl, and waste production, treatment,
and storage.
Students must then take
at least one course from INES 8XX3, INES 8XX4, and INES 8XX5 depending on the
student’s background and interests and the recommendations of the student’s
doctoral committee.
INES 8XX3 Acquisition and Management of Scientific Data (3 credits)
The study of theories and techniques for acquiring and managing scientific data and
information related to the analysis, design, and management of the
infrastructure and the environment.
Includes pertinent aspects of information technology, such as data
mining and data architecture, and includes applications of GIS and non-destructive
assessment technologies to data acquisition.
INES 8XX4 Laws, Standards, Policies, and Regulations (3 credits)
The study of legal, political, and regulatory systems as they relate to the
infrastructure and the environment.
Includes local, state, national, and international
codes and standards that govern the analysis, assessment, design, and
management of infrastructure and environmental systems.
INES 8XX5 Economic Principles in Infrastructure and Environmental Systems Management (3 credits)
The study of economic concepts that affect the decision-making process in the management of
the infrastructure and the environment.
Topics include market forces, taxation, budgets, finance, and public
goods and their effects on the economic sustainability of the infrastructure
and the environment. Students will take
this class after satisfying their comprehensive examination requirement.
INES Case Studies
(3 credits)
After completion of INES
core courses, INES students, regardless of focus areas, will come together in
an interdisciplinary case-study, capstone-oriented course examining the
relationships between the infrastructure and the environment. Case studies will include examples that focus
on the Charlotte urban region.
INES Seminar Courses (3 credits)
Throughout the program, INES students, regardless of focus
areas, come together in interdisciplinary seminar courses in which they attend,
make and critique presentations and lead discussions on topics related to their
respective focus areas.
INES 8XX7 Seminar Course
Each student is required to actively participate in program seminars delivered by student researchers,
faculty and invited speakers. These seminars will be advertised to the campus
and professional communities. Participation
in these seminars will count for 3
credit hours (1 credit hour for each academic year). Prior to
graduation, each student will make at least one seminar presentation and
provide at least one formal critique of a presentation in this course.
INES Ph.D.
Dissertation Research (18 credits minimum)
After completion of the qualifying examination, each INES
student becomes eligible to enroll in doctoral dissertation research. The number of research credits taken each
semester must be approved by the student’s doctoral program committee.
ELECTIVE COURSES
It is recognized that
doctoral degree study requires advanced knowledge of issues, the breadth of
which depends on the context and objectives of the academic program. Both the
infrastructure and the environment involve broad and multi-faceted issues. The required courses (core, case studies, and
seminars) have been designed to provide the student with broad-based
understanding of such issues. Beyond the required courses, a student needs to
support doctoral research with enrollment in specialized courses related to
his/her research. For this reason, 15
credit hours have been reserved for specialized electives. The objective of
these specialized electives is to provide an opportunity for students, their
advisers, and the doctoral program committee to select a complementary set of
specialized courses intended to both focus and broaden the student’s area of
interest and research. Specialized electives within the three focus areas
(INESD, INESS, INESM) are described below.
Elective Courses
Arranged by Focus Area (15 credits
minimum)
Focus Area 1: Infrastructure and Environmental Systems Design (INESD)
The design of infrastructure
and environmental systems requires expertise in areas related to design
methodologies including plan formulation, dimensioning of structural and/or
control systems, selection of material properties, and configuration of
monitoring methodologies and approaches. Also, some basic knowledge of the
functional requirements of the facilities concerned needs to be provided to the
student.
A representative list of courses to be offered in this
focus area is shown below with the responsible department designated in
parentheses.
INES 8XXX
Special Topics (in respective
departments)
INES 8XXX
Shaping the American
City (ARCH)
INES 8XXX Appropriate
Technology& Sustainable Design Methods (ARCH)
INES 8XXX
Transportation Systems Analysis
(CEGR)
INES 8XXX
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake
Engineering (CEGR)
INES 8XXX
Advanced Waste Containment
Systems (CEGR)
INES 8XXX
Sustainable Environmental
Systems (CEGR)
INES 8XXX
Optimization of Building Systems
(CEGR)
INES 8XXX
Development of Codes and
Standards (CEGR)
INES 8XXX
Engineering Systems Integration
(EMGT)
INES 8XXX
Industrial Development (GEOG)
INES 8XXX
Site Planning and Development
(GEOG)
INES 8XXX
Urban Planning (GEOG)
Focus Area 2: Infrastructure and Environmental Systems Science (INESS)
Successful development
and operation of infrastructure, including methods and approaches to managing
the associated environmental and socio-economic impacts require baseline
spatial and temporal information on the nature of the ambient environment. This
implies that the INES student who has been exposed to critical issues and
techniques in the core courses and is interested in environmental systems and
their response to and impact upon the operation of infrastructure, needs to
deepen his/her knowledge in the methods of geological, hydrological, physical,
chemical and biological characterization of processes, materials and life
support systems within the context of environmental systems.
A representative list of courses to be offered in this
focus area is shown below with the responsible department designated in
parentheses.
INES 8XXX
Special Topics (in respective
departments)
INES 8XXX
Advanced Ecology (BIOL)
INES 8XXX
Microbiology (BIOL)
INES 8XXX
Air Quality Modeling (CEGR)
INES 8XXX
Water Quality Management and
Modeling (CEGR)
INES 8XXX
Environmental Aquatic Chemistry
(CEGR)
INES 8XXX
Advanced Analytical Chemistry (CHEM)
INES 8XXX
Advanced Energy and Environmental
Economics (PPOL/ECON)
INES 8XXX
Designed Experimentation (EMGT)
INES 8XXX
Earth System Analysis:
Biogeochemical Cycles (ESCI)
INES 8XXX
Hydrologic Processes (ESCI)
INES 8XXX
Environmental Site
Characterization (ESCI)
INES 8XXX
Advanced Soil Science (GEOL)
Focus Area 3: Infrastructure and Environmental Systems Management
(INESM)
To be able to efficiently
and effectively plan and manage infrastructure systems or environmental systems
operations, INES students need to obtain, integrate, and utilize the knowledge
in operations efficiency, effective policy development and deployment, legal
issues and government regulations, intelligent support systems for decision
making, effective environmental and/or socio-economic impact control measures,
efficient systems project management, comprehensive evaluation of system
performance, and smart systems implementation and management that includes the
consideration of facility, people, policy, technology, economics, and
procedures. The students who choose to
focus in this area of INES will obtain the expertise in effective systems
management and implementation in infrastructure system and/or environmental
system areas and will work as senior managers and/or researchers in the above
areas.
A representative list of courses to be offered in this
focus area is shown below with the responsible department designated in
parentheses.
INES 8XXX Special
Topics (in departments)
INES 8XXX. Hazardous
Waste Management (CEGR)
INES 8XXX Urban
Systems Engineering (CEGR)
INES 8XXX Benefit-Cost
Analysis (ECON)
INES 8XXX Advanced Project Management (EMGT)
INES 8XXX Legal
Issues in Engineering Management (EMGT)
INES 8XXX Engineering Systems Integration (EMGT)
INES 8XXX Urban Planning: Theory and
Practice (GEOG)
INES 8XXX Economics
of Decision-Making (MBAD)
INES 8XXX Technology-Enhanced
Decision Making (MBAD)
INES 8XXX Organizational
Leadership and Behavior I (MBAD)
INES 8XXX Qualitative
Methods in Public Policy (PPOL)
INES 8XXX Advanced
Program Evaluation (PPOL)
Directed Studies
(0-24 credits)
In recognition of the varying backgrounds, preparation,
interests, and goals, each student may complete additional elective course
credits at the 6000 and 8000 level with the consent of his/her adviser and
doctoral committee. These elective courses are defined as directed study
courses.
Independent Study
(1 - 9 credits)
At any time during the INES program, and with approval by
the student’s doctoral program committee, a student may enroll in an
independent study to pursue topics of interest to the student and the faculty.
The total number of independent study hours applied towards the INES Ph.D.
degree cannot exceed 9 credit hours.
Doctoral Residence
Graduate residence credit should only be used rarely and
if used, a student could only sign up once during his or her very last semester
prior to graduation.
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