Graduate Education in Transportation

Programs

Fernando Aveiga teaching a workshop in the field

Grad student Fernando Aveiga (center, in gray shirt and dark blue jeans) provides training to American supervisors and Hispanic workers as part of a research project on the Hispanic workforce.

For graduate students interested in studying transportation, Iowa State University offers the following graduate programs:

MS in Transportation (interdisciplinary)
MS in Civil Engineering
PhD in Civil Engineering

Admission requirements

Brief admission requirements for the programs listed above.
Detailed requirements for the interdisciplinary master's degree in transportation
Detailed requirements for the master's and doctoral degrees in civil engineering

Apply to Iowa State University

To apply to any of the graduate programs above, see ISU's Graduate College application web page where you may apply online, download a form, or request that a form be sent to you.

Funding graduate study

For students meeting selected criteria, CTRE offers the Carstens and Ring scholarships. CTRE also sponsors the Transportation Scholars program (see below). For information about other financial aid opportunities, see Iowa State University's Office of Student Financial Aid web site.

Transportation Scholars program

As a Transportation Scholar, you will be eligible to participate in events sponsored by the Transportation Scholars program such as conferences, seminars, and travel to regional and national conferences. The Transportation Scholars program is recognized by employers as providing valuable training for future transportation professionals, and being designated as a Transportation Scholar will enhance your employment opportunities. It requires students to work on research projects, take a semester seminar course, and participate in CTRE-sponsored student activities. Read more about the requirements for participation.

Transportation-related courses

See some of the transportation-related courses offered at Iowa State University. Several CTRE staff members are also faculty in Iowa State University's Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering and Department of Community and Regional Planning.

Students who work at CTRE

Students work at CTRE as undergraduate and graduate research assistants for a wide variety of projects. See the list of students.

Some important policies and procedures (204k *pdf) for CTRE research assistants
CTRE Student Handbook (131k *pdf), a guide to employment with CTRE

Selected student resources

Conducting research

Scientific approaches to transportation research
Overview of what research is (*pdf) (courtesy of ISU's Dept. of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies)
Designing research (*pdf) (courtesy of D. Jiles, M. Huba)
Tips on how to conduct research (*pdf)
How to search the World Wide Web
How to cite resources from the Internet
Research proposal guidelines (*pdf) (courtesy of Paul Anderson and Mary Huba, ISU College of Design)

Presenting your work

Oral presentations (*pdf) (courtesy of ISU's Dept. of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies)
Weekly oral reports (*pdf) (courtesy of D. Jiles, M. Huba)
Written monthly reports (*pdf) (courtesy of D. Jiles, M. Huba)
Final written reports (*pdf) (courtesy of D. Jiles, M. Huba)
Effective written communication (*pdf) (courtesy of ISU's Dept. of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies)

Working with others

Teamwork (*pdf) (courtesy of D. Jiles, M. Huba)
Interpersonal communication (*pdf) (courtesy of ISU's Dept. of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies)

Preparing your thesis

Tips on writing your thesis (*pdf)
A template for efficient thesis preparation (Word document)