Transportation Engineering (TRE)

Industrialization and population growth have tremendous impacts on the movement of people and goods. Every day, movement is hampered by congestion, insufficiency of public transport facilities, traffic accidents, and other conditions. Moreover, as manufacturing expands globally, businesses want to reduce transportation costs by limiting the number of distribution nodes. Concerns over congestion on highways, increasing pollution and hazardous materials all emphasize the need to effectively maximize transportation systems. Thus, the issue of transportation is obviously crucial, not only now but in the future.

The Transportation Engineering field exposes students to the process of alleviating transportation problems. The coursework and research in the area provide advanced knowledge in transportation planning and economics, traffic engineering, and the design of highways/pavements and other transportation facilities. Transportation Engineering students acquire advanced skills concerning the planning, design, operations, maintenance, rehabilitation, performance, and evaluation of transportation systems, including their economic and public policy aspects.

The field imbibes in each student the development of analytic, problem-solving, design, and management skills suitable for public and private sector professional work.

Areas of Specialization

TRE offers two areas of specialization, (a) Planning and Engineering and (b) Highways and Pavements.

Depending upon individual choice and interests, students may freely select courses such that they receive training either in Planning & Engineering or Highways & Pavements. Under Planning & Engineering, students are trained on planning and logistics as well as traffic and safety. Among other topics, they are immersed in issues relating to transportation systems, urban/regional transportation analysis and planning methods, airport planning & design, and traffic engineering.

Students gearing for specialization in Highways & Pavements take courses in design and operation as well as in management systems and maintenance. They are skilled in geometric design and highway safety, design/performance of highways and airport pavement as well as pavement management systems.

Current research in Transportation Engineering covers transportation planning and economics, traffic engineering, traffic safety, and the design of highways and pavements.

TRE field gives students an opportunity to explore the technological, safety, political/economic, and energy/environment dimensions of Transportation Engineering. In enhancing a holistic approach, they undertake courses such as Urban/Regional Transportation Analysis and Planning Methods, Airport Planning & Design, Design and Performance of Highway and Airport Pavement, Transportation Policy and Environmental Limits, and Planning for Traffic Safety and Injury Prevention. Coursework in other fields broadens students’ knowledge. Highly recommended are engineering mathematics, fundamentals of soil engineering, geographic information systems in civil engineering, and construction planning and scheduling.

In offering opportunity and choice, students can design their own study programs according to their inclinations and future career objectives. In addition to the courses specified below, students, under the guidance of their academic advisors, can select courses from a wide range of electives from other fields/schools as part of an approved study plan.

For the regular Doctoral degree program, an applicant must:

• Have strong academic records (both undergraduate and graduate) and normally hold a four-year bachelor's degree, and a Master's degree, preferably with a combination of course and thesis work, from an institution of good standing, acceptable to AIT. The minimum cGPA requirement for admission to the doctoral program is 3.50 or equivalent, at the Master's degree level.
• Submit a brief outline of dissertation research proposal (5-10 pages) including the required research facilities, if necessary.
• Two recommendation letters.
• English Proficiency Requirement: AIT-EET:6 or IELTS-Academic:6 (writing 6) or TOEFL Paper: 550 (writing 59-61) or TOEFL CBT: 213 (writing 25-26): TOEFL IBT: 80 (writing 21-23)

Graduates of the Transportation Engineering (TRE) program are equipped to address the complex challenges in the planning, design, and management of transportation systems. With expertise in areas like traffic engineering, highway and airport pavement design, transportation logistics, and intelligent transportation systems, they can pursue careers as transportation planners, traffic engineers, and logistics managers. Their knowledge of sustainable transportation, transportation demand modeling, and public transportation systems enables them to work in both public and private sectors, focusing on improving the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of transportation infrastructure. Employment opportunities exist in government agencies, consulting firms, construction companies, and research institutions, where they contribute to the development and maintenance of roadways, airports, rail systems, and urban transit networks.