North Dakota State University

Program Description 

North Dakota State University offers an interdisciplinary program leading to a Master of Science in Transportation and Urban Systems (M.S.), a Master of Transportation and Urban Systems (MTUS) and a Certificate in Transportation and Urban Systems. The program is a collaborative effort of four colleges and includes faculty from Agribusiness & Applied Economics; Civil Engineering; Computer Science and Operations Research; Emergency Management; Industrial Engineering; Management, Marketing & Finance; and the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute. 

Master of Science (M.S.) in Transportation & Urban Systems

This degree focuses on: (1) urban transportation systems;(2) relationships between transportation, land use, environment, emergency response, and logistical delivery systems; (3) coordinated planning, operations, and security; and (4) the spatial dimensions of urban systems. The curriculum is built around the topics of: public transportation systems, geographic information systems, freight transportation and logistical delivery systems, urban geography and land use, the environmental impacts of transportation systems, transportation systems security, and the sustainability of transportation and urban systems. Because the M.S. degree requires a thesis, it is targeted at students with strong research interests. 

Master of Transportation & Urban Systems (MTUS)

This is a non-disquisition degree that is primarily intended for professional planners and engineers. Students in the M.S. and MTUS programs can select from a common set of courses. However, students enrolled in the non-disquisition (MTUS) program have more opportunities for synthesis of practice and additional course work, with less emphasis on research. 

Certificate in Transportation & Urban Systems

The certificate in Transportation & Urban Systems is primarily targeted at practicing professionals who are unable to study in residency, but who wish to gain additional knowledge in the emerging fields of transportation and urban systems. The certificate requires a minimum of 9 course credits that can be selected from a list of on-line courses, including: Transportation Systems Security, Transportation Planning and Environmental Compliance, Transportation System Modeling, Urban Transportation Systems Analysis, Context Sensitive Solutions, and Public Transportation. 

Admission Requirements

The Transportation and Urban Systems master’s program is open to qualified graduates of universities and colleges of recognized standing. In addition to the Graduate School admission requirements,  the applicant must have adequate preparation in one or more of the disciplines comprising Transportation and Logistics (see below) and have a stated interest in transportation and the capability to conduct transportation research and have professional experience or interests in community practice. 

Students will be accepted from many disciplinary backgrounds, including (but not limited to): architecture, business, civil engineering, environmental engineering or science, geography, government, political science, sociology, and urban affairs. However, acceptance is on an individualized basis. 

Master of Science Degree Requirements

A minimum of 30 credits is required for the degree. At least 16 of these credits must be completed using approved courses numbered from 601-689, 691, 700-789. All students must take a final examination which covers the course work taken by the candidate, as well as the thesis topic. 

Each thesis will contribute new models or knowledge. The former may be achieved through the synthesis of several techniques, the modification of existing models, or new applications of analytical techniques to transportation/urban problems. The latter may be accomplished through the collection and analysis of original data or the development of innovative planning techniques. Each thesis must be of sufficient depth and quality to warrant at least 6 graduate credits. However, no more than 10 credits can be earned for any thesis. 

Master of Transportation & Urban Systems Degree Requirements

The Master of Transportation & Urban Systems degree will be a non-thesis degree. However, each student must complete a creative component – which can be a case study, practicum, or paper. In the creative component, a student may develop a case study of a metropolitan region, transit system, or public program. Case studies may include: (1) comprehensive transportation planning processes in metropolitan areas, (2) urban transit systems or operations, (3) emergency or disaster response case studies or plans, (4) security programs or issues, and (5) integrated transportation/environmental plans. The case study must be approved by the student’s supervisory committee, and should involve transportation and community professionals from federal, state, or local agencies, or private industries. In lieu of a case study, the supervisory committee may approve other activities or outcomes that would comprise the creative component. 

A minimum of 30 credits is required for the Master of Transportation & Urban Systems degree. At least 21 of these credits must be completed using approved courses numbered from 601-689, 691, 700-789, and 791. A maximum of 4 credits will be awarded for the creative component. 

Certificate Requirements

The certificate in Transportation & Urban Systems will consist of a minimum of 9 course credits selected from the list of on-line courses. At present, this list includes: TL 751 Transportation Systems Security, TL 752 Transportation Planning and Environmental Compliance, TL 753 Transportation System Modeling, TL 754 Urban Transportation Systems Analysis, TL 755 Context Sensitive Solutions, TL756 Transportation Systems Laboratory and TL 786 Public Transportation. Additional courses may be offered on line in future years. 

Program Requirements

Requirements for the degree will be met by each student formulating their plan of study utilizing the following courses as required. 

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Canan Bilen-Green, Ph.D.
University of Wyoming, 1998
Research Interests: vQuality and Reliability Engineering, Design and Auditing of Quality and Productivity Monitoring Systems, Statistical Modeling and Applications, Applied Operations Research
Department: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

John Bitzan, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1997
Research Interests: Transportation Economics
Department: Management, Marketing and Finance

Jarret Brachman, Ph.D.
University of Delaware, 2006
Research Interests: Al-Qaida Strategy, Counterterrorism, Transportation Security

Robert Hearne, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota, 1995
Research Interests: Natural Resource and Environmental Economics
Department: Agribusiness and Applied Economics

Siew Hoon Lim, Ph.D.
University of Georgia, 2005
Research Interests: Production Economics, Transportation, Industrial Organization
Department: Agribusiness and Applied Economics

Jill Hough, Ph.D.
University of California-Davis, 2007
Research Interests: Public Transportation, Travel Behavior, Built Environment, Accessibility and Mobility of Seniors
Department: UGPTI

Won Koo, Ph.D.
Iowa State University, 1974
Research Interests: International Trade
Department: Agribusiness and Applied Economics

Brenda Lantz, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University, 2006
Research Interests: Commercial vehicle safety systems and analysis, supply chain, intelligent transportation systems for commercial vehicle operations, and statistical modeling and diagnostics.
Department: UGPTI

Subhro Mitra, Ph.D., P.E.
North Dakota State University, 2007
Research Interests: Freight Travel Demand modeling, Urban Travel Demand Modeling, Asset Management and Life-Cycle Cost Study Optimizing Logistics Network, Economic Appraisal of Infrastructure Investment

Peter O'Dour, Ph.D.
University of Missouri-Rolla, 2004
Research Interests: GIS, Groundwater contamination, Remote sensing
Department: Geosciences

Joseph Szmerekovsky, Ph.D.
Case Western Reserve University, 2003
Research Interests: Project management and scheduling, Complex systems and flexible manufacturing and using linear and nonlinear dynamic and integer programming and network flows
Department: Management, Marketing and Finance

Denver D. Tolliver, Ph.D.
Virginia Polytechnic University, 1989
Research Interests: Transportation Systems Planning, Freight Transportation, Economic Analysis
Department: UGPTI

Rodney D. Traub, Ph.D.
Purdue University, 1994
Field: Operations Management
Department: Management, Marketing, and Finance

Kim Vachal, Ph.D.
George Mason University, 2005
Research Interests: Policy, Economics, Regional Development
Department: UGPTI

Amiy Varma, Ph.D.
Purdue University, 1993
Research Interests: Transportation Systems and Planning, Traffic Engineering, Airports, and Infrastructure Management
Department: Civil Engineering

Nadim Wehbe, Ph.D.
University of Nevada, Reno, 1997
Research Interests: Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Structures, Bridge Engineering, Earthquake-Resistant Bridges, Advanced Composites
Department: South Dakota State University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

David L. Wells, Ph.D.
University of Missouri-Rolla, 1996
Research Interests: International Studies in Manufacturing Technology, Strategic Management, Economic Development Strategies
Department: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

William W. Wilson, Ph.D.
University of Manitoba, 1980
Research Interests: Commodity Marketing, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization
Department: Agribusiness and Applied Economics

Frank Yazdani, Ph.D., PE
University of New Mexico, 1987
Research Interests: Structural Engineering/Mechanics, Constitutive Modeling of Materials, Damage Mechanics, Plasticity, Computational Plasticity, Finite Elements, Concrete and Masonry Materials
Department: Civil Engineering

Jun Zhang, Ph.D.
Purdue University, 2006
Research Interests: Supply Chain Management, Models and Methodologies of Stochastic Optimization, Lean Manufacturing and Logistics, Healthcare Engineering, Scheduling
Department: Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering