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NCTR is located at the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida. CUTR is recognized as one of the country's Best Workplaces for Commuters^SM

The Graduate Interdisciplinary Transportation Program

The transportation problems that urban areas are facing today require interdisciplinary approaches. The University of South Florida has responded to this need by designing a unique transportation program that brings together graduate students in:
• Economics
• Civil Engineering
• Public Administration

The Graduate Interdisciplinary Transportation Program (GITP) for students in Civil Engineering, Economics, and Public Administration, welcomed its first students in Fall Semester 1995. Students accepted into the program enroll in a common set of core courses that emphasize urban transportation issues. A common body of knowledge is thereby developed among the disciplines and each student acquires expertise in all three disciplines. Students in the program also have opportunities to participate on research project teams with senior transportation faculty at the USF Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), gaining hands-on experience with local, state, and national transportation issues.

NCTR projects will provide employment opportunities for interdisciplinary program students, and the NCTR student funding initiative will include GITP students.

This interdisciplinary program provides an opportunity to involve and support non-engineering students pursuing transportation emphasis in their educational program. Public transportation is an integral part of the course material and an appropriate area to which students should be exposed. Public administrators for example, while perhaps not pursuing a career within the public transit industry, will inevitably have opportunities to be involved in public transportation policy issues in their career.

Job opportunities for graduates of this program are numerous and varied. Students with interdisciplinary skills that can be applied to today's transportation problems are eagerly sought by consulting firms, research centers, transportation agencies, and all levels of government.

The program is now being offered as a six-course certificate program, in addition to being available to students working toward master's degrees. Students with previous coursework in civil engineering, economics, or urban planning may be able to receive credit for those courses and shorten the time required to receive the certificate. The certificate program was developed for early- and mid-career transportation professionals in response to a need expressed by the profession for increased training in interdisciplinary approaches to transportation issues. The possibility of offering the program statewide through USF's distance learning delivery system is being explored. This would allow participants to take the required courses in their own community through USF's interactive technology.

Participating Departments

Civil Engineering
The Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.) is a research-oriented degree. The student defines, examines, and reports in depth on a subject area relevant to engineering as a major part of the degree requirements. The Master of Civil Engineering (M.C.E.) degree is oriented toward professional engineering practice.

Master of Science in Civil Engineering Degree = 30 Hours
Interdisciplinary core* = 17 Hours
Transportation thesis = 6 Hours
Transportation engineering electives = 7 Hours

Master in Civil Engineering Degree = 30 Hours
Interdisciplinary core* = 17 Hours
Transportation project = 3 Hours
Civil Engineering electives = 7 Hours
Transportation engineering electives = 3 Hours

Economics
The Master of Arts degree in economics offered within the College of Business Administration covers such topics as planning, programming, budgeting, cost-benefit analysis, public revenue sources, issues in fiscal federalism, models of urban growth and development, intra-urban location patterns, analysis of urban social patterns and problems, and forms of government regulation of business.

Master of Arts in Economics = 33 Hours
Interdisciplinary core* = 15 Hours
Econometrics I = 3 Hours
Econometrics II = 3 Hours
Aggregate Economics = 3 Hours
Microeconomics = 3 Hours
Economic Policy Analysis = 3 Hours

Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration offered in the college of Arts and Sciences is designed primarily to prepare students for successful leadership roles and management careers in the public sector, including agencies in local, state, or federal government, non-profit organizations, and special service districts.

Master of Public Administration** = 39 Hours
Interdisciplinary core* = 17 Hours
Environment of Public Administration = 3 Hours
Problem Report = 3 Hours
Colloquium = 1 Hour
Public Administration Theory/Practice = 3 Hours
Public Budgeting = 3 Hours
Public Personnel Management = 3
Statistics = 3
Quantitative Methods = 3

*Interdisciplinary Core = 17 Hours
Transportation Engineering = 3 Hours
Transportation Planning = 3 Hours
Urban Economics = 3 Hours
Microeconomics = 2 Hours (Waived for Economics Majors)
Policy Analysis = 3 Hours
Urban Planning = 3 Hours

Prior to taking the interdisciplinary core, all students will be expected to have a basic knowledge of statistics and quantitative methods.

**Internship may be required for pre-service students.

For further information on this program, contact Dr. Beverly Ward, Program Coordinator, at ward@cutr.eng.usf.edu, or call 813-974-9773.