Stability Analysis of Geotextile Encased Sand Columns By Shaymaa Kadhim B.S., the University of Technology, Baghdad – Iraq, 2004 M.Sc., the University of Technology, Baghdad – Iraq, 2007 Submitted to the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ________________________________ Chairperson Dr. Robert L. Parsons ________________________________ Co-chairperson Dr. Jie Han Committee members ________________________________ Dr. Anil Misra _______________________________ Dr. Steven D. Schrock ________________________________ Prof. Chad R. Kraus Date Defended: May 20 th , 2016