Nov 18, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Civil Engineering, B.S.


Minimum number of credits required to graduate:  124

Minimum cumulative GPA required to graduate:  2.0

Minimum number of credits to complete the major:  100

 

School: School of Engineering and Computational Sciences

Division: Engineering

Department: Civil Engineering

Learn more about the program

 

Program Educational Objectives

Exceptional civil engineers are highly competent problem solvers who thirst for knowledge and communicate effectively. They aspire to innovate and improve infrastructure, products, and services to make the world more sustainable, safe, and resilient. We expect that alumni of our program:

  • Successfully address and resolve challenges in a professional position and/or through pursuit of a graduate or professional degree,
  • Continue to learn, develop professionally, and eventually pursue a leadership role in their chosen field, and
  • Dedicate their professional knowledge to meet the needs of their local and global communities in an ethical and innovative manner

 

Student Outcomes

Consistent with the program’s objectives, students will have:

  1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
  2. An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
  3. An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
  4. An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
  5. An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
  6. An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
  7. An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

 

Program-specific academic policies:

In order to satisfy the prerequisite requirements for any mathematics, science, or engineering courses, students must achieve a grade of “C-” or higher in the prerequisite course. (This policy applies to all students beginning the B.S.C.E. program on or after Fall 2016.)

Major Requirements


This bachelor’s degree program requires a minimum of 133 credits. Students who seek a B.S. in Civil Engineering degree must satisfy the following requirements or their equivalents as noted below. The major consists of 26 courses.

Design Electives


A minimum of three courses (12 credits) of design electives are required. Select one course each from four of the disciplines listed below.

Environmental and Water Resources Engineering


Transportation and Development


Mathematics


Complete the following five required courses:

Basic Sciences Requirement


Complete the following three required courses:

Science/Math Required Elective


Choose one course from the following (or as approved by the Department of Civil Engineering):

Engineering Communications


Complete the following required course (or an approved equivalent):

Computer Programming


Complete the following required course (or an approved equivalent):

Engineering Science


Complete the following three required courses:

Technical Elective


Choose at least one course (4 credits) in a technical area that supports and/or expands the student’s interest in engineering. The choice of course must be approved by the student’s advisor. Courses that meet the open CE engineering elective or the science/math elective typically also meet the technical elective requirement.  No “double dipping” is allowed, however.

Experiential Learning Component


The Department of Civil Engineering requires that in order to graduate, all students must fulfill the experiential learning graduation component by earning 100 points in the School of Engineering and Computational Sciences (ECS) Experiential Learning Curriculum. Students earn points by registering for relevant courses and participating in experiences beyond the classroom that help educate and progress their personal and professional selves. Each of these experiences will be judged by the department for a point value. Point values are assigned based on the experience’s length and overall impact.

Fundamentals of Engineering Exam


Students must register for and take the Fundamentals of Engineering examination, administered by the National Council of Engineering Examiners, in order to graduate.

Notes

1.        Limited course substitutions for those listed above are permitted for students who have sound educational plans that, in the judgment of the department, justify the substitutions.

2.        Students must register for and take the Fundamentals of Engineering examination.