Courses

Our curriculum includes required courses involving structural, geotechnical, transportation, water resources and environmental engineering, plus six hours of electives, for a total of 131 credit hours to complete the Bachelor of Science in civil engineering degree program.

Through our courses, our students learn and understand the design process for systems and components, and they will be able to perform design at a level expected of an entry-level engineer. Plus, our courses expose you to many standards and codes used in the design process.

Laboratory experience is a large chunk of our curriculum, with more than 270 class hours of planning and performing experiments, analyzing and interpreting that data, and writing lab reports. We conduct experiments using chemistry, surveying, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, hydraulics, steel, and concrete design.

Though the curriculum is mostly engineering courses, you are also required to take a number of humanities and social science courses, which contribute to your education as a citizen, but also provide opportunities to interact with other students. The multidisciplinary curriculum gives you a chance to develop a background in physical, chemical, and biological sciences for projects and design practice. Most projects, whether individual or group, require a final report that includes design drawings, technical specifications for materials and equipment, and other details — so you're ready to present to your professor in class or your boss in the office.

See the required courses in the curriculum catalog.

Senior Design Project

The senior capstone design course is CIVE 442, and all projects must fulfill academic and real-world criteria — including different aspects of civil engineering like structural, geotechnical, environmental, water resources, and transportation, while also considering economic, social, and political restrictions.

You'll have a professional civil engineer serve as your project mentor, and often these projects are created in tandem with local design firms with all of the professional expectations for completion and presentation. At the end of the semester, you'll present your project in a final presentation that should include design drawings, technical specifications for materials and equipment, and other details that make it as close as possible to a professional engineering report.

See all the courses mapped out by semester in the four-year plan for a B.S. in Civil Engineering and the four-year plan for a B.S. in Civil Engineering with Water Resources & Environmental Engineering Concentration.