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Civil Engineering

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This is an archived copy of the 2024-2025 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

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http://www.ccee.iastate.edu/

Administered by the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

For undergraduate curriculum in Civil Engineering leading to the degree Bachelor of Science. The Civil Engineering Program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Civil and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.

Civil engineers apply principles of motion and materials to plan, design, construct, maintain, and operate public and private facilities, while working under economic, social, and environmental constraints. Commonly included are transportation systems; bridges and buildings; water supply, pollution control, waste management, irrigation, and drainage systems; river and harbor improvements; dams and reservoirs. Civil engineering also includes planning, designing, and executing surveying operations and locating, delimiting, and delineating physical and cultural features on the earth's surface. Research, testing, sales, management, and related functions are also a part of civil engineering. Work on campus is supplemented by inspection trips, which furnish an opportunity for firsthand study of engineering systems in operation, as well as projects under construction.

Environmental engineering, as an emphasis in civil engineering, is concerned with protecting the public and natural health; providing an ample safe water supply; managing solid and hazardous waste; treating and disposing of domestic and industrial wastewaters and waste; resource recovery; providing adequate drainage of urban and rural areas for sanitation; and controlling water quality, soil contamination, and air pollution. The environmental emphasis for the civil engineering degree replaces some of the courses and electives in the general curriculum with further courses in chemistry, biology, and microbiology as well as specific topics in environmental engineering and design.

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Civil Engineering curriculum should have at the time of graduation:

  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 Educational Objectives 

By three to five years after graduation, graduates of the civil engineering program will have:

  1. Pursued successful careers and expertise in civil engineering or a related profession. 
  2. Collaborated effectively on multi-disciplinary teams to address the needs of society and the environment. 
  3. Pursued lifelong learning, professional development, and licensure as appropriate for their career goals. 

The civil engineering curriculum equips students with a broad education that includes technical skills in analysis and design and professional practices such as communication, teamwork, leadership, and ethics.

The faculty encourages the students to develop their professional skills by participating in cooperative education, internships, or progressive summer engineering employment and study abroad programs. Qualified juniors and seniors interested in graduate studies may apply to the Graduate College to concurrently pursue the bachelor's degree and either a Master of Science in Civil Engineering or a Master of Business Administration in the College of Business Administration. These students would have the opportunity to graduate in five years with both degrees.