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BS in Civil Engineering

Curriculum

The undergraduate civil engineering program provides a broad-based civil and environmental engineering education that builds off the Tickle College of Engineering’s engage Engineering Fundamentals Program. Courses in each of the major areas of civil and environmental engineering are offered at the junior and senior level. Through technical electives, students can gain a greater depth of knowledge in specializations of interest. Students desiring an even greater depth of knowledge in an area will typically pursue a master’s degree.

For current civil engineering course descriptions and requirements, visit the UT Undergraduate Catalog.


Concentrations

The courses of instruction in construction provide a basic understanding of the process needed to construct buildings, highways, bridges, and other structures. Special emphasis is placed on the efficient management of people, materials, and equipment. Graduates of this program are qualified for entry-level management positions in the construction industry, the nation’s largest employer.

The undergraduate courses in environmental engineering emphasize the design, construction, and management aspects of the discipline, focusing on the provision of safe drinking water in adequate quantities, the proper treatment and disposal of wastes, and the assurance of clean air, soil, and water.

The undergraduate courses in geotechnical and materials (natural and advanced) engineering cover principles of soil mechanics, design of shallow foundations, shear strength of soils, soil-structure interactions, and materials of construction. Some of the courses emphasize the importance of laboratory testing to the understanding of engineering behavior of soils and construction materials by offering students hands-on experience.

Structural engineers design buildings and bridges. They are concerned with the many forces that act on these structures, such as trucks, wind, snow, and earthquakes.

The undergraduate courses in transportation offer a wide range of topics covering design, analysis, and the planning/management aspects of constructing and maintaining transportation facilities and services.

The water resources undergraduate courses provides a basic understanding and the necessary tools for managing water to meet our local, state, regional, and national needs. Topics include drainage, urban water and groundwater management, dam design and safety, erosion and sediment control, stormwater modeling, and open channel flow.

Academic Requirements

Students are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 in all civil and environmental engineering courses that are taken at UT and used to satisfy graduation requirements.

No more than four credit hours of civil and environmental engineering courses in which a C- or lower is the highest grade earned may be counted toward graduation. This condition is not applied civil and environmental engineering courses applied to technical elective course requirements. Students must earn a grade of C or better in all courses within their two selected concentrations.

Minors

A minor is not required, but several relevant minors are available. Consult the current undergraduate catalog for minor requirements.

Technical Electives

The following table contains a list of suggested civil engineering technical electives.  All 400-500 level Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering courses can be applied towards technical electives.

Concentration Example Civil/Technical Electives
Construction CE 581, CE 582, CE 583, CE 584
Environmental CE 485, CE 495, Chem 330, Chem 210, Chem 260/268, Envr 511, Envr 513, Geog 411
Geotechnical CE 531,CE 535; Geology 310, 330, 340, 370, and 471
Materials CE 521, CE 522, CE 525
Structures CE 462, CE 472, CE 474, CE 576
Transportation CE 551, CE 552, Geog 411
Water Resources CE 485, CE 495, ENVE 515, ENVE 516, ENVE 526, ENVE 533, CE 485, Geog 411
All Concentrations Accounting 200, EF 333, Physics 231, Physics 232, Math 251, ME 231, ME 331, MSE 201, ECE 201, COSC 102, Chem 210, Chem 260/268, EF 305

Policies

  • The technical electives may be a departmental offering, including a graduate course for undergraduate credit. A student must have a GPA of 2.75 or higher or have approval of the instructor to take a 500-level course for undergraduate credit.
  • Unless the course is specifically listed above, the course should be above the fundamental level in its topic area; first-year courses are usually not acceptable.
  • There must be a logical relationship between the course and a major interest area of the student. This category is not a place to put courses already taken which do not have a place elsewhere in the minimum degree requirements.
  • A transfer or first-degree course can be used as a technical elective if it meets these stipulations.
  • An advisor has the prerogative of requiring a student to justify the choice of a technical elective in writing, with that written note going into the student’s file.