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UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS OF STUDY IN ENGINEERING

	Curriculum in Civil and Environmental Engineering Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering Objectives and Outcomes Program Review and Approval Overview of the Curriculum Typical Eight Semester Schedule

For the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
Civil engineering is a profession that applies the basic principles of science in conjunction with mathematical and computational tools to solve problems associated with developing and sustaining civilized life on our planet. Civil engineering is one of the broader of the engineering disciplines both in terms of the range of problems that fall within its purview and in the range of knowledge required to solve those problems. Civil engineering works are generally one-of-a-kind projects; they are often grand in scale; and they usually require cooperation among professionals of many different disciplines. The completion of a civil engineering project involves the solution of technical problems in which uncertainty of information and myriad nontechnical factors often play a significant role. Some of the most common examples of civil engineering works include bridges, buildings, dams, airports, highways, tunnels, and water distribution systems. Civil engineers are concerned with flood control, landslides, air and water pollution, and the design of facilities to withstand earthquakes and other natural hazards.

Educational Objectives and Outcomes

The career paths available to the civil engineer are many and varied and can involve a wide range of activities, tools, situations, clients, and venues—from conceptual design of facilities that do not yet exist to forensic study of facilities that have failed to performed as expected, from advanced simulation of complex systems to the management of people and projects, and from private consulting to public service. The civil engineer must be as well prepared for a career that traverses this considerable professional breadth as for a career focused on a single professional activity. The civil engineering curriculum is designed specifically to meet this educational challenge by emphasizing fundamental knowledge, transferable skills, and lifelong learning.

The civil engineering program comprises seven main disciplines: construction engineering and management, construction materials engineering, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, environmental hydrology and hydraulics, structural engineering, and transportation engineering. Although each discipline has its own special body of knowledge and engineering tools, they all rely on the same fundamental core principles. Civil engineering projects often draw expertise from many of these disciplines.

The civil engineering curriculum is designed to develop engineers who have a strong background in mathematics and science, engineers who are articulate, and engineers who understand the nature of their special role in society and the impact of their work on the progress of civilization. The curriculum is designed to guarantee a certain breadth of knowledge of the civil engineering disciplines through a set of core courses and to ensure depth and focus in certain disciplines through primary and secondary areas of specialization. The curriculum develops the basic engineering tools necessary to solve problems in the field of civil engineering.

Program Review and Approval
To qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, each student’s academic program plan must be reviewed by a standing committee of the faculty (the Program Review Committee) and approved by the Associate Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering in charge of undergraduate programs. This review and approval process ensures that individual programs satisfy the educational objectives and all of the requirements of the civil engineering program, that those programs do not abuse the substantial degree of flexibility that is present in the curriculum, and that the career interests of each student are cultivated and served.

Monitoring and Assessment of Educational Outcomes
The faculty advisor plays an important role in the development of a student’s program of study, in monitoring the progress of the student, and in giving general advice on the role of the program in career development. The advising system in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering helps to assure that the educational objectives of the program are met to the best of the ability of each student. The department Undergraduate Advisor and the Associate Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering in charge of undergraduate programs provide assistance and information to faculty advisors and provide additional advising support for students.

Overview of the Curriculum
The curriculum requires 133 hours and is organized into required courses, math and science electives, civil engineering technical courses, and other electives. Details of the curriculum are contained in the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Handbook. A brief summary of the program follows:

1. Required Courses The required courses establish the fundamental knowledge in mathematics, physics, and chemistry required for the study of civil engineering. The required courses also include instruction in written communication, graphical communication, and computation, as well as planning of and uncertainty in civil engineering systems. Required courses total 68 hours.
	HOURS ORIENTATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT	Hours
	CEE 195—About Civil Engineering CEE 495—Professional Practice ENG 100—Engineering Lecture (freshmen only) ENG 300—Engineering Transfer Lecture (transfer students only)	0 hrs 0 hrs 0 hrs 0 hrs

	Mathematics (16 hours)	Hours
	MATH 221—Calculus I MATH 225—Introductory Matrix Theory MATH 231—Calculus II MATH 241—Calculus III MATH 385—Intro Differential Equations	4 hrs 2 hrs 3 hrs 4 hrs 3 hrs

	Basic Sciences (20 hours)	Hours
	CHEM 102—General Chemistry I CHEM 104—General Chemistry II CHEM 103—General Chemistry Lab I (take with CHEM 102) CHEM 105—General Chemistry Lab II (take with CHEM 104) PHYS 211—Univ Physics, Mechanics PHYS 212—Univ Physics, Elec & Mag PHYS 213—Univ Physics, Thermal Physics PHYS 214—Univ Physics, Quantum Phys	3 hrs 3 hrs 1 hrs 1 hrs 4 hrs 4 hrs 2 hrs 2 hrs

	Applied Mechanics (13 hours)	Hours
	TAM 211—Statics TAM 212—Introductory Dynamics TAM 251—Introductory Solid Mechanics TAM 335—Introductory Fluid Mechanics	3 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs 4 hrs

	Written Communications (7 hours)	Hours
	BTW 261—Principles Tech Comm RHET 105—Principles of Composition	3 hrs 4 hrs

	Fundamental Engineering Principles and Tools (12 hours)	Hours
	GE 101—Engineering Graphics & Design CS 101—Intro to Computing, Eng & Sci CEE 201—Systems Engrg & Economics CEE 202—Engineering Risk & Uncertainty	3 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs

2. Mathematics, Basic Science, and Engineering Science Electives Each student must select at least 6 credit hours of elective courses in mathematics, basic science, or engineering sciences. These electives allow the student either to gain additional depth in math or science or to gain breadth in math or science essential to specialization in one of the branches of civil engineering (e.g., organic chemistry is important to environmental engineering but is not contained within the required science courses). Courses acceptable within this program requirement are specified in the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Handbook.

3. Civil Engineering Technical Program The civil engineering technical program is designed to give each student a broad background in the disciplines of civil engineering through the core courses and to allow each student to develop a focused program through advanced technical electives in chosen primary and secondary areas of emphasis. The fundamental principles of civil engineering design and the behavior of civil engineering systems are emphasized throughout the program. Required courses total 35 hours. Civil Engineering Core Courses Take five courses, at least 15 hours, from the following list. Required and recommended core courses for the primary and secondary areas of emphasis are listed in the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Handbook.

	Civil Engineering Core Courses (take five courses, at least 15 hours)	Hours
	CEE 300—Behavior of Materials CEE 310—Transportation Engineering CEE 320—Construction Engineering CEE 330—Environmental Engineering CEE 350—Water Resources Engineering CEE 360—Structural Engineering CEE 380—Geotechnical Engineering	4 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs

Advanced Technical Electives

	Primary Area of emphasis
	Take at least 12 hours. The courses in the primary area of emphasis are chosen to be an appropriate program of study within one of the seven disciplines of civil engineering. Preapproved programs in each of the areas are listed in the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Handbook. Deviations from the preapproved programs are possible, but are subject to the program review process.

	Secondary Area of emphasis
	Take at least 6 hours. The courses in the secondary area of emphasis are chosen to complement the primary area and add breadth to the program of study. Preapproved secondary programs are listed in the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Handbook. Secondary programs outside of civil engineering are possible but are subject to the program review process.

Engineering Design Requirements for the Technical Program
The courses selected in the technical program must contain at least 16 hours of cumulative engineering design content (including 3 hours for CEE 201 and CEE 202). Every CEE course contributes to the student’s education in engineering design. Each student must complete at least one course that has an integrated design project required to complete the course. The number of hours of design content in each course and a list of courses that meet the integrated design requirement are detailed in the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Handbook.

4. Humanities, Social Science, and Free Electives
Humanities and social science courses (18 hours) and free electives (6 hours) are selected within the general guidelines of the College of Engineering. These courses can be selected to meet the campus general education requirements. The civil engineering curriculum specifically requires that each student take ECON 102 or ECON 103. The department recommends ECON 102.

Suggested Sequence

First Year

	First Semester (14-15 total)	Hours
	CHEM 102—General Chemistry I CHEM 103—General Chemistry Lab I CEE 195—About Civil Engineering¹ ENG 100—Engineering Lecture GE 101—Engineering Graphics & Design or RHET 105—Principles of Composition² MATH 221—Calculus I3 Elective in social sciences or humanities⁴	3 hrs 1 hrs 0 hrs 0 hrs 4 hrs 3 hrs 4 hrs 3 hrs

	Second Semester (16-17 total)	Hours
	CHEM 104—General Chemistry II CHEM 105—General Chemistry Lab II MATH 225—Introductory Matrix Theory⁵ MATH 231—Calculus II PHYS 211—Univ Physics, Mechanics RHET 105—Principles of Composition or GE 101—Engineering Graphics & Design ²	3 hrs 1 hrs 2 hrs 3 hrs 4 hrs 4 hrs 3 hrs

Second Year

	First Semester (17 total)	Hours
	CS 101—Intro to Computing, Eng & Sci MATH 241—Calculus III PHYS 212—Univ Physics, Elec & Mag TAM 211—Statics Elective in social sciences or humanities⁴	3 hrs 4 hrs 4 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs

	Second Semester (16 total)	Hours
	CEE 201—Systems Engrg & Economics CEE 202—Engineering Risk & Uncertainty PHYS 213—Univ Physics, Thermal Physics PHYS 214—Univ Physics, Quantum Phys TAM 212—Introductory Dynamics TAM 251—Introductory Solid Mechanics	3 hrs 3 hrs 2 hrs 2 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs

Third Year

	First Semester (17 total)	Hours
	MATH 385—Intro Differential Equations⁶ TAM 335—Introductory Fluid Mechanics Civil engineering technical courses⁷ Mathematics, basic sciences, or engineering sciences elective⁷	3 hrs 4 hrs 7 hrs 3 hrs

	Second Semester (18 total)	Hours
	BTW 261—Principles Tech Comm Civil engineering technical courses⁷ Mathematics, basic sciences, or engineering sciences elective⁸ Electives in social sciences or humanities⁴	3 hrs 9 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs

Fourth Year

	First Semester (18 total)	Hours
	CEE 495—Professional Practice Civil engineering technical courses⁷ Electives in social sciences or humanities⁴ Free elective	0 hrs 9 hrs 6 hrs 3 hrs

	Second Semester (16 total)	Hours
	Civil engineering technical courses⁷ Elective in social sciences or humanities⁴ Free elective	10 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs

1. Offered in the fall semester only and should be taken no later than the first or second semester of enrollment in Civil Engineering.
2. RHET 105 may be taken in the first or second semester of the first year as authorized. The
alternative is GE 101.
3. MATH 220—Calculus may be substituted, with four of the five credit hours applying toward the degree. Math 220 is appropriate for students with no background in calculus.
4. Each student must satisfy the 18-hour social sciences and humanities requirements of the
College of Engineering and the campus general education requirements for social sciences and
humanities.
5. MATH 415 may be substituted for MATH 225.
6. MATH 386 may be substituted for MATH 385.
7. Civil engineering technical courses are defined as core courses and advanced technical
electives and must total 35 hours of credit. Five courses and a minimum of fifteen hours must be core courses as outlined in the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Handbook. Advanced technical electives are selected to correspond with chosen primary and secondary areas of emphasis in civil engineering as outlined in the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Handbook. A minimum of twelve and six hours must be taken for the primary and secondary areas, respectively.
8. Mathematics, basic science, and engineering science electives are selected in accord with
recommendations for the chosen primary area of emphasis in civil engineering as outlined in the
Civil Engineering Undergraduate Handbook.

You can pick up a copy of the August 2006 Undergraduate Handbook from the Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, room 1114 or view it online.

For more information contact the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering directly at:
Phone: 217/333-3812
E-mail: ugadvisor@uiuc.edu

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