Office & Contact Information

The civil engineering profession is responsible for designing, building, operating and maintaining the physical infrastructure and protecting the natural environment that together support human society in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner. The need to predict and mitigate the impact of complex human- and nature-induced stresses on large-scale, geographically-distributed systems has never been more evident than now. These challenges and inevitable societal changes result in a need to develop and adopt new technologies and improved efficiency into the infrastructure.

The Civil Engineering (BS) program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET under the commission's General Criteria and Program Criteria for Civil and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.

Students are encouraged to adhere carefully to all prerequisite requirements. The instructor is authorized to drop students from a course for which stated prerequisites have not been completed. 

Areas of Specialization

Environmental Engineering

Environmental Engineering focuses on understanding and management of physical, chemical, and biological processes in natural and engineered systems. Areas of emphasis include improvement of air, land, and water quality in the face of increasing population, expanding industrialization, and global climate change. Examples of environmental engineering include innovative analysis and design of air, water, wastewater, and solid waste treatment systems; mathematical modeling of natural and engineered systems; life cycle analysis; sampling, analysis, transport and transformation of natural and anthropogenic pollutants; and modeling of air pollutant emissions.

Suggested Advisors

H.N. Bischel, C.E. Bronner, C. D. Cappa, R. Corsi,  A. Kendall, M.J. Kleeman, F.J. Loge, J. Pena, S.G. Schladow, T.M. Young

Geotechnical Engineering

Geotechnical Engineering encompasses civil infrastructure and environmental problems that require characterization and utilization of geologic materials (soils and rocks) to develop, design, analyze and model engineered solutions. This includes, but is not limited to, foundations for buildings and bridges retaining structures, earthwork (e.g. dams, tunnels, highways), pavements, effects of earthquakes and other natural hazards (e.g. ground motions, liquefaction, soil-structure interaction, landslides, tsunamis), ground improvement methods (e.g. compaction, cement mixing), and geo-environmental problems (e.g. groundwater flow, subsurface contaminant transport and remediation).

Suggested Advisors

J.T. DeJong, M.H. Gardner, J.T. Harvey, B. Jeremic, A. Martinez, K. Ziotopoulou 

Structural Engineering & Structural Mechanics

Structural Engineering addresses the conception, design, analysis, construction, retrofit and modeling of all types of civil infrastructure, including buildings and bridges, dams, ports, highways, and industrial facilities subject to loadings ranging from gravity and earthquakes, to extreme environmental events, with consideration of safe, serviceable, and sustainable outcomes over the entire life-cycle. Structural Mechanics encompasses theories for solids and structures, and the associated methods of analysis, computation and materials characterization used in the practice of Structural Engineering. For both disciplines, materials of particular interest include steel, concrete, timber, advanced composites and particulate media.

Suggested Advisors

M. Barbato, J.E. Bolander, L. Cheng, J.T. Harvey, B. Jeremic, A.M. Kanvinde, S.K. Kunnath, S.A. Miller, N. Sukumar

Transportation Planning & Engineering

Transportation Engineering deals with the movement of people and goods in a manner consistent with society's environmental and socio-economic goals. Transportation engineering applies engineering, physical and mathematical sciences, economics, and behavioral social science principles to plan, analyze, design, and operate resilient and sustainable transportation systems, such as highways, transit, airfields and ports. Transportation planning involves the formulation and analysis of transportation policy, program, and project alternatives. Societal goals, budgetary constraints, socio-economic (such as safety, equity and mobility) and environmental (such as air and water quality, climate change, and clean energy) objectives, and technological feasibilities (such as vehicle, infrastructure, and information technologies) are considered.

Suggested Advisors

Y. Fan, J.T. Harvey, M.A. Jaller, A. Jenn, A. Kendall, S. Nassiri, D. Sperling, K.E. Watkins, H.M. Zhang

Water Resources Engineering

Water Resources Engineering includes hydrology, hydraulics, fluid mechanics, and water resources systems planning and design. Hydrology deals with quantifying and understanding all aspects of the hydrologic cycle, including the relationships between precipitation, runoff, groundwater, and surface water. Water quality and contaminant transport issues are linked to hydrologic conditions. Hydraulics and fluid mechanics deal with flows in pipes, open-channel water-distribution systems, and natural systems, such as lakes and estuaries. Water resources systems planning and design deals with the comprehensive development of water resources to meet the multiple needs of industry, agriculture, municipalities, recreation, and other activities.

Suggested Advisors

F.A. Bombardelli, A.L. Forrest, J.D. Herman, M.L. Kavvas,  V.L. Morales, H.J. Oldroyd, S.G. Schladow, B.A. Younis

Additional information on areas of specialization and potential faculty advisors can be obtained from the departmental website.

The major requirements below are in addition to meeting University Degree Requirements & College Degree Requirements; unless otherwise noted. The minimum number of units required for the Civil Engineering Bachelor of Science is 150.

¹

ECI 003 is designed for lower division students and is not open to upper division students; students who do not take this course will substitute 4 units of additional letter graded upper division Civil & Environmental Engineering (ECI) coursework; see Civil & Environmental Engineering Electives.

²

May include ENG 102 or ENG 105. If both ENG 102 and ENG 105 are completed, 4 units will be considered towards the ECI electives. Also can include, but not exceed, a combination of 6 units from ECI 198 and ECI 199. A maximum of 4 units of upper-division coursework outside of Civil & Environmental Engineering may be considered on a petition basis. Please consult with the undergraduate staff advisor.

³

If ECI 003 was not completed in the Lower Division requirements, 20 units of electives are required.