Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

Overview

Civil engineering, in its most elemental form, involves all the design activities that make the world habitable by mankind.  Buildings, bridges, roadways, airports, tunnels, dams, levees, transmission towers, and pipelines, amongst others, are all the result of civil engineering design.

Consequently, civil engineering is a career field with wide-ranging opportunities.  It is easy to see that the solution to almost every significant problem challenging the world today will require the creative skills and talents of a civil engineer.  Transportation and transmission networks must be developed to bring food, energy, communication and population movement to both established and developing nations.  At the same time, the world’s infrastructure is ageing and needing replacement and improvement.  As a result, today’s graduating engineer is finding job opportunities worldwide working on projects that bring a great deal of self-satisfaction and a high salary potential.

The civil engineering program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is uniquely positioned to develop civil engineers with the tools to make an impact in tomorrow’s world.  The program takes advantage of the University’s high-technology atmosphere to offer opportunities to students that might otherwise be unavailable.  ERAU’s civil engineering program brings aerospace technology down to earth.  Student’s have the ability to develop a personal program of study that envelopes timely topics such as energy conservation and green engineering, advanced materials application in civil engineering, extra terrestrial habitation design, hurricane and wind engineering, airport design and aviation network development, and many other areas of interest.

Advantages

The civil engineering program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University offers a unique learning opportunity for students wishing to pursue a degree in civil engineering.  A graduate of the program will be well situated for a successful and rewarding career in the 21^st century.  The program develops top-performing graduates through a recognition of two important factors: Tomorrow’s civil engineer must be cognizant of the use of high-technology in the civil engineering field; and the future civil engineer must be able to both lead and be a contributor in a team-work design environment.

It is important to note that ERAU’s civil engineering program is a fully accredited by ABET and provides the identical fundamental civil engineering education found at any large university.  Following the required course curriculum, a graduate will receive a solid background in four major areas of civil engineering: transportation engineering, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, and advanced civil engineering materials.  This firm fundamental background will provide the groundwork for success in any professional position or in any post-graduate educational endeavor.

Moreover, as a part of an aeronautical university, the civil engineering student at ERAU has access to courses in large spectrum of high-technology fields.  These courses involve such interesting topics as:

• Aerodynamics and wind-tunnel testing of structures;
• Space systems;
• Composite materials;
• Environmental management;
• Airline and airport operations;
• Computer applications in aerospace and aviation;
• Engineering and construction operations in space;
• Computer-aided conceptual design;
• Human factors and ergonomics;
• Vehicle dynamics;
• Clean energy systems;
• Green and sustainable engineering design;
• Global security and intelligence studies.

Small class sizes in the civil engineering program permits the introduction of “real-world” design projects, many of which are tackled in a multi-disciplinary team environment.  Through these project experiences, students are allowed to move outside the classical “textbook problems” that constitute the learning experience at most larger engineering programs.  Students are exposed to all aspects of the design task, from conception, to design, through design optimization, and finally to project presentation.  Projects are often posed as “requests for proposals,” requiring students to follow the same bid processes found in the civil engineering profession.

Requirements

Department of Civil Engineering

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