Bachelor of Civil Engineering at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Website:  https://cee.unl.edu/

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers a complete undergraduate program to students on the Lincoln and Omaha campuses of the University of Nebraska. Curriculum requirements are nearly identical on both campuses. The goal is to prepare students for entry into the civil engineering profession immediately after graduation or to pursue graduate-level studies.

The general educational objectives of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln civil engineering undergraduate program are to prepare our graduates so that, with a University of Nebraska–Lincoln BSCE degree, a few years beyond graduation, alumni will:

• Be employed in civil and environmental engineering or a closely related field; or, graduates will be pursuing an advanced degree in civil and environmental engineering or a closely related field.
• Contribute to society and address societal and environmental needs through engagement in professional, community, or service organizations.
• Agree that the civil engineering program prepared them for success in their careers in terms of knowledge and skillsets as embodied in the program and the Complete Engineer Initiative.

As a professional discipline, civil engineering is closely related to the total human environment. In all professional endeavors, the civil engineer must consider ecological effects as well as the social, economic, and political needs of people. The civil engineer designs systems to control and manage our water resources to provide electric power, agricultural irrigation, flood control, recreation, water supplies, and wastewater treatment systems for our urban and industrial needs.

The civil engineer plans, designs, and constructs our transportation systems–including highways, railroads, waterways, and airports–to connect rural, urban, and industrial areas. The civil engineer also designs and constructs housing and facilities for recreational, industrial, and commercial complexes, which comprise the urban environment. It is the responsibility of civil engineering to minimize air, water, and land pollution and protect the environment.

Instructional emphasis is placed on fundamental engineering principles derived from mathematics, chemistry, physics, and engineering science. These subjects provide a sound background for the subsequent introductory courses in environmental, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources engineering. Students are introduced to design concepts in their freshman year. Design is incorporated throughout the curriculum that culminates in two senior-level courses, CIVE 401 Civil Engineering Design I and CIVE 402 Civil Engineering Design II.

Instructional laboratories in environmental engineering, hydraulics, geotechnical engineering, structures, and surveying provide each student with an opportunity to learn, through individual participation, the operation of the testing equipment used to establish engineering design criteria and to monitor and model engineering facilities such as water and wastewater treatment plants, river control systems, and structural systems.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering also offers a major and a minor in Environmental Engineering.

Pre-professionally admitted College of Engineering students majoring in civil engineering must have their academic records reviewed for professional admission to the Civil Engineering Degree Program during the fall, spring, or summer immediately following the term in which:
 

Graduates of the civil engineering program will have:

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.

The above student outcomes have been approved by the ABET Engineering Area Delegation for use beginning with the 2019-20 academic year, and have been adopted by the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.