Civil engineers plan, design, construct, and maintain public works, such as roads, bridges, and harbors. While they focus on building, they also look at the environmental impact of the structure and the structures stability in the case of environmental hazards, such as earthquakes and hurricanes.
The coursework in the department covers five different areas: environmental engineering, fluid mechanics and hydraulics, geotechnical engineering, transportation engineering, and water resources engineering. Students must gain proficiency in at least two of these areas. As they prepare for careers as civil engineers, students will learn how to do the following types of things:
- Design or supervise the construction of bridges, buildings, dams, aqueducts, sport complexes, energy complexes, irrigation and transportation systems (such as highways, canals, rapid transit lines, etc.), and more
- Develop water resources for municipal, industrial, and recreational use
- Participate in land reclamation, soil mechanics, and urban planning
- Maintain water quality through water purification and proper waste treatment
- Solve problems involving air pollution and solid and hazardous waste management
The civil engineering degree is accredited by the EAC Accreditation Commission of ABET. The job placement rate for students graduating from USUs engineering programs is extremely high.
Concurrent Bachelors/Masters Program:
The department also offers a concurrent bachelors/masters program, which allows USU engineering students to begin taking graduate classes during their senior year as an undergraduate and to complete requirements for both the bachelor's degree and the masters degree concurrently over two years.
The APE is designed to meet the qualifications of the first two years of a Baccalaureate Degree.