Undergraduate Program
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
The Field
Civil Engineers design and construct facilities that we use every day - roadways, drinking water treatment plants, tunnels, subways, buildings, solid waste landfills, bridges, wastewater treatment plants, canals and waterways, water supply pipe networks, railroads, dams and reservoirs, and even ski lifts and amusement rides. They analyze and solve problems of water, land and air pollution and oversee the operation of water supply, pollution control and hazardous waste control facilities. Civil Engineers participate in city planning and in planning the uses of natural systems, river basins and other public areas. They perform reliability and economic feasibility studies to insure safe and economically efficient outcomes. Using satellite images and global positioning systems. they survey and monitor the environment and assist in overall resource planning and management.
The field of Civil Engineering is quite broad and encompasses a variety of inter-related disciplines; structural engineering, environmental engineering, hydraulics, transportation, water resources, 
geotechnical engineering, construction and surveying. Two large projects in Massachusetts illustrate how the various disciplines in the Civil Engineering field interact and contribute to different aspects of an effort. The first is construction of the Central Artery and Third Harbor Tunnel in Boston. Geotechnical, transportation, structural, and hydraulic engineers all contribute to the planning, design and construction of these two large civil engineering projects. The second large effort in the state involves water supply and wastewater collection and treatment. The water supply system has reliably provided drinking water to Boston and its surrounding communities since construction of Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930s. There are, however, a new host of challenges with the implementation of new federal regulations to insure that biological and chemical contaminants do not reach household taps. To prevent pollution of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay, a massive state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant was designed by environmental engineers and is currently being constructed by civil engineers. An outfall pipe to disperse the treated wastewater was designed and constructed by hydraulic, geotechnical and construction engineers.
The Major
The Civil Engineering curriculum has been designed by the faculty to prepare students to enter the profession directly upon graduation or to receive further specialized training at the graduate level. The curriculum is broad and students are required to take Civil Engineering courses in several areas of the field including surveying, construction, materials, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, transportation engineering, hydraulics, and environmental engineering. By stressing the fundamentals, the curriculum prepares the graduate for lifelong learning.
In the first three semesters, students take several courses in mathematics and the basic sciences which prepare them for subsequent classes in which fundamental engineering principles are learned. These principles are then applied to the design of civil engineering facilities starting in the sophomore year. All students are required to take the equivalent of at least 20 credit hours of design to qualify for graduation. The design experience culminates in the senior year with a professional problems design course in which design fundamentals learned in earlier courses are integrated into a design project. Each student is assigned to a faculty member who serves as his or her academic adviser.
Students are required to take two writing courses and must prepare laboratory reports on a word processor augmented by spreadsheet and graphics software. Students make oral presentations in the senior-level design course in which engineering ethics are also discussed.
For Current Students
Student Handbook- contains information on the program, department, and academic policies. Very important reading for new students!
Curriculum (for the Class of 2010 and beyond)
Blank flowchart (for the Class of 2010 and beyond)
List of courses with prerequisites
List of Engineering Science and Engineering Design credits for elective courses
Courses offered by the department
Honors Program - Information on the Commonwealth College Honors Program, including requirements and application process
Honors Program Checklist
Scholarships- Information on Scholarships offered and the application process
Office of the Undergraduate Registrar
Undergraduate Admissions
