Civil engineering is one of the oldest disciplines of engineering. It deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like bridges, roads, canals, dams, and buildings. It is traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines including structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, materials engineering, transportation engineering, municipal and urban engineering, coastal engineering, water resources engineering and construction engineering.
Educational Objectives
The educational objectives of the Civil Engineering Program at the University of Georgia are to prepare graduates who, after five years of their professional career, have:
- Achieved a high level of expertise to create design solutions that help to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life.
- Established themselves in positions of leadership in their profession and their community.
- Continued their education through professional licensure, certification, or pursuit of a graduate degree
Civil Engineering Curriculum
The curriculum is a four-year, 130 credit hour degree program with courses in the basic sciences, the engineering sciences and design, and the social sciences and humanities.
The basic civil engineering curriculum is comprised of:
- A general education component that provides an understanding of the basic sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts;
- A mathematics component that provides quantitative skills needed to measure, estimate, model and simulate
- An engineering science component that provides skills needed to synthesize scientific knowledge with engineering applications; and
- An engineering design component that provides knowledge of the systematic process for developing new and innovative systems and technologies that support societal needs through sustainable systems.
The program is designed to:
- Emphasize geotechnical, hydraulic, structural systems, infrastructure and urban planning while excluding programs in transportation engineering.
- Supplement and complement other existing engineering programs at UGA,
- Provide a well-rounded engineering education experience to students by offering rigorous technical training balanced within a world-class liberal arts environment;
- Provide students the skills, knowledge and attitude to utilize economically the forces of nature for the well-being of humanity while addressing global and environmental concerns, and material scarcity for an ever expanding population;
- Serve the needs of local, regional and national employers; and
- Provide students with an education that contains exposure to and experience with actual problems and situations that practicing engineering professionals face in their careers.
The program will graduate students ready for successful careers as practicing engineers as well as entering graduate program.
The program will provide students with an education in engineering sciences, basic sciences, liberal arts and engineering design, and prepare them to integrate knowledge for developing new technological solutions for the increasingly complex built environment and infrastructure problems. The graduates of the program will have career opportunities in structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, sustainable infrastructure design, architectural systems, water resources engineering, solid waste management and urban systems.