Engineer Your Future
Civil engineers play a critical role in our modern society. From the toilet to the Eiffel Tower, civil engineers have played a major part in creating the most useful and the most grandiose structures in our lives. If you're interested in becoming a civil engineer, we've got the resources to get your career off the ground.
Civil Engineering at a Glance
- Civil engineering is considered one of the oldest engineering disciplines. It encompasses a wide variety of specialties, including structural, water resources, construction, and transportation engineering. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building, the New York subway system, and the Brooklyn Bridge are all historical feats of civil engineering. (ASCE)
- In the 18th century, the field of civil engineering began to differentiate itself from the architecture field by focusing on the civil application and problem-solving aspects of structures, rather than simply their design. (Penn State Engineering)
- The first educational institution in the United States to teach civil engineering courses was Norwich University in 1819. (Norwich University Civil Engineering)
- The civil engineering field is the largest engineering discipline, employing more than 278,000 people in the U.S. alone. (BLS)
- Employment in this field is expected to greatly outpace the national average, growing at a rate of 24 percent over the next decade. (BLS)
- The median annual salary for a civil engineer is $74,600. (BLS)
- Civil engineers working in Washington D.C. are the highest paid in the country, earning an average annual wage of $94,520. (BLS)
What You Learn: Exploring Civil Engineering Coursework
- Solid Mechanics: This topic covers the fundamental principles of solid and structural mechanics (e.g. the concepts of stress, strain, and deformation) and their application in engineering disciplines. Solid mechanics courses should be taken early on during your civil engineering education.
- Theory of Structures: Every civil engineer must possess a solid understanding of how structures work and how they resist the forces exerted on them. In basic structural engineering courses, civil engineering students cover fundamental tools and methods of structural analysis, and they utilize computers to analyze structures.
- Fluid Mechanics: A fluid mechanics course will cover the behavior and movement of fluids, including such concepts as hydrostatics, control volume analysis of flowing fluids using kinematics, continuity, energy, and momentum principles. In fluid mechanics courses, students first learn the fundamental mechanics of fluids and then move onto more complicated scenarios.
- Infrastructure Planning and Management: Civil engineers don't just build things; they are often called upon to work in the capacity of city planning and infrastructure maintenance. In these courses students gain an understanding of how to build and maintain the increasingly complex systems that support modern society.
- Geological Engineering: Civil engineers must have a firm understanding of not only what they're building, but also what they're building on . Students in engineering geology courses learn about rock mass behavior, rock-slope stability, geologic structures and engineering consequences, natural and artificial underground openings, terrain analysis and site investigation, and how to evaluate rock foundations.
- Construction Engineering: Instead of focusing on the design of structures, construction engineering courses focus on everything from construction methods and practices to equipment selection. These courses often involve field trips to local construction projects and cover the construction industry, productivity improvement, and site layout framework.
- Environmental Engineering: There are a variety of environmental engineering courses, from basic introductory courses to graduate courses in environmental design. At their core, these courses discuss the practice of interacting with and moderating our environment. They focus on the processes that govern the behavior of environmental contaminants and the engineering processes utilized to mitigate their effect, as well as the design of the systems meant to do so.
- Transportation Engineering: Transportation engineering courses vary from the basic design of transportation facilities to the design and maintenance of the systems themselves. Courses are also available on topics such as pavement engineering and transportation air pollution.
- Engineering Risk Analysis: Civil engineers must be able to determine not only how to build a structure or system, but also if existing or proposed projects are feasible and minimize risk. Courses on risk analysis apply probability theories and statistics in the assessment of the strength and viability of structures and civil engineering systems.
Profiles of Top-Ranked Civil Engineering Schools
In 2010, U.S. News & World Report ranked the top 10 civil engineering programs in the nation. Below, we have reprinted this list and included links to the top 10 programs. If you're an aspiring civil engineering student, you should definitely consider applying to at least one of these schools.
1. University of California—Berkeley
Long known for producing world-renowned physicists and computer science professionals, Cal-Berkeley also has a civil engineering department that, for the past five years, has ranked as either the first or second civil engineering program in the United States.
2. University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign
Illinois civil engineers are well known across the U.S. and around the world. They have worked on such projects as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the Hoover Dam, the New York subway, and many, many others. Additionally, due to the strong research programs at Illinois, students have access to cutting edge laboratory facilities and equipment.
3. Georgia Institute of Technology
The civil engineering program at Georgia Tech is as diverse as it is successful. It offers opportunities to pursue courses of study in disciplines ranging from structural engineering to environmental fluid mechanics and water resources. It also offers a five-year program in which students can attain both a bachelor's of science and a master's in civil engineering.
Purdue University is home to one of the fastest growing civil engineering programs in the nation. While the program's number of undergraduate students increased by 46 percent over the past two years, it has continued to maintain the same commitment to excellence that has come to be expected from Purdue.
The name Stanford has long been synonymous with quality education, and their civil engineering program is no exception. This particular program takes a unique approach to civil engineering by combining it with environmental engineering and then dividing it into three categories: atmosphere and energy; the built environment; and the water environment. Students take courses across all of these subcategories and gain a wide range of engineering knowledge that they can take into the workforce.
More than 100 years old, the civil engineering program at the University of Texas at Austin is world-renowned for producing high quality graduates. The faculty, which has members from all over the world, is second to none. In 2009 alone, faculty members won 24 awards both nationally and internationally. Under the leadership of this outstanding group of educators, Texas consistently ranks in the top 10 civil and environmental engineering programs in the country.
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hailing from another iconic institute of higher education, MIT's civil engineering program has been producing quality graduates since 1865. MIT's research program is one of the best in the world. The school's faculty is also impressive, boasting two National Academy of Science members and six National Academy of Engineering members.
A longtime leader in engineering education, the University of Michigan's civil engineering program has continued the tradition of excellence into the modern world. With an emphasis on sustainable engineering and cutting edge systems driven by a robust research program, Michigan continues to lead the way in civil engineering education.
The Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech is one of the largest engineering programs in the country. Along with its outstanding research department, the civil engineering school employs an exceptional faculty dedicated to the education of professional, knowledgeable civil engineers.
10. Carnegie Mellon
With both its civil and environmental engineering programs placing in the top 10 in the country, Carnegie Mellon is an outstanding choice for any student searching for a solid education in civil engineering. Although it is one of the smaller programs in the country, Carnegie Mellon offers unique opportunities for interdisciplinary research in areas such as green design and mechanics, materials, and computing.
Scholarships for Civil Engineering Students
- Eugene C. Figg Jr. Scholarship: The Figg scholarship is awarded to one recipient in the amount of $3,000 annually by the American Society of Civil Engineers. To apply the student must be a junior or senior in an ABET-accredited civil engineering program, and be willing to fill out the lengthy application.
- Samuel Fletcher Tapman Scholarship: Awarded annually to 12 recipients by the Student Chapter of the American Society of Professional Engineers, this scholarship is in the amount of $3,000. Applicants must be members in good standing of the ASCE student chapter, be enrolled the following semester in an ABET-accredited civil engineering undergraduate program, and be willing to fill out the application.
- B. Charles Tiney Memorial Scholarship: Also awarded by the ASCE student chapter, there are typically four recipients of this $2,000 award. In order to apply, the applicant must be a member of their local student chapter of the ASCE, be enrolled the following semester in an ABET-accredited civil engineering undergraduate program, and be willing to fill out the application.
- Association of State Dam Safety Officials Scholarship: The ASDSO scholarship is a $10,000 award for those who will be enrolled as seniors in an ABET-accredited civil engineering program. Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 in their first three years of undergraduate work, must demonstrate an interest in pursuing a career in dam-related disciplines, and must fill out the application.
- Society of Women Engineers Scholarship: Every year the Society of Women Engineers awards scholarships ranging in value from $1,000 to $10,000 to female engineering students. To apply, new college students must have at least a 3.5 grade point average and must fill out the application.
- Paul H. Robbins, P.E., Honorary Scholarship: The National Society of Professional Engineers offers this $5,000 scholarship annually to one student entering his or her junior year at an ABET-accredited engineering school. All that is required, other than being a junior in engineering school, is to fill out the application.
- Steinman Scholarship: Also administered by the NSPE, the $5,000 Steinman scholarship is awarded annually to two undergraduates entering their junior year at an ABET-accredited engineering institution. The application takes into account grade point average, an ethics essay, faculty recommendations, and extracurricular involvement.
- The Maureen L. & Howard N. Blitman, P.E., Scholarship to Promote Diversity in Engineering: This scholarship is awarded to graduating high school seniors who have been accepted to an ABET-accredited engineering school and are of African-American, Hispanic, or Native American descent. This award is given in the amount of $2,500 at the beginning of each semester during the recipient's freshman year.
- BMW/SAE Engineering Scholarship: The Society of Automotive Engineers has teamed up with BMW to create this scholarship for high school seniors in the amount of $1,500, renewable for three years for a total of $6,000. Students must pursue a degree in any engineering-related discipline, rank in the 90 th percentile in the math critical reading section of the SAT or ACT, and possess a 3.75 grade point average.
- Fred M. Young Sr. Scholarship: Also administered by the Society of Automotive Engineers, the SAT/ACT and grade point requirements of the Fred M. Young scholarship are also 90 th percentile and 3.75. It is a $1,000 award renewable for three years for students who are pursuing engineering degrees at any ABET-accredited institution.
Civil Engineering Professional Organizations and Associations
- American Society of Civil Engineers: The ASCE is the oldest society for professional engineers of any discipline in the United States. Membership dues start at $50 annually in the year you graduate from an accredited engineering school, and top out at $205 annually for those who have been out of school for more than four years. In return, members can take advantage of a myriad of benefits, ranging from networking services to insurance discounts.
- American Water Resources Association: The AWRA is a professional organization dedicated to the advancement of those in the water resources profession (a branch of civil engineering). Annual membership dues cost $100 if you are less than two years out of college, and $165 beyond that. Benefits include subscriptions to various AWRA publications, admittance to professional forums and conferences, discounts at online professional publication libraries, as well as resume listing and networking assistance.
- American Society of Highway Engineers: Designed as a forum for professionals involved in the design, construction, and maintenance of American roadways in order to broaden their knowledge and share ideas, the ASHE incorporates all professions of the highway industry. Dues vary by region, but are typically around $40 per year. ASHE members receive a subscription to the ASHE newsletter, the opportunity to attend professional conferences, the chance to apply for ASHE scholarships, and networking opportunities.
- Association for Facilities Engineering: The AFE centers around professionals engaged in the operation of facilities of all kinds, from universities and medical centers to government offices. Members receive networking opportunities, access to the AFE career center, access to AFE professional certification courses, a subscription to the AFE Facilities Engineering Journal, and various other benefits. Annual dues for a full member are $205 with a $30 new member fee.
- American Concrete Institute: With more than 20,000 members, the ACI is one of the larger civil engineering specialty organizations. It focuses on professionals who regularly utilize concrete as a building material. Members receive subscriptions to various ACI publications, access to the ACI career center, discounts on ACI convention and seminar fees, free access to ACI's continuing education program, and a myriad of other items. Dues are $124 per year if you are under 28 years of age, and $222 per year if you are older than 28.
- American Public Works Association: The APWA is a professional organization dedicated to the maintenance of high standards in the areas of public works and services. Members pay an annual fee of $141 on top of their chapter-specific dues (typically $10 to $20), and receive benefits, including access to the APWA continuing education program, discounts at conferences, and networking and job placement services.
- International Code Council: Formerly the Council of American Building Officials, the ICC is a professional association dedicated to the standardization and maintenance of safe building codes. Membership dues range from $25 for students to $100 for full-time professionals not employed by an ICC member organization. Benefits include networking; professional technical support; discounts on professional materials and publications; discounts on symposiums, seminars, and other events; and access to the ICC career center.
- American Society of Sanitary Engineering: The ASSE is an organization of sanitary engineering professionals whose aim is to advance the research and education of sanitation concepts. ASSE members receive subscriptions to the monthly ASSE newsletter and the annual ASSE meeting book, the opportunity to apply for ASSE scholarships, discounts on ASSE publications, and registration discounts at annual ASSE meetings. Dues are $25 per year for students and $85 per year for full members.
- American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association: AREMA is a conglomeration of three professional organizations concerned with the development and maintenance of railways and rail bridges. Benefits of membership include discounted registration rates at AREMA conferences and seminars, a subscription to AREMA's two monthly magazines, committee participation and access to the AREMA directory of railway professionals. The cost of membership is $20 per year for students and $150 per year for full members.
- National Society of Professional Engineers: The NSPE is the largest professional organization for engineers in the United States, encompassing people from all engineering disciplines. Because of this, NSPE is able to offer numerous benefits to its members, including various continuing education programs, a plethora of networking opportunities, and the opportunity to participate in advocacy and outreach groups. Membership dues are free for students enrolled in an ABET-accredited engineering program, and $220 annually for full members.
10 Modern Civil Engineering Wonders
Over the centuries, civil engineers have created numerous structures that have gained notoriety for their design, beauty, or simply how difficult it was to construct them. Here are some of the greatest modern achievements:
Location: Scotland
Year Built: 2002
The Falkirk Wheel is the world's first and only rotating boat lift. It serves to connect two canals—the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Union Canal—which sit at different elevations. Boats sail into the Falkirk Wheel and, as the wheel rotates, are lifted or lowered 82 feet and deposited into one of the two canals. The Falkirk Wheel is an ingenious solution to the problem of terrain elevation between waterways when traditional locks are not feasible.
Image courtesy of Contemporist.com
2. Location: China
Year Built: 2009
The Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Stretching more than a mile across the Yangtze River and rising 600 feet above the floor of the valley below, it is truly an awe inspiring feat of engineering prowess. However, many critics believe it will turn out to be an environmental disaster.
Image courtesy of BlogtheBest.com
3. The Big Dig 
Location: Boston, Mass.
Year Built: 2006
Quite possibly the largest public works project in world history, the Big Dig replaced a deteriorating six-lane elevated highway with an eight- to 10-lane underground highway in downtown Boston. The project also included two new bridges over the Charles River, extended I-90 to the Logan International Airport, and reconnected downtown Boston to the waterfront. Funding for the project was established in 1987, but completion wasn't reached until 2006. Despite the fact that it took far longer and was much more expensive than predicted, it is nonetheless an incredible engineering marvel.
Image courtesy of Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Location: France
Year Built: 2004
The Millau Viaduct in France is the tallest cable-stayed bridge in Europe, reaching 1,125 feet at its highest point, which is slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower. As the final link in the A75 expressway from Paris to Barcelona, the Millau Viaduct, spanning a 1.2-mile valley in the Mastiff Central mountain range, has established a new standard in bridging technology. Construction on the project took three years and involved nearly 500 workers.
Image courtesy of RoadTraffic-Technology.com
Location: UK and France
Year Built: 1994
The Channel Tunnel, also known as the Chunnel, links the United Kingdom and France by spanning the 32 miles of the English Channel … underground. Reaching a depth of 246 feet at its lowest point, the Channel Tunnel possesses the longest portion (24 miles) of undersea tunnel in the world. Construction began in 1988 and was completed in 1994 at a cost of $21 billion.
Image courtesy of BoGoBoo
6. Panama Canal 
Location: Panama
Year Built: 1914
Despite the fact that it has been around for nearly a century, the Panama Canal continues to inspire curiosity. Linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans at the narrowest point on the North American continent, the canal stretches for 50 miles and contains twelve locks, six in each direction. The locks serve as water lifts, raising and lowering ships. One little known fact: commercial transportation through the Panama Canal account for about 5 percent of the world trade.
Image courtesy of Panama Canal Authority
7. Delta Works 
Location: Netherlands
Year Built: 1997
Built to protect the lowest-lying areas of the Netherlands from flooding, the Delta Works consist of several lines of gates, sluices, dikes, storm surge barriers, and dams. These works can be adjusted to allow the natural ebb and flow of the sea, or to protect the low-lying communities from catastrophic flooding.
Image courtesy of 7Wonders.org
Location: Greece
Year Built: 2004
The Rion-Antirion Bridge spans the Gulf of Corinth from Rion in southern Greece to Antirion on the Greek mainland. Its suspended deck is 7,388 feet long—a length that at one time made it the world's longest cable-stayed deck in the world. It took seven years to build and a number of engineering feats were achieved during the construction, including the installation of piers on gravel beds (instead of buried into the seabed) so they can move during an earthquake.
Image courtesy of RoadTraffic-Technology.com
Location: Venice, Italy
Anticipated Completion: 2014
In 2008, nearly two meters of sea water partially submerged a portion of Venice, Italy. In response, the Italian government is building a line of 78 protective steel barriers that will rise from the seafloor whenever high tides threaten to flood the city. The construction of giant swinging barriers may not sound too impressive, but the fact that they are being constructed on the floor of the Adriatic Sea is an engineering marvel.
Image courtesy of Telegraph.co.uk
10. Toshka Project 
Location: Egypt
Anticipated Completion: 2017
The Toshka Project was born out of the need for more arable land in Egypt. There are two key elements of the Toshka Project: the Mubarak Pumping Station (which opened in 2005), and the Sheikh Zayed Canal. The goal of the project is to reclaim 500,000 acres of desert for irrigation. Since coming into service, the station has pumped more than 14 million cubic meters of water out of Lake Nasser. When the project is completed, there will be 72 kilometers of canals into which the water will be pumped. The total anticipated cost of the project is around $70 billion.
Image courtesy of Water-Technology.net
10 Famous Civil Engineers
Throughout history, civil engineers have played some of the most important roles in designing and shaping our world. Here are a few of the standouts.
Although he is best known for the Eiffel tower and the arm of the Statue of Liberty, Gustave Eiffel's complete repertoire of engineering accomplishments is much larger and varied. He designed and built dozens of bridges, railway stations, markets, viaducts, gasworks, and churches over his lifetime and his legacy is felt in dozens of countries around the world.
In 1869, Ferdinand de Lesseps accomplished one of the greatest feats of engineering in the history of the world: the building of the Suez Canal. Not only did he design it and oversee its construction, de Lesseps also was the driving force behind convincing both the French and Egyptian governments to invest in the project.
3. Henry Darcy
Darcy may not be a household name, but he is a titan in the world of hydraulics engineering. In 1856, Darcy discovered what came to be known as Darcy's Law, an equation that now has numerous applications in the study of water permeability. The unit of fluid permeability—the darcy—was even named after him.
4. Jeremiah Dixon & Charles Mason
In 1763, surveying engineers Jeremiah Dixon and Charles Mason surveyed 244 miles of land between Pennsylvania and Maryland. In doing so they created the famous Mason-Dixon line, long held to be the unofficial boundary between the northern and southern United States.
Primarily concerned with building bridges, Ammann was involved in the construction of many of the most famous bridges in the U.S. The George Washington Bridge, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the Hell's Gate Bridge, and the Ohio River Bridge all owe their existence to Ammann. He also served as a member of the three-person panel that investigated the Tacoma Narrows Bridge disaster in 1941.
Brunel, like so many civil engineers, worked on a wide range of projects. He is best known for his work that resulted in his patenting of the tunneling shield in 1818. This device allowed tunnels to be built through water bearing soil (a.k.a. underwater), a feat that had not been previously achieved.
Brindley was the first large scale canal builder. Decades before the industrial revolution, Brindley had built nearly 360 miles of canals in England, revolutionizing bulk transport and communications and setting the stage for the larger canals of the industrial era.
One of the most famous railway engineers of the 19 th century, Brassey designed and oversaw the construction of tens of thousands of miles of railroad, including the 1,100-mile Grand Trunk Railway in Canada. Brassey's railroads can be found all over the world, from Paris to South America.
Strauss was a bridge designer and builder who invented various types of draw and vertical-lift bridges. His crowning achievement, however, is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. When it was completed in 1937, the Golden Gate was the longest bridge in the world. It remained so for nearly 30 years until the construction of the Verrazano Narrows in New York.
10. Thomas Crapper
Despite numerous myths and urban legends to the contrary, Crapper did not invent the toilet. Nor is the colloquialism for feces derived from his name. He did, however, have a hand in creating the modern toilet through his invention of the ballcock in the 19 th century. Despite the fact that he didn't invent the toilet per se, Crapper is often viewed as the most famous, or infamous, sanitation engineer in American history.