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BS - Civil Engineering

What is a Civil Engineering degree?

Whether you want to develop aerospace facilities, design ocean structures or engineer a new transportation system, you can get there with a civil engineering degree from Florida Tech. Here, you'll develop a strong background in engineering and get hands-on experience in computer-aided design and management.

Our rigorous, accredited civil engineering degree program is dynamic and focused. You'll get started right away, taking core courses like Introduction to Civil Engineering and Construction Measurement as a freshman. Guided by highly accomplished faculty who care about your success, you'll hone your strengths and begin specializing as early as sophomore year.

New technical electives allow you to specialize in unique career-track sub-fields such as systems engineering, nuclear technology and energy engineering, making you a hot prospect in the eyes of future employers.

Advantages

Why Florida Tech:

• ABET Accreditation since 1982
• Average class size within the department is 18
• World-class industry support and networking opportunities
• In addition to continuing studies at Florida Tech, recent graduates have attended Berkeley, Cornell, Georgia Tech, MIT and Stanford
• About 80% of students complete at least a semester-long internship before graduation, and 90% of that group are offered jobs by the companies where they interned
• ProTrack Co-op program option, which incorporates 3 professional work experiences into your four-year degree curriculum

The Numbers:
There are six full-time faculty serving in the civil engineering departments - all certified professional engineers
The civil engineering department is supported by two advisory committees comprised of professional engineers

Facilities: Laboratories for research and instructional activities are available in the areas of materials and structures, soil mechanics, solid waste, unit operations and interactive graphics. Other campus laboratories can be used by students conducting graduate research. The materials and structures laboratory is equipped with several universal testing machines for physical testing, and equipment and instrumentation for experimental stress analysis. The soil mechanics laboratory contains commercial equipment for evaluating the engineering properties of soils. The solid-waste analysis laboratory is equipped to analyze solid wastes, to degrade solid wastes under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, and to process solid wastes by a variety of methods.

Learning

Clubs and Organizations: ASCE,Chi Epsilon\, the civil engineering national honor society

Research: Research activities of the faculty encompass the major areas of a civil engineering degree. Current research projects in structures and materials are in the area of structural dynamics, wind engineering, and the development of new building materials. Geotechnical research is concentrated in the areas of stabilization of waste materials for beneficial uses, in situ testing of soils, fiber-optic sensors in soils and evaluation of pavements. Some of the research investigations conducted in hydrology are on groundwater seepage and salt transport into the Indian River lagoon, the groundwater effects on storm water retention/detention basin performance and the prediction of storm water water quality from nonpoint sources using models. Research activities in the environmental area include water treatment using reverse osmosis and activated carbon, biomass production, degradation of consumer products, landfill and compost simulation and solid wastes management.

Internships and Cooperative Learning: About 80% of civil engineering degree students complete at least a semester-long internship before graduation, and 90% of that group are offered jobs by the companies where they interned. Companies and organizations providing internships include but are not limited to: BRPH Architects & Engineers, Inc. Brevard County Camp, Dresser & McKee Carter & Burges City of Palm Bay City of Sebastian Creech Engineers, Inc. Edward J. Maeck Landscape Architects Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport Jones Edmonds Engineering Kimley, Horn & Associates NASA Post Buckley Schuh & Jernigan Quantitative Environmental Analysis Saint John's River Water Management District Student Conservation Associates Tensor Engineering Trauner Consulting Turner Construction Universal Engineering Sciences Freshman and sophomore internships typically entail AutoCAD drafting, technical writing and surveying using GPS systems and total stations. Internships for juniors and seniors may involve engineering calculation, cost estimation, knowledge of applicable codes, landscape planning, subdivision design, drainage planning, highway design, bidding processes, construction site evaluations and learning the negotiation process.

Future Outcomes

Outcomes - Grad School: On average, 20% of civil engineering degree graduates attend graduate school. They typically specialize in construction, environmental, geotechnical, structures, transportation and highway, and water resources. In addition to continuing their studies at Florida Tech, recent graduates have attended Berkeley, Cornell, Georgia Tech, MIT and Stanford.

Outcomes - Career and Salary: 74% of seniors earning a civil engineering degree receive a job offer or admission into graduate school prior to graduation and 99% begin careers or enter graduate school within three months after graduation. Employers include countless private architectural, land development, environmental and other civil engineering firms, as well as state and federal government agencies and organizations.

Curriculum

Curriculum program plans shown reflect current degree requirements. Previous academic year requirements can be accessed from the catalog page by choosing the appropriate academic year.

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Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

The civil engineering curriculum is designed to prepare students for professional careers and graduate school. During the first two years, emphasis is placed on foundation courses in chemistry, mathematics, physics and engineering mechanics, augmented by practice-oriented civil engineering courses. The introductory civil engineering courses include field trips and introduction to various disciplines of civil engineering. The CAD lab course, using the latest CAD software, provides knowledge that is applied in the rest of the curriculum, as do the engineering materials and construction measurement courses.

During the second and third years, emphasis is on courses in the main disciplines of civil engineering (construction, environmental/water resources, geotechnical, structures and transportation) that further develop analytical skills in preparation for design courses in the last two years. The emphasis in the third and fourth years is on design. The curriculum provides flexibility in the form of restricted electives and a technical/business elective that allow further depth in a discipline of choice, or further breadth.

Altogether, students are required to take five civil engineering laboratory courses to understand concepts and to learn, firsthand, what works and what does not. Each student is also required to be part of a multidisciplinary design project team that identifies, formulates and designs a real-world project. In this course, students must assemble information from previous courses. To enhance the application of their engineering skills to accomplish societal goals, technical courses in the third and fourth years incorporate leadership, teamwork, oral and written communication and ethics. Mandatory electives in the humanities and social sciences provide a broader understanding of the professional work environment, human history and culture.

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year 

Junior Year

Senior Year

TOTAL CREDITS REQUIRED 131

Note: Restricted electives may be selected, with approval, from other upper-division courses in civil engineering or related fields.

Not all humanities core courses are offered online or every term; check the current schedule of classes for humanities core options.

**Approved Science Electives include Meteorology (OCN 2407), Environmental Geology (OCN 2602) and Atmospheric Environments (ENS 3101).

Environmental Engineering Emphasis

Students selecting the environmental engineering emphasis should select three of the following five courses as their restricted electives: CVE 3050, CVE 4035, CVE 4050, ENS 3101, OCN 3201.