2011-2012 University Catalog 
  
2011-2012 University Catalog

Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, BS


Banner Code: VS-BS-CEIE

School:   Volgenau School of Engineering 

Department:  Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering 

 The bachelor’s degree program provides essential underpinnings in the theory and design methods of civil and infrastructure engineering for engineering practice. Students benefit from exposure to practical civil, environmental, and infrastructure engineering problems and their solutions in the classroom, lab, and field. The goal of the department is to graduate students who are prepared to

  • Solve problems in the civil engineering domain, such as integrating the traditional civil engineering disciplines of transportation, environment, structures, geotechnical, construction, water resources and land development; incorporating social, political, and economic considerations; and including a conscious life-cycle costing philosophy.
  • Develop and apply information technology to civil engineering problems.
  • Communicate effectively in written, oral, and visual ways.
  • Pursue a lifelong process of learning.
  • Enter the civil engineering profession as productive engineers.

Civil engineering students can look forward to a career in local, state, and federal government organizations, and in architectural and engineering firms that specialize in land development, transportation, water resources, environment, structures, geotechnical, construction, and other related fields. The program also prepares students for continuing graduate studies for sophisticated practice, research and teaching.

This has been designated a Green Leaf program.  For further information, please go to Green Leaf Programs and Courses .

Degree Requirements


Degree requirements include 120 credits distributed in three main areas: mathematics and basic science, humanities and social sciences, and civil engineering analysis and design.  Students must complete each CEIE and ENGR course presented as part of the required 120 credits for the degree with a grade of C or better.

The prerequisite structure for these courses is extensive. The sample schedule below provides a listing of major and general education course requirements, as well as a guide to the progression of the courses to satisfy all prerequisites.

Students are required to see their faculty advisor at least once each year to plan their curriculum, and to develop an approved plan of study, which constitutes a learning plan for the degree program.

All electives must be selected with the advice and approval of the academic advisor.

Students transferring from other institutions are advised to consult the department’s articulation table to determine transfer credits toward the BS/CIE. Students arriving with a 2-year engineering Associate Degree from a community college should be aware that completion of all BS/CIE requirements may require more than 2 years of further full-time study.

Degree requirements for the Civil and Infrastructure Engineering major include 120 credits.  Students must complete the following:

Technical Electives Credits: 18


A total of 18 credit hours of CEIE Technical Elective courses must be selected. The first four CEIE technical elective courses (12 credit hours) must be selected to satisfy a requirement of at least one additional course in each of four technical areas: structural engineering (CEIE 412 or 413), water resources engineering (CEIE 440 or 442), environmental engineering (CEIE 401, 450, 452 or 456), and transportation engineering (CEIE 461 or 462). The remaining 6 credit hours for the CEIE Technical Elective courses may be selected from any CEIE 4XX course; one 3 credit hour course of those remaining credit hours may be from related advanced science or engineering course offerings, but approval from the student’s academic advisor is required before a non-CEIE course is taken to meet senior technical elective requirements for the degree.

Chemistry Credits: 4


Biology Credits: 3


English Credits: 6


Communication Credits: 3


Additional General Education Credits: 9


Each student must satisfy General Education requirements in Literature  AND  in two of these three areas: Arts, Global Understanding, and Western Civilization/World History. The two additional General Education areas to be satisfied must be approved by the CEIE faculty advisor with the goal of best meeting the general education needs of the student.
 

CEIE Honors Program


The department offers an Honors Program in Civil and Infrastructure Engineering that creates a community of outstanding scholars in civil engineering who share a commitment to learning, service, and leadership. The Program is crafted around the civil and infrastructure curriculum, and is distinct from the University Honors Curriculum.  Entry to the Honors Program is by invitation, extended to students with a high school GPA of at least 3.8, and who enter the program as freshmen in fall 2010 or after. Inclusion of high-performing transfer students is expected in 2013.

The Honors program is challenging, designed for the highly motivated student, and consists of 120 credits. Honors students must satisfy requirements in addition to those of the normal BS-CIE degree, including an advanced communications course (COMM 320—Business and Professional Communication, or COMM 637—Risk Communication) and a minimum of 18 credits of honors courses or honors sections:

1. A maximum of 5 credits of the 18 total may be earned by taking MATH 115, 116, 215, and CHEM 211-H.
2. All Honors students must take CEIE 490-H, the Honors section of the Senior Design Project for three credits.
3. The remaining credits must be earned by taking a combination of: ENGR 210-H; CEIE 230-H, 301-H; designated honors sections of other CEIE courses; or 5XX/6XX level CEIE courses approved by a faculty advisor.

Once admitted to the Honors Program, students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 and a minimum GPA of 3.2 in each semester for all courses counting toward the BS-CIE degree, and maintain continuous enrollment working toward the BS-CIE degree.

Writing-Intensive Requirement


The university’s writing-intensive requirement for civil and infrastructure engineering majors is satisfied by the successful completion of CEIE 301.

Total: 120 credits


Sample Schedule


Seventh Semester Credits: 13


Eighth Semester Credits: 15


  • CEIE 490 - Senior Design Project Credits: 3
  • CEIE 4XX - CEIE Technical elective2   Credits:  3
  • CEIE 4XX - CEIE Technical elective2   Credits:  3
  • CEIE 4XX - CEIE Technical elective2   Credits:  3
  • CEIE 4XX - CEIE Technical elective2   Credits:  3

Note:


1 Each student must satisfy General Education requirements in two of these three areas:  Arts, Global Understanding, and Western Civilization/World History.  The two General Education areas to be satisfied must be approved by the CEIE faculty advisor with the goal of best meeting the general education needs of the student.

2 A total of six CEIE Technical Elective courses must be selected. The first four CEIE technical elective courses must be selected to satisfy a requirement of at least one additional course in four technical areas: structural engineering (CEIE 412 or 413), water resources engineering (CEIE 440 or 442), environmental engineering (CEIE 450 or 452), and transportation engineering (CEIE 461 or 462). The fifth and sixth CEIE Technical Elective courses may be selected from any CEIE 4xx course; one of those may be from related advanced science or engineering course offerings, but approval from the student’s academic advisor is required before a non-CEIE course is taken to meet senior technical elective requirements for the degree.