BS(Hons) Civil Engineering

The Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (B.S.C.E.) degree prepares students for entry level careers or graduate studies in structural, geotechnical, transportation, environmental, water resources, and construction engineering. Civil engineers will help to solve the critical challenges of the 21st century, such as the rebuilding of our country’s infrastructure; incorporating sustainable, green building technologies into their designs; and helping to provide access to safe water to the almost 900 million people in the world (approximately one in eight people) who now lack that access.

The Civil Engineering program promotes project-based learning. As students learn the fundamentals of science, math, and engineering in their first two years, their courses include hands-on projects in which they use those fundamentals in real-world applications. For example, students in their sophomore engineering design course have worked with our Engineers Without Borders student chapter to develop and implement sustainable water supply solutions for villages in India and Kenya.  In their final two years, students take courses in the core areas of civil engineering: structural, geotechnical, transportation, water resources, environmental, and construction engineering. The curriculum continues to emphasize project-based learning, such as performing a traffic impact study for a magnet school in the city of Hartford or growing algae as a potential source of biofuel. The civil engineering curriculum culminates with a two semester senior capstone design sequence. Students select a project in their area of interest and work as part of a design team mentored by a practicing engineer. The experience gained by our students working as junior engineers for their mentors has been extremely successful in helping our graduates make the transition from college to their professional careers.

The Civil Engineering program also provides students with opportunities to work on international interdisciplinary projects. Students have traveled to India and Kenya to work on water and energy projects. In addition, we have a group of students collaborating with Indian students to develop a sustainable business solution or social enterprise to provide potable water to those who are too poor now to purchase clean water. We also work with students so that they can study abroad for one or two semesters. For example, our students have studied in Australia, India, Ireland, and Scotland.