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2010–2012 Undergraduate Catalog

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers an ABET-accredited bachelor’s program that, in terms of graduating class size, ranks in the 80th percentile nation-wide. The Department is committed to providing a learning environment which encourages discovery and advancement for the betterment of its students and the community. Through its research, public service, and instructional programs, the Department seeks to serve the needs of San Antonio and South Texas by providing educational and research opportunities contributing to the technological and economic development of the region.

Civil Engineering Educational Objectives

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) defines Civil Engineering as “The profession in which a knowledge of the mathematical and physical sciences gained by study, experience, and practice is applied with judgment to develop ways to utilize, economically, the materials and forces of nature for the progressive well-being of humanity in creating, improving, and protecting the environment; in providing facilities for community living, industry, and transportation; and in providing structures for the use of humanity.”

The faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has established a specific set of program objectives to support the mission and the goals of the Department and to meet the requirements of ABET accreditation under the Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs (2009). The educational objectives of the Civil Engineering undergraduate program are to produce Bachelor of Science graduates who:  

• meet the expectations of their employers, 
• will endeavor to become licensed professional engineers, and
• are able to pursue graduate studies, if so desired.

Civil Engineering students must first complete the University Core Curriculum requirements and the Department’s General Engineering requirements. The University Core Curriculum requirements consist of 42 semester credit hours and provide the scientific foundation required for advancing successfully to the General Engineering requirement courses. They include courses in Communications, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Humanities and World Issues.

The General Engineering requirements consist of 25 semester credit hours geared toward advancing the technical abilities and skills necessary to meet the educational objectives of the College of Engineering. They include a number of the Core Curriculum required courses, namely MAT 1214 Calculus I, CHE 1103 General Chemistry I, PHY 1903 Engineering Physics I, and PHY 1911 Engineering Physics I Laboratory. Students are also encouraged to take ECO 2013 Introductory Macroeconomics or ECO 2023 Introductory Microeconomics. In addition, General Engineering requirements include MAT 1224 Calculus II, PHY 1923 Engineering Physics II, PHY 1931 Engineering Physics II Laboratory, EGR 2323 Applied Engineering Analysis I, and EGR 3713 Engineering Economic Analysis.

Subsequently, students need to take 70 additional semester credit hours of Civil Engineering courses. Courses for 64 of these credit hours are required, while the remaining 6 credit hours can be selected from among CE elective courses. The elective courses allow some specialization in one of the traditional Civil Engineering areas, namely, Environmental Geotechnical, Hydraulics, Structures and Transportation. Senior Civil Engineering students, in their last semester of study, are required to take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Examination as administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (www.ncees.org). Graduates are encouraged to further pursue life-long learning and obtain their Professional Engineering license.

Design is integrated throughout the curriculum starting with a freshman introductory course, CE 1301 Introduction to Civil Engineering, and ending with the senior capstone Civil Engineering Design course CE 4813. Design components are contained in most required engineering topics courses. These include CE 3213 Reinforced Concrete Design, CE 3233 Steel Design, CE 3413 Geotechnical Engineering and Applications, CE 3633 Water and Wastewater Treatment, CE 4123 Highway Engineering, and CE 4603 Water Resources Engineering. Design is also included in many of the technical elective courses. The design experience culminates in the senior capstone design course, CE 4813 Civil Engineering Design. The capstone design project is multidisciplinary in that it involves three or more civil engineering areas and draws upon most prior coursework. The course involves teamwork, both oral and written presentations, a final design report, and a formal presentation.

The minimum number of semester credit hours required for this degree is 128, including at least 39 at the upper-division level. All candidates for this degree must fulfill the Core Curriculum requirements, the General Engineering requirements, and the Civil Engineering degree requirements prior to graduation.

Core Curriculum requirements: The Core Curriculum requirements are listed below. Students are to select courses to satisfy the required number of credit hours in each of the component areas to a total minimum of 42 credit hours. A more detailed listing of these courses can be found on pages 5–9 of this catalog. It should be noted that a number of courses identified on this table satisfy both the Core Curriculum and the General Engineering requirements.

General Engineering Requirements

In addition to the Core Curriculum requirements, all degree-seeking Civil Engineering students must complete the following 25 semester credit hours:

CHE  1103  General Chemistry I
EGR  2323  Applied Engineering Analysis I
EGR  3713  Engineering Economic Analysis
MAT  1214  Calculus I
MAT  1224  Calculus II
PHY  1903, 1911  Engineering Physics I and Laboratory
PHY  1923, 1931  Engineering Physics II and Laboratory

Civil Engineering Degree Requirements

In addition to the Core Curriculum and the General Engineering requirements described above, all degree-seeking candidates in Civil Engineering must complete the following 70 semester credit hours:

1. 64 semester credit hours of required courses:
   
   CE    1301  Introduction to Civil Engineering
   CE    1403  Engineering Communication
   CE    2103  Civil Engineering Measurements
   CE    2633  Environmental Engineering
   CE    3103  Mechanics of Solids
   CE    3113  Structural Analysis
   CE    3173  Numerical Methods
   CE    3213  Reinforced Concrete Design
   CE    3233  Steel Design
   CE    3243  Properties and Behavior of Engineering Materials
   CE    3413  Geotechnical Engineering and Applications
   CE    3543  Project Design and Construction Management
   CE    3603  Fluid Mechanics
   CE    3633  Water and Wastewater Treatment
   CE    4123  Highway Engineering
   CE    4313  Computer-Aided Design in Civil Engineering
   CE    4603  Water Resources Engineering
   CE    4813  Civil Engineering Design
   EGR  2103  Statics
   EGR  2513  Dynamics
   GEO  4023  Engineering Geology
   STA  2303  Applied Probability and Statistics for Engineers
   
   
2. 6 semester credit hours of Civil Engineering technical electives must be selected from the list below. Alternatively, students with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher may choose to satisfy this requirement by taking graduate courses offered by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
   
   CE  3253  Introduction to Masonry and Timber Design
   CE  3723  Applied Hydrology
   CE  4013  Civil Engineering Systems Analysis
   CE  4103  Advanced Steel Design
   CE  4133  Advanced Reinforced Concrete
   CE  4153  Prestressed Concrete
   CE  4293  Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
   CE  4303  Hydrometeorology
   CE  4403  Advanced Characterization of Highway Materials
   CE  4453  Transportation Engineering
   CE  4463  Foundation Engineering
   CE  4613  Environmental Chemistry
   CE  4723  Hydraulic Systems Design

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