爱荷华州立大学

Civil engineers apply principles of motion and materials to plan, design, construct, maintain, and operate public and private facilities, while working under economic, social, and environmental constraints. Commonly included are transportation systems; bridges and buildings; water supply, pollution control, waste management, irrigation, and drainage systems; river and harbor improvements; dams and reservoirs. Civil engineering also includes planning, designing, and executing surveying operations and locating, delimitating, and delineating physical and cultural features on the earth's surface. Research, testing, sales, management, and related functions are also a part of civil engineering. Work on campus is supplemented by inspection trips, which furnish an opportunity for firsthand study of engineering systems in operation, as well as projects under construction.

Environmental engineering, as a specialty area in civil engineering, is concerned with protecting the public and natural health; providing an ample safe water supply; managing solid and hazardous waste; treating and disposing of domestic and industrial waste waters and waste; resource recovery; providing adequate drainage of urban and rural areas for sanitation; and controlling water quality, soil contamination, and air pollution. The environmental option for the civil engineering degree replaces some of the courses and electives in the general curriculum with further courses in chemistry, biology, and microbiology as well as specific topics in environmental engineering and design.

The civil engineering curriculum equips students with a broad education that includes technical skills in analysis and design and professional practices such as communication, teamwork, leadership, and ethics.

By three to five years after graduation, graduates of the civil engineering program will have:

1. Established themselves in successful careers in civil engineering or a related field.
2. Collaborated effectively on multi-disciplinary teams to address the needs of society and the environment.
3. Pursued lifelong learning, professional development, and registration as appropriate for their employers.

The faculty encourages the students to develop their professional skills by participating in cooperative education, internships, or progressive summer engineering employment. Qualified juniors and seniors interested in graduate studies may apply to the Graduate College to concurrently pursue the bachelor degree and either a master of science in Civil Engineering or a master of business administration in the College of Business Administration. These students would have an the opportunity to graduate in five years with both degrees.