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Civil and Environmental Engineering

Civil engineering is one of the three largest fields of engineering. It traditionally has been concerned with infrastructure facilities that are both large in scale and essential to modern life. Civil and environmental engineering projects include transportation systems and their components, such as bridges, highways, public transit systems, railways, harbors, airports, seaports, and even spaceports; large-scale structures and office buildings that provide enclosed working and living space; environmental and hydraulic systems that provide clean water and air, including filtration plants and distribution systems for municipal and industrial water supplies, wastewater treatment plants, dams, levees, and irrigation systems.

Growth areas of civil and environmental engineering include infrastructure development, construction management, computer-aided design, hazardous waste management, and engineered environmental systems. In the future, civil and environmental engineers will be called upon to design structures for earth and outer space, prevent erosion and sedimentation of our rivers, predict effects of global climate change on the environment, provide modern and efficient transportation systems, and ensure the quality of our air and our surface waters and groundwaters.

In planning and design, civil and environmental engineers work with other engineers, architects, landscape architects, planners, economists, financiers, sociologists, lawyers, and other specialists as members of the design team. Some civil engineers work in engineering offices; others may be called upon to construct or supervise outdoor projects they have designed. These field assignments, many of which are in remote and fascinating parts of the world, are particularly appealing to many civil and environmental engineers. There also is significant potential for entrepreneurial work by civil and environmental engineers as they start their own companies.

Undergraduate Program

The department offers the Bachelor of Science in Engineering in civil engineering. The program's objective is to provide a well-rounded, superior engineering education that:

• provides students with appropriate proficiency in the civil engineering subdisciplines of structures and materials, water-resources engineering, transportation systems, and environmental engineering;
• ensures that students are knowledgeable about the importance, procedures, and benefits of professional licensure and continuing education;
• offers design experiences that include projects in the curriculum that are offered by and guided in part by the professional community; and
• provides research opportunities to undergraduate students through the department's connections with on-campus research entities including IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering, the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, the Public Policy Center, the Center for Computer Aided Design, the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing, and the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination.

Bachelor of Science in Engineering

The Bachelor of Science in Engineering requires a minimum of 128 s.h. Students majoring in civil engineering choose one of two subtracks: civil, which provides breadth in the discipline; or environmental, which provides for a concentration.

The B.S.E. curriculum covers four major stems: mathematics and basic sciences, engineering topics, elective focus area, and general education (15 s.h. of humanities and social science courses). All students take 059:005 Engineering Problem Solving I, 059:006 Engineering Problem Solving II, and 010:003 Accelerated Rhetoric. General education component courses must be selected to satisfy the requirements of the College of Engineering. For information on B.S.E. curriculum stems and common course requirements, see Bachelor of Science in Engineering in the College of Engineering section of the Catalog.

Subtrack requirements are the same for the first semester of the first year but are different beginning with the second semester.

Students must select elective focus area courses according to guidelines established by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. See "Elective Focus Area" after the following curriculum list.

Some courses in the curriculum are prerequisites to others. Students who take courses in the order below satisfy the prerequisite requirements automatically. Students who do not follow this sequence still must satisfy all course prerequisites.

FIRST YEAR

First Semester 

Civil Subtrack

FIRST YEAR

Second Semester 

SECOND YEAR

First Semester 

Second Semester 

THIRD YEAR

First Semester 

Second Semester 

FOURTH YEAR

First Semester 

Two of these: 

Second Semester 

Environmental Subtrack

FIRST YEAR

Second Semester 

SECOND YEAR

First Semester 

Second Semester 

THIRD YEAR

First Semester 

Second Semester 

FOURTH YEAR

First Semester 

Two of these: 

Second Semester 

Elective Focus Area

Civil engineering students may choose from several standard elective focus areas developed by the department, a focus area offered jointly with another engineering department, or an individual focus area tailored to the student's interests.

Standard elective focus areas are offered in environmental engineering; hydraulics and water resources; structures, mechanics, and materials; transportation; urban and regional planning; and in the broad field of civil engineering. Elective focus areas offered jointly with other engineering departments cut across programs (e.g., computer-aided engineering, design and optimization, environmental processes).

Civil engineering students must take one general education component course related to their elective focus area.

For more detailed information about elective focus areas, see "Bachelor of Science in Engineering"/"Elective Focus Area" in the College of Engineering section of the Catalog. For a list of standard elective focus area options and guidelines for tailored elective focus areas in civil engineering, see the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering web site.

Joint B.S.E./M.S.

The College of Engineering offers a joint (fast-track) Bachelor of Science in Engineering/Master of Science for civil engineering undergraduates who intend to earn an M.S. in civil and environmental engineering. B.S.E./M.S. students may attend the departmental graduate seminar and work on a master's thesis or research project while still undergraduates. They may count a limited amount of course work toward both degrees. Once students complete the requirements for the bachelor's degree, they are granted the B.S.E., and they normally complete the M.S. one year later.

To be admitted to the joint degree program, students must have completed at least 80 s.h. and must have a cumulative g.p.a. of at least 3.25. They must submit an application form to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, along with a letter stating their proposed area of specialization and the name of a department faculty member willing to be their primary M.S. advisor. They also must identify a faculty sponsor who can guide them from at least the second semester of their senior year until they complete the M.S.

Applications are due by March 1.

Graduate Programs

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy. Both programs prepare students for professional careers and further study. The principal concentration areas are environmental engineering and science; global and regional environmental research; hydraulics, hydrology, and water resources; structures, mechanics, and materials; and transportation and infrastructure systems.

The department also participates in an interdisciplinary doctoral program offered by the Graduate College; see Applied Mathematical and Computational Sciences in the Catalog.

Research and Study Areas

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE

The environmental engineering and science curriculum provides a comprehensive base of course work and research in the areas of air- and water-quality management, environmental chemistry and microbiology, natural systems modeling, and processes for water supply, pollution control, and solid and hazardous waste management. Interdisciplinary specialization and study are conducted with programs including IIHR--Hydroscience & Engineering, the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination, the Hazardous Substances Research Center, the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing; the Departments of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Geography, Geoscience, Microbiology, Occupational and Environmental Health; and the Urban and Regional Planning Program. New areas of interdisciplinary focus include groundwater contamination, biotechnology, global climate change, and hazardous substances.

GLOBAL AND REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH

The department has an active interdisciplinary research program in the environmental areas of air pollution, water pollution, groundwater remediation, global atmospheric change, and hazardous waste management. Particular emphasis is placed on the microbiology, chemistry, and physics of local, regional, and global air, soil, and water quality problems. Research includes sophisticated environmental quality analysis, high-speed computing, and detailed sensitivity analysis. The Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research also collaborate in these endeavors.

HYDRAULICS, HYDROLOGY, AND WATER RESOURCES

The hydraulics, hydrology, and water resources curriculum is associated with IIHR--Hydroscience & Engineering, a world-renowned research institute. Senior staff members of the institute are professors in the program; they devote about half of their time to teaching.

IIHR offers unique opportunities for students to participate actively in the research, analysis, and design aspects of real-world problems. Considerable attention is given to the use of computers in mathematical modeling and in data acquisition and processing. IIHR high-speed computer facilities and advanced graphics and communication software complement the hydrology, hydraulics, and water resources curriculum.

STRUCTURES, MECHANICS, AND MATERIALS

The structures, mechanics, and materials curriculum is designed for students who wish to gain knowledge and skill in the mechanics of solids and structures that they can apply to civil infrastructure systems and other fields. The program concentrates on developing appropriate methodologies for tackling broad, complex issues related to civil infrastructure systems, and on educating engineers in the implementation and application of methodologies to actual engineering projects. Faculty members have expertise in structural engineering, design optimization, solid mechanics, and computational methods.

TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS

The transportation and infrastructure systems curriculum aims at graduating students interested in developing specialized knowledge and skills applicable to diverse set of issues associated with transportation. Faculty members have expertise in traffic engineering, infrastructure management systems, pavement engineering, advanced construction materials, dynamic load and pavement simulation, optimal design, winter highway maintenance, real-time simulation, human factors, intelligent sensors, nondestructive testing, transportation planning, and travel demand modeling.

Master of Science

The Master of Science in civil and environmental engineering requires a minimum of 30 s.h. of graduate credit, with or without thesis. The program enables students to concentrate in one or more areas of their choice. Graduates are placed in advanced technical positions in industry, consulting firms, or government, or they may continue their graduate study. Current and projected demand for M.S. graduates is excellent.

Students who choose the thesis program earn up to 6 s.h. for the thesis. Nonthesis students in the environmental engineering and science curriculum earn an additional 3 s.h.

With the approval of their advisor, students develop a study plan that satisfies the requirements of their chosen curriculum.

All M.S. students must have a g.p.a. of at least 3.00, pass an oral examination, and in some program options, a written examination.

Doctor of Philosophy

The Doctor of Philosophy in civil and environmental engineering requires a minimum of 72 s.h. of graduate credit; the semester-hour requirements for some curriculum areas are higher. The doctoral degree is granted primarily on the basis of achievement rather than on a prescribed course of study. Students usually need at least three years of full-time graduate study to complete the degree. One year is devoted to the preparation of a dissertation that contributes to knowledge in the field. In some specialty areas, a qualifying examination may be required.

All doctoral students are required to pass a written and oral comprehensive examination before being formally admitted to candidacy for the degree. This examination usually is taken after all required course work has been completed.

The program culminates in a final examination, in which candidates must successfully defend their dissertation.

Ph.D. students must maintain a g.p.a. of at least 3.00 throughout the program.

Admission

Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College; see the Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College or the Graduate College section of the Catalog.

Each of the program's curricula is flexible; students may be admitted from all disciplines of engineering as well as from the mathematical and basic sciences.

Applicants to the M.S. program should have a cumulative undergraduate g.p.a. of at least 3.00. Ph.D. applicants should have a graduate g.p.a. of at least 3.00. Applicants whose grade-point average is slightly lower should contact the department.

Applicants should have a combined verbal and quantitative score of at least 1100 on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test. Lower scores are considered with other evidence of academic promise (recommendation letters, grade-point average). GRE General Test scores also are used in financial aid decisions.

Financial Support

A significant number of research assistantships are available on a variety of research projects, as are a limited number of teaching assistantships. Selection of recipients usually is based on scholastic achievement and research interest.

Facilities and Laboratories

Undergraduate Core

The first-year engineering course 059:005 Engineering Problem Solving I includes an introduction to the college's Computer Systems Support (CSS). Students in the course use computer-aided design tools on engineering work stations. All civil engineering courses require knowledge of personal computers and contain significant computer content.

For information about laboratories affiliated with core courses coordinated by other engineering departments, see the Catalog section for each of the departments.

Required and Elective Undergraduate Laboratories

053:015 Civil and Environmental Engineering Practice (2 s.h.), 053:063 Principles of Transportation Engineering (3 s.h.), and 053:084 Project Design and Management in Civil Engineering (3 s.h.): use of a state-of-the-art laboratory for computer-aided design and drawing.

053:030 Soil Mechanics (3 s.h.): equipped for determining the classification, seepage characteristics, stress-strain properties, and strength of soils.

053:050 Natural Environmental Systems (3 s.h.): environmental chemistry and biology of air, water, and soil quality, air and water pollution, limnology, global atmospheric change, fate and transport of pollutants; hazardous substances, risk analysis, standard setting.

053:055 Principles of Environmental Engineering (4 s.h.): conducted at the University Water Treatment Plant and Iowa City Wastewater Plant for demonstrations of unit operations and processes of water and wastewater treatment, and applications in environmental chemistry and microbiology.

053:071 Principles of Hydraulics and Hydrology (3 s.h.): hydraulics of pressure conduits and open channels, dimensional analysis, flow measurements, hydraulic machinery, with laboratory.

053:153 Environmental Chemistry Laboratory (3 s.h.): experiments to demonstrate fundamental principles of aquatic chemistry and chemical analyses for characterization of water and wastewater quality, conducted in the Environmental Engineering Laboratories.

053:154 Environmental Microbiology (3 s.h.): typical microorganisms isolated and their physiology and metabolic characteristics studied in the Environmental Engineering Laboratories.

053:156 Physical-Chemical Process Fundamentals (3 s.h.) and 053:151 Biological Treatment Processes (3 s.h.): unit operations, processes studied in bench scale experiments; use of typical process analytical parameters; experiments conducted in the Environmental Engineering Laboratories, University Water Plant, and Iowa City Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Graduate Laboratories

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE LABORATORIES

The Environmental Engineering and Science Laboratories provide state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, and expertise to support both undergraduate and graduate-level instruction and research. The laboratories support research in contaminant fate and transport in various media (air, water, soil, plants, and microbes), drinking water disinfection and distribution, wastewater treatment, geochemical-contaminant interactions, bioremediation, and phytoremediation. They also provide resources for analytical chemistry, electrochemistry, molecular biology, microscopy, computer modeling, and simulated environments on the bench- and pilot-scale levels.

The Environmental Engineering and Science Laboratories are affiliated with the University's Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination and its Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, and with the UI Environmental Health Sciences Research Center, an affiliate of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

HYDRAULICS, HYDROLOGY, AND WATER RESOURCES LABORATORIES

The teaching and research functions of the department are closely connected to the research activities of IIHR--Hydroscience & Engineering. The institute houses some of the most modern research facilities in the world, including a 330-foot towing tank, several hydraulic flumes and wind tunnels, an array of field instrumentation for hydrologic experiments, extensive laboratory space for hydraulic modeling, a special low-temperature flow facility for investigation of ice phenomena, state-of-the-art instrumentation for flow measurement and visualization, and comprehensive computational facilities.

Research related to ecohydraulics and the environment takes place at the Lucille A. Carver Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station. Located on the Mississippi River near Muscatine, Iowa, the station provides engineers and biological scientists with an ideal facility in which to examine the multifaceted ecohydraulic processes of the upper Mississippi. The 500-square-foot facility is equipped with water-quality laboratories and a seminar room and is operated by IIHR--Hydroscience & Engineering.

STRUCTURES, MECHANICS, AND MATERIALS LABORATORIES

Facilities for computations, materials testing, geotechnical experiments, and small-scale structural testing are available for research and teaching. Faculty, staff, and students in structures, mechanics, and materials (SMM) have access to the computing resources of both Engineering Computer Systems Support and the Center for Computer-Aided Design (CCAD). Both centers continuously update their computing facilities to maintain pace with the rapidly changing field.

A wide range of experimental facilities is available for testing structural materials such as Portland cement concrete, asphalt, metals, timber, and composites. These facilities include several loading frames (purely uniaxial, purely torsional, and axial-torsional) that are available with computer-based control and data collection systems. Facilities for creep testing, triaxial soil testing, and high-cycle fatigue testing are also available. The laboratories have a variety of ovens and other facilities for preparation and treatment of test specimens.

Four well-equipped physical testing laboratories are dedicated to SMM teaching and research: the Civil Materials Laboratory, Soil Mechanics Laboratory, Plasticity Laboratory, and the Asphalt Laboratory. The Civil Materials Laboratory currently has a small-scale single-degree-of-freedom shaker table. Faculty, staff, and students have access to a small-scale six-degree-of-freedom shaker table through CCAD and a 12-camera Vicon motion-capture system.

TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS LABORATORY

The department's Asphalt Laboratory is equipped with a set of SuperPave testing equipment and new Interlaken Simple Performance Testing Equipment, which measures dynamic modulus and dynamic creep of asphalt mixtures. The laboratory's Wirtgen asphalt foaming equipment can be used for mix design of cold in-place recycled asphalt using foamed asphalt; equipment for Marshall mix design, indirect tensile strength test, and volumetric analysis of asphalt mixtures is also available. The laboratory is one of the department's group of laboratories for materials testing the strength behavior of other materials.