Engineering Civil Engineering
Description
Website: https://cee.unl.edu/
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers a complete undergraduate program to students on the Lincoln and Omaha campuses of the University of Nebraska. Curriculum requirements are nearly identical on both campuses. The goal is to prepare students for entry into the civil engineering profession immediately after graduation or to pursue graduate-level studies.
The general educational objectives of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln civil engineering undergraduate program are to prepare our graduates so that, with a University of Nebraska–Lincoln BSCE degree, a few years beyond graduation, alumni will:
- Be employed in civil and environmental engineering or a closely related field; or, graduates will be pursuing an advanced degree in civil and environmental engineering or a closely related field.
- Contribute to society and address societal and environmental needs through engagement in professional, community, or service organizations.
- Agree that the civil engineering program prepared them for success in their careers in terms of knowledge and skillsets as embodied in the program and the Complete Engineer ™ Initiative.
As a professional discipline, civil engineering is closely related to the total human environment. In all professional endeavors, the civil engineer must consider ecological effects as well as the social, economic, and political needs of people. The civil engineer designs systems to control and manage our water resources to provide electric power, agricultural irrigation, flood control, recreation, water supplies, and wastewater treatment systems for our urban and industrial needs.
The civil engineer plans, designs, and constructs our transportation systems—including highways, railroads, waterways, and airports—to connect rural, urban, and industrial areas. The civil engineer also designs and constructs housing and facilities for recreational, industrial, and commercial complexes, which comprise the urban environment. It is the responsibility of civil engineering to minimize air, water, and land pollution and protect the environment.
Instructional emphasis is placed on fundamental engineering principles derived from mathematics, chemistry, physics, and engineering science. These subjects provide a sound background for the subsequent introductory courses in environmental, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources engineering. Students are introduced to design concepts in their freshman year. Design is incorporated throughout the curriculum that culminates in two senior-level courses, CIVE 401 Civil Engineering Design I and CIVE 402 Civil Engineering Design II.
Instructional laboratories in environmental engineering, hydraulics, geotechnical engineering, structures, and surveying provide each student with an opportunity to learn, through individual participation, the operation of the testing equipment used to establish engineering design criteria and to monitor and model engineering facilities such as water and wastewater treatment plants, river control systems, and structural systems.
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering also offers a major and a minor in Environmental Engineering.
Admission
Criteria for Professional Admission to the Civil Engineering Degree Program
Students are expected to meet minimum college entrance requirements. After being admitted to the college as pre-civil engineering students, students wishing to pursue a degree in civil engineering must further be admitted to the degree program. Students who have completed 43 credit hours applicable to their civil engineering degree are considered for formal admission to the civil engineering degree program. Transfer students must have at least 12 credit hours of coursework from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on record before an application will be considered. Students must receive a grade of C or better in the following classes to be professionally admitted to the civil engineering program:
CHEM 109A General Chemistry I and CHEM 109L General Chemistry I Laboratory or CHEM 113A Fundamental Chemistry I and CHEM 113L Fundamental Chemistry I Laboratory; and
MATH 106 Calculus I, MATH 107 Calculus II, and MATH 221 Differential Equations;
CSCE 101 Fundamentals of Computer Science,
PHYS 211 General Physics I, and
MECH 223 Engineering Statics, and MECH 325 Mechanics of Elastic Bodies.
Graduate Programs
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers several graduate degree programs: master of science in civil engineering, accelerated master of science in civil engineering; dual MS in Civil Engineering and Community and Regional Planning, and doctor of philosophy in Civil Engineering. Graduate specializations include environmental engineering, geotechnical and materials engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, or water resources engineering. See the Graduate Studies Catalog for details.
College Requirements
College Admission
College Entrance Requirements
Students must meet both the University and College of Engineering entrance requirements. The following includes both the University and College of Engineering entrance requirements.
Students must have high school credit for (one unit is equal to one high school year):
- Mathematics – 4 units: 2 of algebra, 1 of geometry, and 1 of precalculus and trigonometry
- English – 4 units
- Natural sciences – 3 units that must include 1 unit of physics and 1 unit of chemistry (chemistry requirement waived for students in construction management or computer science)
- Foreign language – 2 units of a single foreign language
- Social studies – 3 units
- Students having a composite ACT score of 28 or greater (or equivalent SAT score) will be admitted to the College of Engineering even if they lack any one of the following: trigonometry, chemistry, or physics. Students without test scores who are missing a full unit of trigonometry/pre-calculus/calculus or chemistry or physics will be evaluated through College Review.
- Students having an ACT score of 19 or less in English (or equivalent SAT score) or a grade lower than B in high school English, must take ENGL 150 Writing and Inquiry or ENGL 151 Writing for Change.
A total of 16 units is required for admission.
Engineering requires that student performance meet one of the following standards: composite ACT of 24, SAT of 1180, ACT Math subscore of 24, SAT Math subscore of 580, or a 3.5 cumulative GPA.
Any domestic first-year student who does not gain admission to Engineering but does gain admission to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) will be reviewed through College Review. College Review is conducted through the College Review Committee which considers factors beyond standardized testing. Any first-year student who is not admitted through college review is placed in Pre-Engineering (PENG) with the Exploratory and Pre-Professional Advising Center (Explore Center). Students in the Explore Center can transfer to the College of Engineering once college admission requirements are met.
Students for whom English is not their language of nurture must meet the minimum English proficiency requirements of the University.
Students who lack entrance units may complete precollege training by Independent Study through the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Office of On-line and Distance Education, in summer courses, or as a part of their first or second semester course loads while in the Explore Center or other colleges at UNL.
Students should consult their advisor, their department chair, or Engineering Student Services (ESS) if they have questions on current policies.
Other Admission Requirements
Students who transfer to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from other accredited colleges or universities and wish to be admitted to the College of Engineering (COE) must meet COE first-year student entrance requirements, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, and be calculus-ready. Students not meeting either of these requirements must enroll in the Explore Center or another University college until they meet COE admission requirements. Students transferring from UNO, UNL, or UNK to the College of Engineering must be in good academic standing with their institution.
The COE accepts courses for transfer for which a C or better grade was received. Although the University of Nebraska–Lincoln accepts D grades from the University of Nebraska Kearney and the University of Nebraska Omaha, not all majors in the COE accept such low grades. Students must conform to the requirements of their intended major and, in any case, are strongly encouraged to repeat courses with a grade of C- or less.
Students who were previously admitted to COE and are returning to the College of Engineering must demonstrate a cumulative GPA of 2.5 to be readmitted to COE.
College Degree Requirements
Grade Rules
Grade Appeals
In the event of a dispute involving any college policies or grades, the student should appeal to their instructor, and appropriate department chair or school director (in that order). If a satisfactory solution is not achieved, the student may appeal their case through the College Academic Appeals Subcommittee.
Catalog Rule
Students must fulfill the requirements stated in the catalog for the academic year in which they are first admitted at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In consultation with advisors, a student may choose to follow a subsequent catalog for any academic year in which they are admitted to and enrolled as a degree-seeking student at Nebraska in the College of Engineering. Students must complete all degree requirements from a single catalog year. The catalog which a student follows for degree requirements may not be more than 10 years old at the time of graduation.
Students who have transferred from a community college may be eligible to fulfill the requirements as stated in the catalog for an academic year in which they were enrolled at the community college prior to attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This decision should be made in consultation with the student’s College of Engineering academic advising team (e.g., ESS professional advisor and the chief faculty advisor for the student’s declared degree program). The chief faculty advisor has the final authority for this decision. Eligibility is based on a) enrollment in a community college during the catalog year the student wishes to utilize, b) maintaining continuous enrollment of at least 12 credit hours per semester at the previous institution for at least 2 semesters, and c) continuous enrollment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln within 1 calendar year from the student’s last term at the previous institution. Students must complete all degree requirements from a single catalog year and within the timeframe allowable for that catalog year.
Learning Outcomes
Graduates of the civil engineering program will have:
- An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
- An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
- An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
- An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
- An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
- An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
- An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.
The above student outcomes have been approved by the ABET Engineering Area Delegation for use beginning with the 2019-20 academic year, and have been adopted by the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
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