Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
Graduates of a civil engineering program must have the engineering skills needed to plan, design, construct, and maintain infrastructure and industrial facilities. In addition, graduates must have the broad education necessary to communicate effectively with other engineers, architects, planners, administrators, government officials, and the general public. The faculty and staff of the Civil Engineering program at Cal Poly understand these needs and take pride in preparing their students for the challenges associated with engineering practice.
The Civil Engineering program at Cal Poly has grown into one of the largest and most respected programs in California and the nation. The program consistently attracts top student candidates because of its modern, well-equipped laboratories, the close interaction that occurs between undergraduates and full-time faculty, and a strong reputation among employers in the civil engineering and construction industries. Scientific depth is included within the curriculum for those students who are interested in graduate study.
The Civil Engineering program recognizes the importance of student organizations and strongly supports the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Student Chapter, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Engineers Without Boarders (EWB), and Chi Epsilon (the national civil engineering honor society). These student groups, along with others, sponsor opportunities for professional development, community service, and social activities which help to complement the formal academic program. Our student organizations have been recognized and awarded nationally on multiple occasions for their outstanding work and efforts in leadership and scholarship.
The Civil Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. The program’s mission is to prepare students for successful careers in civil engineering by providing a high quality, practice-oriented education that emphasizes design project experiences, “hands-on” laboratory activities, and teamwork. The program’s faculty, in consultation with civil engineering practitioners and alumni, have developed a number of educational objectives to support this mission. These objectives are:
- Integrate principles of sustainability, resilience, and restoration into engineering solutions.
- Communicate and collaborate with diverse stakeholders in an inclusive, effective, equitable, and professional manner.
- Implement systems thinking in engineering designs and solutions that promote public health, safety, and welfare on a local and global scale.
- Pursue life-long professional development through study, licensure, certification, leadership, and service.
- Acknowledge, understand, and incorporate the needs of diverse and vulnerable populations in outreach and engineering practice.
The undergraduate curriculum in civil engineering is designed to support these educational objectives. Therefore, the curriculum includes broad coverage of mathematics, engineering and basic sciences, liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences. The program also includes courses designed to ensure students become proficient in a breadth of civil engineering sub-disciplines: construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources.
All CE majors must complete a two-semester senior design capstone sequence that focuses on current civil engineering design procedures, standards and multiple realistic constraints. The capstone sequence includes professional practice topics on interpersonal communication, teamwork, leadership, and ethics. This senior design experience promotes an understanding of the issues and skills necessary to become a successful civil engineering professional.
Flexibility within the curriculum allows students to select from a wide range of upper division civil engineering technical electives. Students may use these technical electives to focus in one of the five areas of civil engineering noted above or to design a “general” curriculum that allows for a broad range of civil engineering interests. Students should consult with a faculty advisor prior to selecting and enrolling in upper division civil engineering technical electives.
Program Learning Objectives
- 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.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
In addition to the program requirements listed on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:
- 40 units of upper-division courses
- 2.0 GPA
- Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
- U.S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP)
No Major or Support courses may be selected as credit/no credit. In addition, no more than 12 units of cooperative or internship courses can count towards your degree requirements.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| MAJOR COURSES | ||
| CE 1111 | Introduction to Civil Engineering | 1 |
| CE/ENVE 1112 | Spatial Visualization and Drawing | 3 |
| CE 2251 | Computational Applications in Civil and Environmental Engineering | 2 |
| CE 2259 | Civil Engineering Materials | 3 |
| CE 3321 | Fundamentals of Transportation Engineering | 4 |
| CE/ENVE 3336 | Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Systems | 4 |
| CE/ENVE 3337 | Water Resources & Environmental Engineering | 4 |
| CE 3352 | Structural Analysis | 4 |
| CE 3355 | Reinforced Concrete Design | 3 |
| CE 3375 | Fundamentals of Construction Engineering and Management | 4 |
| CE 3381 | Geotechnical Engineering | 4 |
| CE/ENVE 3465 | Infrastructure Systems | 2 |
| CE 4466 | Senior Design Project I | 1 |
| CE 4467 | Senior Design Project II | 3 |
| Technical Electives | ||
| Select from the following: | 18 | |
Select any 4000-5000 level CE or ENVE course not required in major | ||
| SUPPORT COURSES | ||
| CHEM 1120 | Fundamentals of Chemical Structure and Properties (5A & 5C) 1 | 4 |
| ENGR 2211 | Introduction to Mechanics | 4 |
| ENGR 2212 | Introduction to Engineering Dynamics | 2 |
| GEOL 2240 | Physical Geology | 3 |
| MATH 1261 | Calculus I (2) 1 | 4 |
| MATH 1262 | Calculus II | 4 |
| MATH 2263 | Calculus III | 3 |
| MATH 2341 | Linear Analysis | 4 |
| PHYS 1141 | General Physics I | 4 |
| PHYS 1143 | General Physics II | 4 |
| STAT 3210 | Engineering Statistics (Upper-Division 2/5) 1 | 3 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION (GE) | ||
| (See GE program requirements below) | 33 | |
| FREE ELECTIVES | ||
| Free Electives | 0 | |
| Total Units | 132 | |
- 1
Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.
General Education (GE) Requirements
General Education (GE) Requirements
- 43 units required, 10 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
- If any of the remaining 33 Units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- See the complete GE course listing.
- A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: 1A (English Composition), 1B (Critical Thinking), 1C (Oral Communication), and 2 (Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning).
| Lower-Division General Education | ||
| Area 1 | English Communication and Critical Thinking | |
| 1A | Written Communication | 3 |
| 1B | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| 1C | Oral Communication | 3 |
| Area 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning | |
| 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 3 | Arts and Humanities | |
| 3A | Arts | 3 |
| 3B | Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English | 3 |
| Area 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | |
| 4A | American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement) | 3 |
| 4B | Social and Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| Area 5 | Physical and Life Sciences | |
| 5A | Physical Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 5B | Life Sciences | 3 |
| 5C | Laboratory (may be embedded in a 5A or 5B course) (1 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 6 | Ethnic Studies | |
| 6 | Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| Upper-Division General Education | ||
| Upper-Division 2/5 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning or Physical and Life Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Upper-Division 3 | Arts and Humanities | 3 |
| Upper-Division 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | 3 |
| Total Units | 33 | |
- 1
Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.
Civil Engineering
Suggested Four-Year Flowcharts are planning guides and do not represent a required course sequence.
Courses may be completed in a different order, provided requisite requirements are satisfied.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Units | |
| CE 1111 | Introduction to Civil Engineering | 1 |
| CHEM 1120 | Fundamentals of Chemical Structure and Properties (5A & 5C) 1 | 4 |
| MATH 1261 | Calculus I (2) 1 | 4 |
| PHYS 1141 | General Physics I | 4 |
| General Education Requirement (1A) | 3 | |
| Units | 16 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| CE/ENVE 1112 | Spatial Visualization and Drawing | 3 |
| MATH 1262 | Calculus II | 4 |
| PHYS 1143 | General Physics II | 4 |
| General Education Requirement (1B) | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement (1C) | 3 | |
| Units | 17 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| CE 2251 | Computational Applications in Civil and Environmental Engineering | 2 |
| ENGR 2211 | Introduction to Mechanics | 4 |
| MATH 2263 | Calculus III | 3 |
| General Education Requirement (3A) | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement (3B) | 3 | |
| Units | 15 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| CE 2259 | Civil Engineering Materials | 3 |
| ENGR 2212 | Introduction to Engineering Dynamics | 2 |
| GEOL 2240 | Physical Geology | 3 |
| MATH 2341 | Linear Analysis | 4 |
| General Education Requirement (4A) | 3 | |
| Units | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| CE 3321 | Fundamentals of Transportation Engineering | 4 |
| CE/ENVE 3336 | Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Systems | 4 |
| CE 3352 | Structural Analysis | 4 |
| STAT 3210 | Engineering Statistics (Upper-Division 2/5) 1 | 3 |
| General Education Requirement (4B) | 3 | |
| Units | 18 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| CE/ENVE 3337 | Water Resources & Environmental Engineering | 4 |
| CE 3355 | Reinforced Concrete Design | 3 |
| CE 3381 | Geotechnical Engineering | 4 |
| CE/ENVE 3465 | Infrastructure Systems | 2 |
| General Education Requirement (5B) | 3 | |
| Units | 16 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Term 1 | ||
| CE 3375 | Fundamentals of Construction Engineering and Management | 4 |
| CE 4466 | Senior Design Project I | 1 |
| Technical Elective | 3 | |
| Technical Elective | 3 | |
| Technical Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement (6) | 3 | |
| Units | 17 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| CE 4467 | Senior Design Project II | 3 |
| Technical Elective | 3 | |
| Technical Elective | 3 | |
| Technical Elective | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement (Upper-Division 3) | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement (Upper-Division 4) | 3 | |
| Units | 18 | |
| Total Units | 132 | |
- 1
Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.