Department of Civil Engineering

The Civil Engineering program is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills required to identify and solve the technical problems of society in a practical and ethical way. The faculty are committed to teaching, inspiring, and mentoring students who will meet the following objectives: (1) our graduates will meet or exceed the expectations of employers; (2) our graduates will be prepared to pursue and obtain professional licenses; (3) our graduates will be prepared to pursue advanced degrees in engineering and other professional fields.

Civil engineering graduates will engage in a broad range of self-development activities that benefit the civil engineering profession and the community. The civil engineering program is greatly enhanced by a diverse student body spanning a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and nationalities.

The Civil Engineering program of study provides an integrated educational experience that combines study in basic and engineering science, the humanities, and the social sciences with practical experience in laboratory experimentation, problem solving, and engineering design. Students may pursue a general course of study or may elect to specialize in water resources or one of the following concentrations: environmental, structural, geotechnical, transportation, or construction engineering.

ADMISSION: Admission to the university will allow a student to be in a pre-civil engineering major. Movement into the major requires completion of the courses listed below with a minimum grade of "C" in each of these courses.

MATH 1910, CHEM 1110, CIVL 1101, CIVL 1112, and ENGL 1010

Monitoring of a student's progress will be performed by the Herff College of Engineering academic advisor. A student will not be forwarded to the academic department for advising until these courses have been satisfactorily completed.

Pre-civil engineering majors may not register for CIVL courses at or above the 3000-level. Exceptions to these criteria are at the discretion of the department chair.

GRADUATION: To qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, a student must satisfy general university and college requirements, have a minimum grade of "C" in all civil engineering courses that are applied toward the degree, all science and mathematics courses that are applied toward the degree, and complete the course sequence outlined below. For credits transferred from another institution, only those civil engineering, science, and mathematics courses with a minimum grade of "C" may be applied toward the degree. Waiver of departmental graduation requirements for exceptional circumstances will be granted only upon approval of both the department chair and the Dean of the College of Engineering (or designee).

HONORS PROGRAM: Students are eligible for the honors program in Civil Engineering if they have an minimum overall GPA of 3.25 with a junior or senior standing or have received approval of the departmental honors committee. The honors program in civil engineering requires 12 hours of upper division honors courses. Those students who complete the program and the regular B.S.C.E. requirements will be recognized at the commencement ceremony by having their degree conferred “With Honors in Civil Engineering.” Moreover, the student’s diploma and record at the University of Memphis will reflect this accomplishment. Details concerning this program and honors course offerings are available in the Department of Civil Engineering.

Accelerated B.S.C.E./M.S. Program in Civil Engineering

This program allows outstanding undergraduates to begin the coursework for the Master of Science in Civil Engineering during their senior year. Students are encouraged to begin planning to enter the Accelerated B.S.C.E./M.S. program early in their undergraduate career, in consultation with their advisor in the Department of Civil Engineering.

Working with the undergraduate and graduate academic coordinators, undergraduates selected into this program begin a carefully tailored course of study which will allow them to complete their B.S.C.E. degree while they also begin the coursework toward their M.S.

To apply, students must have a minimum 3.25 grade point average, and must submit two reference letters and a copy of their transcript to the Civil Engineering department. Each applicant will complete an interview with the graduate academic coordinator in civil engineering.

Students must also apply to the Graduate School for the accelerated B.S.C.E./M.S. program, which allows them to take graduate courses in civil engineering. To continue in the program past the B.S.C.E., students must apply for full admission into the Graduate School and into the Civil Engineering department's M.S. program.

Only in ABM programs, up to 9 hours of graduate course work may be applied to both the undergraduate and graduate programs. However, any graduate coursework will not apply to undergraduate GPA.

Civil Engineering Major (B.S.C.E.)

A. University General Education Program (36 hours)

See Graduation from the University for University General Education Program requirements. Note the following requirements are specified for this program: Communication: ENGL 3603 instead of COMM 2381; Mathematics: MATH 1910 (students who have not had MATH 1730 or its equivalent must take it before enrolling MATH 1910). Natural Science: PHYS 2110/2111, 2120/2121.History: waived for B.S.C.E. students who have completed one unit of American history in high school.

B. College and Degree Requirements (28 hours)

Mathematics: MATH 1920, 2110, and 3120; Natural Science: CHEM 1110/1111; and one of the following: BIOL 1110/1111, ESCI 1040, or ESCI 1103.

Collateral Courses: EECE 2201 or MECH 3311; MECH 2332.

C. The Major (64 hours)

1. Completion of CIVL 1101, 1112, 2101, 2107, 2131, 3103, 3121, 3131 or 4135, 3137, 3140 (4), 4151 (4), 3161, 3180, 3181, 3182 (1), 3322, 3325 (1), 4111,  4195 (2), 4197 (1), 4199.

2. Nine hours of civil engineering electives approved by an advisor and selected from Group 1 and Group 2 electives, with no more than 3 hours from Group 1.

a. Group 1 Electives: CIVL 4122, 4171, and an approved upper-division civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering course;

b. Group 2 Electives: CIVL 4131, 4135 or 3131, 4136, 4140, 4143, 4144, 4149, 4152, 4162, 4163, 4164, 4180, 4190, 4191, and 4900-10.

A student may select courses from the following concentrations to satisfy civil engineering elective requirements. If the student declares a concentration, a minimum of 9 hours from that concentration area is required.

1. Construction Engineering: CIVL 4164, 4171, 4191

2. Environmental Engineering: CIVL 4140, 4143, 4144, 4149, 4180, 4191.

3. Geotechnical Engineering: CIVL 4152, 4171, 4191.

4. Structural Engineering: CIVL 4131, 4135 or 3131, 4136, 4152, 4191, 4122.

5. Transportation Engineering: CIVL 4162, 4163, 4164, 4191.

Typical 4-Year Civil Engineering Sequence

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

Total Hours Required for Graduation: 128

*Must satisfy University General Education Program Requirement