Dec 13, 2024  
2021-2022 University Catalog 
    
2021-2022 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Civil Engineering, BSCE


About the Program

The Civil Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.

Civil engineers design and construct the world’s infrastructure: buildings and bridges; tunnels, dams, and levees; harbors and canals; water-supply and waste-disposal systems; airports, highways, and railroads; pipelines and power lines.

As a Civil Engineering undergraduate student you have many opportunities to plan your curriculum and even more opportunities to build your future in civil engineering!

You can explore the nine areas of study within civil engineering along with selecting the courses to design your own plan of study. You and your advisor can discuss your career goals to tailor a program to meet your goals. 

Instructional laboratories in structural behavior, hydraulics, surveying, and civil engineering materials are offered in the sophomore and junior years. Further study includes 30 credits of technical electives allowing students to tailor their studies to their specialty area of choice. Specialty areas include architectural, construction, environmental, geomatics, geotechnical, hydraulics, materials, structures, transportation, and infrastructure systems engineering.

Senior design projects consist of real-world applications in theoretical role play. Recent projects have included designing possible layouts for the proposed US-231 bypass that will run around the perimeter of campus to connect its north and south ends. Another project explored adding box seats to our basketball arena by raising the roof to make room. Another project explored a reuse design for the Tippecanoe County Superfund Site Sanitary Landfill.  Students participate in these projects from site exploration, to budget management, to mock designs.

Lyles School of Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering Major Change (CODO) Requirements   

Degree Requirements


130 Credits Required

Civil Engineering Major Courses


CE Technical Electives (30 credits)


  • Technical Elective I - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective II - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective III - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective IV - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective V - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective VI - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective VII - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective VIII - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective IX - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective X - Credit Hours: 3.00

Note:  Technical Elective Courses include CE 300, 400 and 500 level courses that are not used to fulfill Major Course requirements. See list in the Supplemental Information section under “Additional Requirements”.

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (44-48 credits)


Click here for First-Year Engineering   Requirements

Grade of C- or better is required for all Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements.

 CS 15900 or CHM 11600 is required to meet degree requirements, but not required to complete the First Year Engineering program.

Additional Requirements


Click here for Civil Engineering Supplemental Information  

Click here for Civil Engineering General Education Courses  

University Requirements


University Core Requirements


For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the University Senate Website.
  • Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (BSS)
  • Human Cultures: Humanities (HUM)
  • Information Literacy (IL)
  • Oral Communication (OC)
  • Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
  • Science #1 (SCI)
  • Science #2 (SCI)
  • Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
  • Written Communication (WC)

Civics Literacy Proficiency Requirement:


The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry.

Students will complete the Proficiency by passing a test of civic knowledge, and completing one of three paths:

  • Attending six approved civics-related events and completing an assessment for each; or
  • Completing 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship and Engagement that use C-SPAN material and completing an assessment for each; or
  • Earning a passing grade for one of these approved courses (or transferring in approved AP or departmental credit in lieu of taking a course)

For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.



Prerequisite Information:


For current pre-requisites for courses, click here.


First Year Engineering Program Requirements


Fall 1st Year


13-14 Credits


Spring 1st Year


16 Credits


Civil Engineering Program Requirements


18 Credits


16 Credits


Fall 3rd Year


17 Credits


Spring 3rd Year


17 Credits


Fall 4th Year


  • Basic Science Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective V - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective VI - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective VII - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • General Education Elective III - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • General Education Elective IV - Credit Hours: 3.00

18 Credits


Spring 4th Year


  • Technical Elective VIII - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective IX - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Technical Elective X - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • General Education Elective V - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Note


  • Students must have a graduation index of 2.0 and an index of 2.0 in all CE courses
  • Students must have a grade of C- or better in all Required CE Courses (including CE 39201) and in Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements.

Critical Course


The ♦ course is considered critical.

In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major.  Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful.  These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program”. 

Disclaimer


The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements.

The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.