Apr 19, 2024  
2022-2023 University Catalog 
    
2022-2023 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

Departmental/Program Major Courses (65 credits)


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 30000, 40000 and 50000 level courses that are not used to fulfill Major Course requirements. 

(D- or better is required for Technical Electives)

Click here for Civil Engineering Supplemental Information  to learn more about Technical Elective requirements and approved courses.

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (65-72 credits)


Grade of C- or better is required

First-Year Engineering Requirements (29-39 credits)


Click here for First-Year Engineering  requirements.

  • Requirement #1 - Intro to Engineering I (2-4 credits)
  • Requirement #2 - Intro to Engineering II (2-4 credits)
  • Requirement #3 - Calculus I (4-5 credits) (satisfies Quantitative Reasoning for core) 
  • Requirement #4 - Calculus II (4-5 credits) (satisfies Quantitative Reasoning for core) 
  • Requirement #5 - Chemistry I (4-6 credits) (satisfies Science #1 for core)
  • Requirement #6 - Physics (4 credits) (satisfies Science #2 for core)
  • Requirement #7 - First-Year Engineering Selective (3-4 credits)
  • Requirement #8 - Written and Oral Communication (6-7 credits) (could satisfy Written Communication, Information Literacy or Oral Communication for core)

Note: ​​​​​​​CHM 11600 or CS 15900 is required to meet degree requirements, but not required to complete the First Year Engineering program. BIOL 11000 does not meet BSCE degree requirements. 

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (21 credits)


General Education Requirement (15 credits)


  • General Education Elective I - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • General Education Elective II - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • General Education Elective III - Credit Hours: 3.00  (satisfies Human Cultures: Humanities for core)
  • General Education Elective IV - Credit Hours: 3.00 (satisfies Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science for core)
  • General Education Elective V - Credit Hours: 3.00

Note:

At least 6 credits from Upper-level: 30000-level or above (or from courses with a required pre-requisite in the same department.)

CE Students must complete a minimum of 18 credit hours of General Education Elective Courses. Three credit hours of General Education Electives is covered with the combination of 1 cr. from CE 29202 (2 cr.) + CE 39201 (2 cr.). 

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 Provost’s 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
  • Student must have a CE index of 2.0 in all CE courses
  • Students must have a grade of C- or better in all courses except Technical Electives and General Education courses.
  • All courses must be taken for a grade - Pass/No Pass is not allowed.

Combined Degree Information


Combined BSCE and MSCE Program
A combined BSCE + MSCE program is available for outstanding Civil Engineering undergraduate students. This program can be completed in as little as five years (non-thesis and thesis option MSCE are possible) and result in receiving both the BSCE and MSCE degrees.

The BSCE + MSCE program is a mechanism for:
  1. Providing a seamless transition from the BSCE to the MSCE program.
  2. Stimulating interest in graduate study for advanced learning which would support more opportunities and faster advancement in professional and research/academic careers.
  3. Allowing for special recognition of high levels of academic achievement.
The BSCE + MSCE program allows students to take up to 6 credits of graduate coursework (500 level) toward their BSCE professional elective requirement. These same 6 credits likewise count toward the MSCE degree.  Additional graduate level courses taken in excess of the bachelor’s requirement may also be eligible for transfer to a MSCE program for a total of 12 credits (6 dual counted; 6 excess).
Interested students typically apply as an “internal CE applicant” in the first half of their junior year with  a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.3 or higher. If the internal application is accepted, the student would apply for combined program status to begin in the first semester of their senior year. A GPA of 3.3 must be maintained during combined program status. Grades of “B” or better must be earned for any course that would be dual counted. 

Complete details of the combined BSCE + MSCE program can be found at https://engineering.purdue.edu/CE/Academics/Graduate/Combined-BSCE-MSCE
Questions about this information should be directed to cegrad@purdue.edu

​​​​​​​Combined BSCE and MBA Program

The School of Civil Engineering in conjunction with the Krannert School of Management offers an integrated five-year BSCE/MBA. program to high-achieving students, Each year a significant number of engineering graduates pursue MBA’s at U.S. business schools. The MBA is seen as a complement to the engineer’s technical education, providing an understanding of the business context within which many technical decisions are made. Many employers also have a strong preference for hiring MBA’s with engineering backgrounds, particularly in the manufacturing and technology sectors, in which Krannert and the College of Engineering enjoy many longstanding relationships with leading employers. The BSCE/MBA combined degree offering will provide top BSCE students an efficient and cost-effective path for developing management knowledge as well as the highly valued credential of an MBA degree. It will also open new job opportunities for the program graduates that expedite their progression to high-level management positions.

Basic admission requirements include:
  1. Maintain a 3.5 graduation GPA.
  2. Secure at least one session of internship and/or co-op work experience prior to the senior year.
  3. Secure advanced credit (preferably math) or take summer courses in your CE program.
  4. Complete an application and successfully interview with the Krannert School of Management faculty for a spot in the class.
More details about the BSCE/MBA program are available online.

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.