Civil and Environmental Engineering
From Unofficial Guide to Engineering
Contents |
What is Civil and Environmental Engineering?
What do the ancient Egyptians have in common with NASA scientists? Civil engineering expertise. From pyramids to space stations, the program in civil and environmental engineering provides the foundation for constructing an environment that meets the economic needs of society and protects human health and safety. Civil and Environmental Engineering involves the planning, design, and construction of many of the developments, large and small, that make modern life possible. This involves finding solutions to many problems faced by society while staying within the limits of available resources, such as materials, space, and money.
What careers are available for Civil and Environmental Engineers?
Our graduates have been involved in many civil engineering projects of great magnitude. From the Golden Gate Bridge to the English Channel Tunnel, this department's alumni have had a hand in shaping the world in which we live and move through. Some of the many facilities that civil engineers are responsible for include bridges, buildings, tunnels, highways, offshore structures, transit systems, dams, airports, irrigation systems, water treatment and distribution facilities, and wastewater collection and treatment facilities. Students, many after pursuing a graduate degree, find employment in both the private and public sectors with companies such as the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Bechtel Corporation.
Civil and Environmental Engineering at Berkeley
Ranked first in the nation for five years running, the Civil and Environmental Engineering Program prepares students to be leaders in their field. All these disciplines require an intense study of physics, math, chemistry, and mechanics, along with some economics and related courses. The curriculum leads to a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering that is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, a necessary step to becoming a professional licensed engineer.
The Program
The introductory (lower division) courses for Civil and Environmental Engineering are very similar to those of other Engineering majors. Additional lower division classes, CEE majors have to take include E11 (Engineered Systems and Sustainability), E28 (Engineering Graphics using design tools AutoCAD and SolidWorks), E36 (Engineering Mechanics I aka Statics), CE 70 (Engineering Geology) and CE60 (Structure and Properties of Civil Engineering Materials aka concrete lab).
The upper division courses in Civil and Environmental Engineering include 4 core classes from a list of 7, which cover all of the possible emphases (described below), a design elective (typically for your emphasis), 5 technical electives (or 15 units), CE 100 (Hydrology) and CE 130 (Mechanics of Materials I) and an engineering science elective.
An undergraduate in the Civil and Environmental Engineering program will receive training in all these areas and has the option of choosing one or more of the following for primary emphasis. Note: Students do not need to have an emphasis.
Engineering and Project Management
Engineering and Project Management plan, coordinate, and supervise the building of facilities. Their expertise lies in production and construction engineering along with facilities and corporate management.
Environmental Engineering
Environmental Engineering addresses complex problems that threaten public health and the environment, such as the problem of air and water pollution as well as the disposal of solid waste and hazardous by-products of industry and agriculture. This is done by designing and building facilities to purify and alter such substances while enforcing state and federal pollution control regulations. In a more academic setting, environmental engineers study the science underlying environmental engineering. Relevant research may include studying how the behavior of fluids (e.g. air or water) affect pollutant transport, how pollutants flow in groundwater (the study of hydrology), or how new methods of water treatment may make water treatment cheaper/easier/more efficient.
GeoEngineering
This field involves the selection and design of foundation construction, petroleum engineering, geoenvironmental engineering, and soil and rock mechanics. GeoEngineers develop earthquate-resistant designs and retrofits, find ways to prevent and remediate underground pollution, and site, design, and construct dikes, dams and underground facilities.
Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials (SEMM)
This field involves designing complex structural projects and supervising their construction. Structural engineers design a variety of systems, from the world’s tallest buildings to much smaller structures, such as transmission line towers, ensuring that they are resistant to earthquakes and other hazards.
Transportation Engineering
This field involves the design of transportation systems such as highways, railways, and airports. Transportation engineers are also responsible for rehabilitating and maintaining existing facilities and planning transportation systems to handle international, inter-regional, and intra-city commodity and passenger flow. They also develop new technologies such as intelligent highways and cars that steer themselves.
Why Civil and Environmental Engineering?
With so many fields of interest, a Civil and Environmental Engineering degree offers students a wide variety of options before and after graduation. As an undergraduate, there are many research projects and academic competition teams to be involved with, such as Concrete Canoe, Environmental Water, or Steel Bridge. Students are prepared for a challenging career made necessary by the growing demands of society. It allows for work indoors and outdoors as well as individually and in teams to provide for the needs of society and improve modern life.
Student Comment
“I chose to become a CEE because of the direct impact CEE’s have on the basic infrastructure that society rests upon. As one of the oldest engineering disciplines, CEE’s have left their mark on all aspects of society. The great thing about the program is that it is very diverse. You have a lot of choices, so you’re bound to find something that you really enjoy. And it doesn't hurt that the professors are great and the department as a whole is a very close-knit family.” - Heena Patel (Class of 2006)
Links
CEE Department at Berkeley http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/
