The educational objective of the Department is compatible with the missions of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Sciences and the University, which are stated below. Civil Engineering is the planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of systems and physical facilities necessary to maintain and improve our society. The Department offers specialized areas of civil engineering in environmental, geotechnical, structures, transportation and water resources engineering. Environmental engineering is concerned with the engineering control and protection of the environment. It involves the engineering design and operations of systems for water quality management, water supply and wastewater treatment, and hazardous waste management and treatment.
Geotechnical engineering encompasses the areas of soil mechanics and foundation engineering.
It is concerned with the problems involved in the design and construction of structures built on and of soil and rocks. Geotechnical engineering includes the design of foundations of bridges, buildings, design of tunnels and dams, and the geological factors affecting all structures. Structural engineering includes the design of all types of structures including office buildings, dams, bridges and tunnels and the monitoring of their construction. A primary concern of structural engineers is predicting the loadings that a structure will have to resist during its life and ensuring that it will be both safe and useful. Computers are used extensively in this discipline.