Civil Engineering Technology is a broad field producing technologists with versatile backgrounds in a number of subject areas. Southern Polytechnic State University graduates have the qualifications to enter careers in construction, structural design, surveying, transportation, hydraulics, site planning, and environmental technologies. A student may elect one of four specialty areas in Environmental Control, Structures, Surveying, Transportation or may choose to follow a broad, general path with no particular specialization. A specialty in Environmental Control will enable a graduate to pursue a career in planning, analysis, and design of systems to correct or control the pollution of air, land, or water.
Many opportunities exist with municipalities, industry, consulting firms, and government agencies.
Graduates specializing in Structures are prepared for positions involving the design, plan preparation, construction, and inspection of modern buildings and bridges. In their coursework, assisted by both mainframe and microcomputers, students analyze loads and stresses on structures, design foundations, and design structural members of steel, reinforced concrete, and timber. Graduates selecting Surveying are taught the principles and techniques of boundary, topographic, geodetic, route, and construction surveys. In laboratories, students develop maps from field measurements, design and lay out construction projects, and plan subdivision developments. Microcomputers are used extensively in reducing data, planning field layouts, and plotting boundaries.