Prospective students

Apply to our bachelor's programs as an incoming freshman, as a sophomore at UB, or as a transfer

Juan Aleman Hernandez, Pursuing Ph.D.
Structural and Earthquake Engineering

“Working hand in hand with my faculty advisors has opened up my research and life goals, improved … more

Current Students

B.S. Civil Engineering Program

Curriculum

Overview

This page contains summaries of the B.S. civil engineering curriculum (Table 1 and Table 2, below).

The current civil engineering curriculum is summarized in Table 1. Students who entered as freshman prior to Fall 2000 or transferred prior to Fall 2002 may have slightly different requirements and should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

During the first two years of study, the civil engineering curriculum provides for the development of knowledge and skills in the sciences, mathematics, and English composition and reading. In the Junior year, this development is supplemented and followed by a number of basic engineering and civil engineering courses so that the engineering student entering his/her senior year of study is ready and able to take more specialized and advanced courses, including a cumulating design experience.

General Education

All UB students must take a specified number of general education courses. Several sets of requirements are potentially applicable depending on when (year) and how (transfer or freshman) a student entered UB. For more information, contact the SEAS Office of Student Services.

Technical Electives

Five (5) upper-level technical electives are required for the B.S. civil engineering program. Many students select technical electives to provide specialization in one of the civil engineering subdisciplines (see Specialization Tracks below). However, any combination of approved technical electives (see Table 2) may be selected, subject to the following constraints:

At least one course must be selected from CIE 428, CIE 429, CIE 430, CIE 438, CIE 442, or CIE 449.
Only three credits of informal courses (CIE 498, CIE 499, EAS 396/496).
In some cases, graduate courses or senior-level courses from outside of civil engineering may be taken as technical electives with prior approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Table 1. B.S. CIVIL ENGINEERING CURRICULUM
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FIRST YEAR

FALL		SPRING
MTH 141 Calculus I	4	MTH 142 Calculus II	4
CHE 107 Chemistry I	4	PHY 107 Physics I	4
EAS 140 Engineering Solutions	3	CHE 108 Chemistry II	4
General Education	3	MAE 177 Intro to Engineering Drawing/CAD	2
ENG 101 Writing 1 or ENG 102 Writing 2*	3	ENG 201 Reading and Adv. Writing or Gen. Ed.*	3
Library Skills	-	EAS 202 Engineering Impact on Society	1
TOTAL:	17	TOTAL:	18

SECOND YEAR

FALL		SPRING
MTH 241 Calculus III	4	MTH 306 Differential Equations	4
PHY 108 and PHY 158 Physics II	5	EAS 208 Dynamics	3
EAS 207 Statics	3	EAS 209 Mechanics of Solids	3
EAS 230 Higher-Level Language (or CSE 113)	3	General Education	3
General Education	3	Engineering Elective (see notes)	3
TOTAL:	18	TOTAL:	16

THIRD YEAR

FALL		SPRING
CIE 323 Structural Engineering I	3	CIE 324 Structural Engineering II	3
CIE 354 Fluid Mechanics	3	CIE 334 Mechanics of Soils	3
CIE 327 Civil Engineering Materials	3	CIE 340 Environmental Engineering	3
CIE 303 Geodesy, GPS, GIS	3	CIE 343 Hydraulic Engineering	3
EAS 308 Engineering Statistics	3	General Education	3
CIE 361 Civil Engineering Laboratory 1	2	CIE 362 Civil Engineering Laboratory II	2
TOTAL:	17	TOTAL:	17

FOURTH YEAR

FALL		SPRING
CIE 439 Transportation System Analysis	3	CIE 415 Professional Practice Issues	3
CIE 435 Foundation Engineering	3	Technical Elective**	3
Technical Elective**	3	Technical Elective**	3
Technical Elective**	3	Technical Elective**	3
Applied Math Elective (see notes)	4	General Education	3
TOTAL:	16	TOTAL:	15

SUMMARY:
Required Civil Engineering Courses	= 37 Credit hours
Required Basic Science and Math Courses	= 33 Credit hours
Required EAS Courses (includes Applied Math Elective)	= 28 Credit hours
Technical Electives	= 15 Credit hours
General Education Courses	= 15-18 Credit hours
Writing Skill Requirement (Contingent upon SAT score)	= 3-6 Credit hours
TOTAL CREDIT HOURS	= 134

NOTES:

Applied Math Elective Select one from: MTH 417 Multivariable Calculus, MTH 418 Analytical Methods (or MAE 428), MTH 309 Linear Algebra

Engineering Elective Select one from: EE 200 Concepts/Nonmajors, EE 202 Circuit Analysis I, MAE 204 Thermodynamics, or IE 320 Engineering Economy

* Writing skill requirement: ENG 101 and ENG 201 (or ENG 102, contingent upon SAT or ACT score)

** At least one of the technical electives must be selected from CIE 428, CIE 429, CIE 430, CIE 438, CIE 442 or CIE 449

TABLE 2. APPROVED TECHNICAL ELECTIVES
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Courses
CIE 423 Structural Engineering III
CIE 424 Computer-Aided Design in Civil Engineering
CIE 426 Finite Element Structural Analysis
CIE 428 Steel Design
CIE 429 Reinforced Concrete Design
CIE 430 Wood Design
CIE 437 Pavement Design and Materials
CIE 438 Advanced Foundation Design and Construction
CIE 441 Ecological Engineering
CIE 442 Treatment Process Engineering
CIE 444 Hydrologic Engineering
CIE 445 Groundwater Engineering
CIE 447 Sustainability Practicum
CIE 448 Chemical Principles in Environmental Engineering
CIE 449 Environmental Engineering Design
CIE 458 Introduction to Geoenvironmental Engineering
CIE 469 Hazardous Waste Management
CIE 476 Design and Construction of Earth Structures
EAS 480 Technical Communications
EAS 396/496 Engineering Career Institute (ECI) Co-op
CIE 491 Construction Estimating
CIE 493 Project Management CIE 498 Research and Creative Activities CIE 499 Independent Study

NOTES

The flexibility in technical electives provides students with an opportunity to specialize in one of the civil engineering subdisciplines (see Specialization Tracks below). Recommended technical electives include the following:

Structural Engineering: CIE 423, CIE 428, CIE 429, CIE 430, plus one other
Geotechnical Engineering: CIE 438, CIE 458, CIE 476, plus two others
Environmental Engineering: CIE 441, CIE 442, CIE 449, plus two others
Construction Engineering and Management: CIE 429, CIE 491, CIE 493, plus two others

Specialization Tracks

Civil engineering majors may pursue a general degree program or configure their electives to provide specialization in one of four subdisciplines, as detailed in the subsequent sections.

Construction Engineering and Management
Environmental Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering
Structural Engineering

Construction Engineering and Management

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Construction Engineering and Management provides 15 out of every 100 employment opportunities in the United States. Construction engineers are responsible for constructing and maintaining facilities that provide fundamental support for our modern societies, including, but not limited to, roads, bridges, water and sewer lines, power plants, and dams. These projects require an extensive knowledge and understanding of engineering and management fundamentals, as well as the use of computers and new technologies for the management of time, money, people and materials and equipment. Construction engineers also address the specific concerns of improvement of safety and occupational health.

The Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering offers a broad-based education in civil engineering designed to equip students for a variety of career opportunities. As part of the required civil engineering curriculum, all students take the following courses related to construction engineering and management:

For students who desire specialization in construction engineering and management, the following technical electives are recommended:

In some cases, students may also select from certain graduate courses in the construction engineering and management program (see section on Registration in the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Studies Manual). Typical selections include:

In addition to the above courses, students may obtain field experience by enrolling in EAS 396/496 (ECI Co-op), which may be used as a technical elective. Currently, internships are available with several consulting firms that specialize in construction engineering and management.

Environmental Engineering

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Environmental Engineering addresses diverse problems such as drinking water supply, air pollution control, industrial hygiene, radiation protection, hazardous waste management, toxic materials control, storm water management, solid waste disposal, public health, and ecosystem management. Environmental engineering is a multidisciplinary profession that blends engineering principles with the natural sciences (chemistry, biology, geology), mathematics, statistics, and computer science. Environmental engineers find employment in a wide range of positions including engineering consulting firms, industry, government agencies, municipalities, public and private laboratories, research organizations, and educational institutions.

The Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering offers a B.S. degree in environmental engineering in addition to the specialization track within the B.S. civil engineering program. The latter program is designed to equip students for a variety of career opportunities. As part of the required civil engineering curriculum, all students take the following courses related to environmental engineering:

For students who desire additional specialization in environmental engineering within the civil engineering program, the following technical electives are recommended:

Other environmental engineering technical electives include:

In some cases, students may also select from certain graduate courses in the environmental engineering program (see section on Registration in the Civil Engineering Graduate Studies Manual). Typical selections include:

Geotechnical Engineering

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Geotechnical Engineering plays a vital role in the design and construction of the nation's civil infrastructure against natural forces, as well as in its maintenance and rehabilitation. Geotechnical engineers design foundations, ground improvement, slopes and embankments, retaining walls, dams, shoring, underpinning of structures, below-ground waste containment, soil clean-up, landfills, and wetland drainage systems. They also work in conjunction with environmental engineers in the areas of solid waste management and groundwater protection, maintaining the quality of our land and groundwater resources.

For students interested in a specialization in geotechnical engineering, the following technical electives are recommended:

Other relevant technical electives include:

In some cases, students may also select from certain graduate courses in the geotechnical engineering program (see section on Registration in the Civil Engineering Graduate Studies Manual). Typical selections include:

In addition to the above courses, students may obtain field experience by enrolling in EAS396/496 (ECI Co-op), which may be used as a technical elective. Currently, internships are available with several consulting firms that specialize in geotechnical engineering.

Structural Engineering

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Structural Engineering focuses on the design and analysis of different types of structural systems. All structures, regardless of their function, are subjected to natural forces (wind, water and earthquakes) and by man-made forces (cargo and automobile traffic), and they must be designed to withstand these forces. These structures can be as varied as buildings, bridges, pipelines, machinery, automobiles, and spacecraft. The job of the structural engineer is to create new designs or to evaluate and improve the capabilities of existing structures. In order to accomplish this, the structural engineer must be knowledgeable about the behavior of deformable bodies, about the sources, magnitudes and probability of occurrence of applied loads, about material properties, design philosophies and governmental design codes, and about computer programming and usage. As most of the building codes have seismic design requirements, structural engineers must also learn about earthquake resistant design of new structures and seismic retrofitting of existing structures.

For students who desire additional specialization in structural engineering, the following technical electives are recommended:

Other relevant technical electives include:

In some cases, students may also select from certain graduate courses in the structural engineering program (see section on Registration in the Civil Engineering Graduate Studies Manual). Typical selections include: