The Civil Engineering program promotes project-based learning. As students learn the fundamentals of science, math, and engineering in their first two years, their courses include hands-on projects in which they use those fundamentals in real-world applications. For example, students in their sophomore engineering design course have worked with our Engineers Without Borders student chapter to develop and implement sustainable water supply solutions for villages in India and Kenya.?

Students in their surveying course have assisted the University in meeting a requirement of an Army Corps of Engineers permit each year by mapping out important features of a University conservation area. In their final two years, students take courses in the core areas of civil engineering: structural, geotechnical, transportation, water resources, environmental, and construction engineering.?

The curriculum continues to emphasize project-based learning, such as performing a traffic impact study for a magnet school in the city of Hartford or growing algae as a potential source of biofuel. The civil engineering curriculum culminates with a senior capstone design project. Students select a project in their area of interest and work as part of a design team mentored by a practicing engineer. The experience gained by our students working as junior engineers for their mentors has been extremely successful in helping our graduates make the transition from college to their professional careers.