Civil Engineering majors typically take the following courses in the fall semester of their first year:
First-Year Experience Learning Community Courses
We will register you in these courses.
- Philosophy (PHIL 201)
- English Composition (ENG 101) OR Theology (TRS 201)
Why am I taking these classes? Honors students take equivalent honors courses.
Major Courses
You will need to choose and register for these courses.
- Math 121 or other calculus-sequence course, depending on calculus placement (see below)
- Introduction to Engineering Design and Professionalism (ENGR 102)
- Computer Programming (CSC 113)
- Applied Steel and Fabrication (CEE 200)
Math Placement Exam
Your major requires you to take the math placement exam to determine what math course is the right level for you. For more information on math placement, please review the Mathematics Department’s placement exam instructions.
About Your First Semester Courses
There are three different tracks possible in the Civil Engineering major: Construction Engineering and Management, Structural Engineering, Transportation Engineering, and Environmental Engineering. All tracks take the same courses in the first semester, so you do not need to decide now. These courses, along with your Learning Community classes, will help you sharpen and broaden your thinking while giving you some of the technical tools you will need to attack more sophisticated problems.
Register for Introduction to Engineering Design (ENGR 102), a general introduction to the design process for all the engineering disciplines.
Take the calculus placement exam and register for the course into which you place. To help you place as high as possible, before taking the exam you should review:
- algebra: expanding and collecting terms; simplifying expressions; solving for a variable; solving simultaneous linear equations
- functions and graphs of functions
- elementary plane geometry
- analytic geometry including equational descriptions of lines, conic sections, circles, and spheres
- trigonometric functions (defined as circular functions in terms of radians; also as they relate to right triangles); exponential and logarithmic functions
- recognizing algebraic relationships expressed in ordinary prose and translating those relationships into their symbolic equivalents
Placement can also be determined by an AP or IB exam; consult with your advisor if this applies to you.
You will also register for Computer Programming (CSC 113).
To learn more about the Civil Engineering major and the concentrations available to you, consult the School of Engineering’s website.
Know which courses you want? Get registered.