When you talk about the brains behind our highways, houses, towns, and cities, you talk about civil engineering. This is why to study civil engineering is important.
Civil engineering is a professional practice in the design and development of infrastructure projects. These may include planning, design, budgeting, surveying, construction management, and analysis, and often, civil engineering careers encompass a combination of all these elements.
In this post, you will learn everything you need to know about Civil engineering and the top 15 Schools that offers quality civil engineering program degrees.
So if you want to build a career in civil engineering and you need to pursue a degree in that field, you are on the right page.
This is my advice to you!
Don’t be in a hurry to close this tab until you read the last word. The table of content below gives you an overview of all this post entails.
- What is Civil Engineering?
- Why study civil engineering?
- What are the requirements for studying Civil Engineering?
- #1. Check at specialist skills in Civil Engineering
- #2. Full schooling in Civil Engineering
- #3. Locate the University for Graduates
- #4. Requirements for Licensing
- #5. Majors in Construction Engineering
- #6. Get to be a Researcher in civic engineering
- #7. Starting High School Training
- #8. Take into account a programme for BS / MS
- Subjects needed for Civil Engineering in high School
- What are the types of Civil Engineering?
- #1. Environmental Engineering:
- #2. Structural Engineering:
- #3. Construction Engineering:
- #4. Geotechnical Engineering:
- #5. Transportation Engineering:
- #6. Water Resource Engineering:
- What is the Salary of a Civil Engineer like?
- List of top 15 Civil Engineering Schools in the World
- #4. Delft University of Technology
- #5. University of Cambridge
- #6. University of Oxford
- #7. Stanford University
- #8. Harvard University
- #9. Imperial College London
- #10. Georgia Institute Technology
- #11. ETG Zurich
- #12. Nanyang Technological University
- #13. Peking University
- #14. Princeton University
- #15. University of Michigan Ann Arbor
- Recommendations
What is Civil Engineering?
Civil engineering is everything you see which has been constructed around us. It’s all about roads, highways, schools, offices, hospitals, sources of water and electricity, and much more. The kinds of things we take for granted, but without them, we will find it extremely difficult to live.
It’s arguably believe that the oldest engineering discipline is civil engineering which generally encompasses with the built environment and can be dated to when someone put a roof over his or her head for the first time or laid a tree trunk across a river to make it easier to get across.
According to Wikipedia, Civil engineering is the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures. It aims at protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.
In a nutshell, it’s all about the designing, construction, and maintenance of man-made structures, such as houses, highways, bridges, canals, and dams.
Why study civil engineering?
Been the oldest engineering discipline and one of the most important aspects of engineering that deals with human life, it has tonnes of roles it plays both in human life and the world at large.
Generally, Civil engineering through its engineers shapes the world we live in today. These engineers design, build, and maintain the infrastructure such as a reservoir, dam, bridge, road, tunnel, and building. In fact, they form the bedrock for a sustainable future as far as the world is concerned.
Aside from that, many students study civil engineering in other achieve the following:
First, establish their country by setting some essential basic structures that can attract foreign investors and make their country worth living.
Secondly, get a wide range of employment opportunities. Civil Engineering is one field of engineering that has wide opportunities because of its vital role. For this reason, most students who desire to fit into these tons of opportunities strives to study in this field.
Relevancy is another important reason students go for civil engineering. Civil engineering deals with different construction stages of product development. From the inception of the design of the project, to bring it to life and establish it, all require the expertise of a civil engineer.
In addition, studying civil engineering comes with a lifetime experience that can help any student excel in any area of engineering aside civil engineering. In fact, the studies provide a significant level of relevant experience where most courses in civil engineering nowadays involve the prospect of doing an experiment during the program.
You have a variety of baccalaureate options to go for: there are several undergraduate courses that offer a master’s year if you are interested in further studies. There is a large range of doctoral options as well.
Furthermore, studying civil engineering can help you as a student master essential practical skills. If you find that a career specifically related to civil engineering is not appropriate for you after studying the subject, don’t worry, because students learn skills that can be applied to many other careers through the university process, which include problem-solving, logical, and IT decision-making.
Also, you will have highly refined understanding of technology, mathematics and innovation.
What are the requirements for studying Civil Engineering?
These are the basic requirement for a civil engineer
#1. Check at specialist skills in Civil Engineering
It’s essential to focus on the different areas of specialization when you start looking at educational programs in civil engineering. At the start of your academic program, you do not need to determine a specialty, but as you select your college, learning more about the choices will benefit you.
The most detailed civil engineering education will be offered by a college that is recognized by the certification program for Engineering and Technology.
#2. Full schooling in Civil Engineering
To complete a civil engineering education program, intend to spend four years as a full-time student. Getting professional experience help you get a job after graduation.
You will also undertake a senior conceptual design that links your learning, innovation, and engineering skills in the classroom to a project in the real world. As a way to force a potential employer to select you for a full-time job, you can also use this design.
#3. Locate the University for Graduates
You may want to consider obtaining a graduate degree in civil engineering if you want to work as a lead engineer, manager, or engineer for large projects. It will take two years to complete a stand-alone graduate program.
A graduate program would allow you to delve deeper into areas of expertise, such as construction engineering, hydrology engineering, sustainability engineering, and environmental engineering.
#4. Requirements for Licensing
US according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) civil engineers who provide the public with their services must fulfill state licensing requirements for skilled engineers (PE). Requirements vary by state but typically include the accumulation of four years of work experience and the completion of two examinations conducted by the National Council of Engineers and Surveyors Examiners.
#5. Majors in Construction Engineering
Civil engineering learners venture into complicated concepts such as quantum mechanics, structural analysis, statistics, and industrial engineering and structures after achieving core course requirements. Courses which require the implementation of a project development in which students evaluate the materials’ structural integrity. Using CAD programs to test their prototypes may be necessary for this.
Most programs typically enable students to complete laboratory courses and hands-on work in the field, along with classroom learning, in which they can analyze substances ranging from soil to concrete. These courses allow students to recognize specific material features, as well as possible issues with their use.
#6. Get to be a Researcher in civic engineering
After you have advanced, to meet the minimum requirements to become accredited, you would need to achieve four years of full-time experience. You’ll be labelled an Engineer in Practice during this process. Some companies include the certification process with a reasonable wage, incentives and assistance.
#7. Starting High School Training
Even as a novice in the field during high school, taking as many courses in science and math as possible when you’re in high school is very necessary. Advanced Placement and post-secondary choice courses offer a preparatory basis for the requirements of civil engineering found in a college degree program.
To gain a realistic insight into the industry, consider working on a construction site or shadowing a civil engineer’s job. If you have taken demanding courses in advance, the criteria for college civil engineering education would be simpler.
#8. Take into account a programme for BS / MS
Multiple universities offer a dual degree in civil engineering that shortens by one year the time it takes to finish an undergraduate and graduate degree. If you are pursuing a career that needs a graduate degree, you can add some of your coursework to your master’s program and graduate faster in the last two years of your graduate degree.
Subjects needed for Civil Engineering in high School
Civil engineering is as old as the Tower of Babel Civil engineering is one of the largest possible and strongest engineering fields of engineering when it comes to engineering, spread throughout many technical areas of expertise. The creation of stimulates to modern life is planned, constructed and supervised by civil engineers.
Therefore studying civil engineering requires mingling with some complex and complicated subject as some individuals think, such subjects include-
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Geography
- Computer skills
- Design & technology and
- A trade subject
Although some subjects such as English language and art even though not listed are also valued to a civil engineer because it improves both his communication skills and accurate drawing measurement.
What are the types of Civil Engineering?
Civil engineering is recognized as one of the world’s most significant areas of engineering. By designing, building, managing and sustaining infrastructure that plays a central role in the growth of countries and promotes civilized life, the industry is about solving real-world problems.
This includes homes, bridges, highways, airports, lakes, drainage systems, flood control operations, etc. The list goes on forever.
In our countries, civil engineers are at the heart of creativity.
As you can see, while civil engineering is a speciality that typically focuses on the construction of man-made physical structures, it is an extremely large field that includes numerous sub-disciplines. We will describe some main roles for a certain segment in this section. Which includes:
#1. Environmental Engineering:
Environmental engineers are concerned with evaluating possible environmental risks and eliminating them. They are charged with helping to protect protected areas of nature and to keep emissions and environmental damage free from construction sites, water supplies, and climate. A good core understanding of science and mathematics, including hydrology and drainage and also some air science, must be accessible to civil engineers.
#2. Structural Engineering:
This involves the construction of bridges, flyovers, coastal structures and other buildings is studied and analyzed in structural engineering. The duty of these engineers is to ensure that these buildings are not only visually appealing but also comfortable, robust and serviceable. This involves the recognition of the loads, forces and tension on a system that could function.
When constructing a house, different variables must be taken into account by the engineers. They must also ensure that the building is built to withstand environmental factors. Also, qualified and experienced mathematics and physics skills are important for effectiveness.
#3. Construction Engineering:
Managing and supervising an entire building project is the primary function of a construction engineer. This not only involves the scheduling and methods used to evaluate the process, but also the distribution of goods and the growth of the site.
It is possible that their regular duties include the assessment of logistical activities, the analysis of contracts, and the coordination of contractors. They will need to make sure that programs are successfully and safely completed.
In building projects, construction engineers are usually on-site engineers who maintain quality and best management practices when building any project. They are usually hired by contracting firms that do the construction for consultancy or design-build companies.
For any construction project, they are important and therefore have the ability to see a wide variety of projects happening around themselves.
#4. Geotechnical Engineering:
In building foundations, measuring pavement strengths and depths, assisting in the construction of dams, tunnels, and more, geotechnical engineers use their knowledge of soil strength and structural construction.
For virtually every construction project, their knowledge of the soil, its intensity, how it behaves under stress, and when it is saturated are essential. Beyond buildings and into things such as cranes, towers, and more, their base design can also span.
The field of geotechnical engineering is continuously evolving, and many of the formulas and equations used today were less than 40 or 50 years ago.
#5. Transportation Engineering:
One of the most relevant civil engineering fields continues to be transport engineering. All types of public transport systems in the world are planned, constructed, and maintained by engineers in this field.
Their goals are to increase the overall flow of traffic, reduce traffic congestion, and decrease the likelihood of accidents occurring. This can be done either by implementing a completely new method or by changing an existing one.
However, Transportation engineers have a broad variety of functions. They are responsible for constructing and maintaining railroads, roadways, ports, and airports. Also, they build any other transportation infrastructure that accommodates passengers or trade.
Planning is an important aspect of deciding the most efficient routes and transit systems for a given area, beyond design.
They may also evaluate congestion and accident data in order to build secure and reliable transport systems. In fact, It’s their role to recognize a country’s transportation needs. And also provide for those needs in a way that is healthy, efficient, and cost-effective.
#6. Water Resource Engineering:
In a given area, water management engineers aim to raise the efficiency and availability of water resources. They build and create a piping system that captures and maintain water as a natural resource. Basically, this field of engineering adopts concepts of hydrology, meteorology, and resource management.
In addition, they examine the effects and how to prevent floods, protect, and clean groundwater supplies. They further minimize the effects of land degradation in certain areas, sustenance banks of the river, and sidewalks.
A good understanding of quantum mechanics, drainage, and cognitive and behavioural efforts should be provided to such professionals.
What is the Salary of a Civil Engineer like?
Regardless of the specific area where civil engineers choose to work, the field is brimming with opportunities and well-paid positions. The careers below represent some of the paths a civil engineer may take; while the salaries given herein represent the middle 50 percent of earners, those at the top of their game in the top 10th percentile make even more.
List of top 15 Civil Engineering Schools in the World
One of the College subjects is technology, so it is a pretty common program in the world. Nearly all the universities in the nation offer one or another field of engineering. Based on that, so we used the inclusion conditions to select the right from that kind of pile.
The schools must have a distinction after being one of the best in their place of origin as well as on the planet in order to be the world’s leading engineering school.
Specific topic-wise, our ranking contrasts the rating of the nation’s finest engineering schools by Times Higher Education(THE) and QS Top University. Our best schools are, therefore, not only reputable as an organization but also reputable in the field of subject matter.
They Schools for Civil Engineering Students include:
#1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is an autonomous, private research university and one of the best civil engineering schools founded in 1861.
The university is aimed at improving awareness and training candidates in science, innovation, and other fields of study. This is to best serve the country and the world today.
At present, MIT is divided into five separate schools: architecture and planning, engineering, humanities, arts, and natural sciences, administration, and technology.
#2. National University of Singapore
Location-21 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, Singapore
The National University of Singapore is another university with one of the top schools for civil engineering students in the world. This university began in 1905 as the first Singapore-owned university, with 35,908 students and 2,555 academic staff, and is a higher education institution.
Generally, this university provides a global approach to education, science, and business, with an emphasis on Asian perspectives and skills.
The university’s multiple disciplines and real-world systems of education give it the platform to work directly with industry, governments, and academia to tackle Asia and the world’s important and dynamic issues.
#3. University of California Berkeley [UCB]
Location-United States
Another of the public colleges that houses one of the best civil engineering schools in the world is the University of California, Berkeley. The university is the system’s flagship university and the oldest, established in 1868 in Berkeley with over 43,204 students.
One interesting fact about this university is that the high student enrollment, however, doesn’t affect the high quality of service they offer.
In any of the 8 schools in UC Berkeley, you will get some of the finest engineering degrees. These include biotech; Electrical Engineering & Software science courses; Engineering Science; manufacturing engineering & mechatronics; and Atomic Engineering; civil and environmental engineering.
#4. Delft University of Technology
Location-Netherland
The University of Technology, Delft established in 1842 is a university with one of the best civil engineering schools any potential civil engineer can desire to study in.
The university has eight faculties,14-degree programs, and over 30 conduct a study in architecture, technology, and engineering, with approximately 16,000 students. Although all degrees of Masters are taught in English, TU Delft is proud to be a forward-looking, innovative institution with an international perspective where it stresses problem-solving through teamwork.
Interestingly, the university degree programs at this school encourage students to carry out summer jobs and academic research which can give them a head start in the graduate job market.
#5. University of Cambridge
Location: The Old Schools, Trinity Ln, Cambridge CB2 1TN, United Kingdom
The University of Cambridge is one university in the UK that you can believe in getting the nation’s finest degree in engineering. In the UK, Cambridge is an old university that started in 1209. The academic standards, tradition, popularity, and prosperity of Cambridge give the University of Cambridge a great worldwide reputation.
By ranking it third in the world, THE supports the argument of the University of Cambridge as one of the environmental engineering groups in the world. QS also recognizes Cambridge as the world’s 4th community college to get the best degree in computer science.
#6. University of Oxford
Location-United Kingdom
In the English-speaking world, the University of Oxford is the oldest university and the second oldest surviving university in the world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is documentation that it was as far back as 1096 that instruction took place.
The university consists of 44 colleges and over 100 libraries, possibly the largest library network in the UK.
In all major branches of engineering as well as in emerging fields, Oxford has gained a huge reputation for providing quality education. So, in Oxford, you can find biomedical engineering, environmental preservation, which many schools don’t give. Comprehensively, complete,
Basically, the Department of Engineering of the University of Oxford has eight research centers, namely: Biomedical; Chemical and Process; Civil and Offshore; Electrical and Opto-electronic; Energy; Knowledge, Control and Vision; Solid Mechanics and Materials; and Turbomachinery and Thermo-Fluids.
#7. Stanford University
Location-United States
Stanford’s School of Engineering also has a strong reputation in the world through keeping a high ranking in the world for its academic contributions to different fields of study. This school is ranked first in the world by THE and QS supports this by ranking second in engineering in the world.
Also, several schools can’t come close to Stanford when it comes to institutes, laboratories, and centers promoting science and engineering. There are five institutes and 55 laboratories and centers at Stanford School of Engineering,
In comparison to this, Stanford’s Engineering School has nine divisions offering degree programs in engineering. They are Aeronautics & Astronautics, Bioengineering, civil engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Material Science & Engineering, systems engineering, and strategic management & Engineering.
#8. Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, MA, United States
The institutional prestige of Harvard is reflected in most of its subject offerings. THE ranks Harvard University as 3rd in Engineering, but for QS’s ranking, Harvard does not rank among the top 10 engineering schools in the world. Nonetheless, with all its engineering curriculum, Harvard with ABET accreditation still stands among the top civil engineering schools in the world.
#9. Imperial College London
Location: Exhibition Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 2BU, United Kingdom
While it is called Imperial College London by individuals, the legal name of Imperial College is Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine. This alone speaks of the prestige of the university in STEM. Meanwhile, Imperial College London is a public university in London with over 17,000 students. This UK university is regularly ranked by various ranking bodies as one of the top 100 universities in the world.
Imperial College offers ten engineering departments. They are the Aeronautics Department; Bioengineering; Chemical Engineering; Earth Science and Engineering; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Materials; and Mechanical Engineering. Computing; Dyson School of Design Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Computing.
#10. Georgia Institute Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is an Atalanta, Georgia, public university. Traditionally, Georgia Tech offered only a degree in mechanical engineering after its foundation in 1885. But in 1901, to satisfy certificates in electrical, civil, and chemical engineering, the school’s curriculum expanded.
So, Georgia Tech is not a novice to the design industry. This top university has currently grown to have six ( 6) schools, including its renowned Engineering Program.
#11. ETG Zurich
Location: Freiestrasse 83, 8032 Zürich Switzerland
Becoming a STEM institution, it’s no wonder that engineering at ETH Zurich holds a high global ranking. It is ranked third in the world by QS Top University, though HE ranks it 8th.
In addition, in collaboration with IBM Research, the university has six ( 6) interdisciplinary STEm research centers, including the Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center (BRNC).
Well, they could get some of ETH Zurich’s best engineering bachelor’s and doctoral degree programs in any of its ten academic fields.
#12. Nanyang Technological University
Location-50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore
Another Singapore university on our list is Nanyang Technical University (NTU). In Singapore, it is the second oldest public university operated by Singapore.
NTU has a Department of Classics, Arts and Social Sciences, while it is a technical university, hence its huge group of 31,687 students. However, with its science and technology levels, NTU is more prominent.
In terms of reputation, QS ranks Nanyang Technical University as the world’s sixth-best engineering university, while THE ranks it 15th. This shows that NTU is a major player in global engineering study, in addition to its six colleges offering quality engineering degrees.
Yeah, with 36 Research Centers and Core systemic and topical at the disposal of NTU’s College of Engineering, the college is not only an Asian engineering research force but also an international gigantic.
#13. Peking University
Location-China
Peking University, similar to the Ivy League in the United States, is a member of the C9 League and also ranks among China’s top universities and colleges. With a total enrolment of around 35,000, only those who score best in standardized tests are accepted.
After the communist takeover, the university took on more of a public character than a national character, while during the warping reform of the communist regime it later had to shut down for four years.
#14. Princeton University
Location: Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
One of the Ivy League-leading universities in the United States is Princeton University. As you’ve seen, it goes further than the hype to tangible academic achievement to be an Ivy League institution, which is why they show up on this map.
Princeton University started in Princeton in 1746 and is a private university like other Ivy League colleges. Princeton has a total student body of 8,374 and an educational staff strength of 1,289 employees from now to the fall of 2018.
#15. University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Location: 500 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
The University of Michigan is a public university established in 1817. The university offers a four-year and the full-time undergraduate programs. These programs comprises the majority of enrollments and emphasizes instruction in the arts, sciences, and professions with a high level of coexistence between graduate and undergraduate programs.
The University of Michigan has a tradition of excellence in research, learning and teaching, sports and the arts, and more.