Survey of the National Civil Engineering Curriculum
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 131, Issue 2
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a comprehensive survey of over 40% of the nation’s undergraduate civil engineering programs. This analysis is based on uniform data collected for accreditation and is principally concerned with three major groups of courses: (1) math and science, (2) general education, and (3) engineering topics. The analysis reveals what is currently being taught in our nation’s civil engineering undergraduate programs, what is not being taught, and the implications for future professional practice. The paper discusses how the average national curriculum has changed historically, how well the curriculum satisfies Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology criteria, and what the current distribution of courses and topics says about the priorities of civil engineering education. Overall, the curriculum was found to be highly specialized in terms of technical subjects but lacking in focus regarding the liberal arts, professional skills, and systems thinking.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank all the institutions that participated in this analysis. They would also like to thank Tom Lenox, Mike Baker, Kris Schumacher, Dean Jung, June Yi, and the members of the ASCE Task Committee on Accreditation Prerequisites for Professional Practice (ASCE 2001b) for their help in gathering and interpreting these data. Finally, they would like to thank the University Transportation Center, U.S. Department of Transportation Region 5, which funded a portion of this research, for its generous support.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 131 • Issue 2 • April 2005
Pages: 118 - 128
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 12, 2002
Accepted: Apr 23, 2003
Published online: Apr 1, 2005
Published in print: Apr 2005
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