Summary of Developments in the Civil Engineering Capstone Course at Purdue University
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education & Practice
Volume 138, Issue 1
Abstract
The civil engineering capstone senior design course at Purdue University involves all seniors in their last semester before graduation and is titled “Civil Engineering Design Project.” The course catalog describes it as “Planning, design, and analysis of a civil project; an integrated and realistic group project involving as much as possible all major aspects of the civil engineering profession.” This high-enrollment course (30–120 students per semester) has been team taught since the early 1960s and many approaches to teaching it have been utilized. Since 2001, the version of the course discussed in this paper has been taught in the spring semester with the student teams responding to a request for proposals (RFP) for local projects following the design-build method of project delivery. The proposals are submitted in two phases: (1) conceptual designs and alternatives analyses; and (2) design-build project proposal with approximately 30% complete design, total construction cost, and scheduling. The design-build proposal is the culminating activity in the course. Both phases have oral presentation components. Students are assigned to teams on the basis of factors that include overall grade point average, grades in key courses, work experience, computer software skills, and Meyers-Briggs typology. Peer evaluations, time sheets, and invoices for services are required. Since 2007, projects have had to meet LEED requirements specified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Continual development of the Purdue University civil engineering capstone course is anticipated to serve as a case study for other civil engineering programs looking to develop or revise their senior design course.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the many colleagues, practitioners, teaching assistants, and staff persons, all too numerous to mention, who have contributed to the success of this course over the years. Special recognition goes to the students who took the course and provided feedback to improve it.
References
Barry, B. E., and Drnevich, V. P. (2008). “Trends in the ethical judgment of engineering students.” Paper AC 2008-621, 2008 ASEE Annual Meeting, American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, DC.
Drnevich, V. P. (2005). “The senior design process at Purdue University.” Proc., 2005 ASEE Annual Meeting; Proc., 4th Global Colloquium on Engineering Education, American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, DC.
Drnevich, V. P., and Norris, J. B. (2007). “Assigning civil engineering students to capstone course teams.” Paper AC 2007-939, 2007 ASEE Annual Meeting, American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, DC.
Norris, J. B. (2007). “Balanced student team assignment macro (BSTAM).” Krannert School of Management, Purdue Univ., 〈http://johnnorrisphd.com/bstam.htm〉 (Jan. 18, 2010).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 28, 2010
Accepted: May 6, 2011
Published online: May 7, 2011
Published in print: Jan 1, 2012
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.