Civil-Engineering Education: Alternative Paths

Education in civil and hydraulic engineering has undergone only evolutionary change in the past half-century. During that time the salary levels of civil engineers, including hydraulic engineers, have markedly decreased in comparison with nonengineering professions and even compared to other engineering disciplines. Presently, the mode of engineering education is being challenged, with many proposing to increase the educational requirement for professional engineers. Calls for a 5-year first professional degree in the United States have become popular. However, such a change is insufficient and will not cure the current problems. To promote professionalism and to remedy other concerns now plaguing civil engineering, two alternative paths are proposed for civil engineering education. One path is to broaden professional engineering education by offering a 6-year undergraduate program of study as an option to the present 4-year undergraduate program. The alternative path is to broaden the purpose of graduate engineering study to include practice-oriented programs aimed at producing doctorate-level engineering professionals, rather than engineering academics. Both paths emphasize an integrated, broad education, but not at the expense of technical depth. And both directly affect the education of hydraulic engineers.