One of our Civil Engineering grads Ben Helmer is putting what he learned to work on a major building project here on the UMD campus.
Undergraduate Program We Offer
For a complete listing of courses – visit the Public Course Catalog. Enter “Duluth” in the Institution and Campus fields; and enter "CE" for Subject Area, then click “Search”.
Areas of Specialty
Within our curriculum, students have multiple Civil Engineering technical electives. Students must take two courses from the elective courses within a focus group (Environmental/Water Resources, Geotechnical, Structures, or Transportation) to complete a focus. Students may fulfill more than one focus group. Basic information about each focus group is listed below. When selecting a focus and courses, students are encouraged to tailor their selection of technical electives with input from their advisor. You can check out a sample plan for the B.S.C.E. degree if you'd like more details on courses.
Environmental/Water Resources
Environmental engineering is a facet of civil engineering known as the "wet side" which focuses on sustainability, environmental remediation, environmental impact, and managing resources. Water resource engineering is directed towards managing water resources (drinking water, waste water, storm water, etc). Environmental/Water Resources Engineering includes hydrology (surface water and groundwater), hydraulic engineering, water resources analysis, and environmental fluid mechanics.
Geotechnical
Geotechical engineering specializes in the science of soil and rock mechanics in order to apply it to engineering projects. Projects that emphasize geotechnical specialization include foundations, slopes, tunnels, landfills, etc.
Geotechnical Engineering includes the study of mechanical behavior of geomaterials (soils and rocks), in relation to design and construction of civil engineering structures such as foundations, embankments and excavations.
Structural
Structural engineering is a branch of civil engineering that involves the design, review, and creation of structures; from bridges to skyscrapers to schools.
Structural Engineering is the planning, analysis and design of structures including buildings, bridges, parking structures, and stadiums.
Transportation
Transportation engineering focuses on the design, control, and maintenance of transportation systems and the movement of people and goods from one place to another.
Transportation Engineering focuses on traffic systems operations and safety, highway planning and design, and the maintenance and operation of transportation facilities.
Research Opportunities for Students
We emphasize working with our students to ensure they are well prepared for their future careers and able to pursue cutting-edge research.
Our facilities and the equipment we have on hand enable these opportunities and we train students to use these tools to ensure they have skills needed in the field.
Undergraduate and graduate students work one-on-one with our faculty to conduct research.
UMD's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) provides funding and a great starting point for students to learn how to conduct research, gather data and present their results.
We also offer the chance to collaborate with a UMD department or local business to conduct research and devise solutions for real-world problems in our senior design courses.