By Mariko Navin, Undergraduate Program Advisor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
What do the Concrete Canoe, Seismic Structures, and Steel Bridge competitions have in common with environmental research? These are just a few ways in which undergraduate majors in the Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) program are preparing for their profession and engaging in the world around them. These three national competitions provide opportunities for students to tackle different engineering challenges and meet peers and professionals from across the nation. Our teams often win regional and national recognition. Recently one of our teams took first prize in a national environmental research design competition. In addition, many of our students participate in the UW student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), which last year was ranked the best in the nation among EWB student chapters.
The University of Washington Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) degree 1, which is appropriate for students interested in civil and environmental engineering. Our faculty sometimes refers to our department title as representing the "dry" side and "wet" side of engineering, recognizing that civil and environmental engineering issues are often varied and interrelated. The department offers courses and research in six areas of emphasis: construction, transportation, structural, geotechnical, water resources/hydraulics/environmental fluid mechanics, and environmental engineering.
There seems to be renewed student interest in civil and environmental engineering (last year the number of CEE applications increased by 23 percent), and we expect the trend to continue in the future as the Obama Administration emphasizes the rebuilding of the nation’s infrastructure. While hiring has slowed compared to last year, the CEE Career Fair held in January 2009 attracted nearly 60 organizations, and demand for civil & environmental engineers is expected to grow rapidly as the economy recovers.
The CEE Department admits majors only once a year in autumn quarter, so it is important for interested transfer students to apply in the spring before they arrive on the UW campus. (The online engineering application opens in mid-June, and closing date is July 1.)
A frequent question from community college students is what to do if they are unable to finish all the prerequisite courses by end of spring quarter. Students may apply for "conditional admission" if they are missing only one or two prerequisite courses and are otherwise qualified. Students interested in this option should consult with the CEE adviser.
Students should also know that some transfer courses, which may not appear to satisfy our program requirements, may sometimes be approved to satisfy degree requirements. For example, the second chemistry course after the CHEM 142 equivalent will often be accepted to satisfy the CHEM 152 requirement, even if it transfers to the UW as CHEM 1XX. Likewise, a computer programming course using C++ instead of JAVA (as used by the UW) may also be acceptable to satisfy our computing requirement, even if the course transfers as CSE 1XX. Students should retain course materials, including the syllabus, course description, and possibly sample work, in case they wish to submit a course evaluation request to the department.
To learn more about the UW CEE program, please visit us at www.ce.washington.edu.
1 The BSCE degree is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012, Tel: 410-347-7700).
