Civil engineering overview: Colleges, Syllabus, Eligibility, Jobs and more

10 mins

Table of Contents

  • Introduction 
  • Did you know??
  • Can we survive without civil engineers?
  • Top universities offering civil engineering courses
  • Syllabus 
  • Eligibility Grounds
  • Documents you will need for pursuing MS in Civil Engineering in the USA
  • Branches in Civil Engineering
  • Job prospects after MS in Civil Engineering in the USA
  • Conclusion

Introduction 

Civil engineering revolves around building, maintaining, and restoring infrastructures globally. Civil engineers are responsible for designing, constructing, and maintaining basic infrastructures like roads, dams, bridges, railways, buildings, water systems, airports, seaports, highways, sewerage systems, canals, power plants and other basic infrastructures. 

In this blog, you will know about the top colleges that provide civil engineering courses, eligibility criteria, placements, etc. 

Top universities offering civil engineering courses

The USA is considered the world’s best destination for studying MS in Civil Engineering. According to the U.S. News and World Report(2021), the top 10 universities in the USA offering civil engineering degrees are tabulated below:

University World Ranking Location Degree offeredYearly tuition fees
University of California1Berkeley, CAMasters in Civil engineering

$11,442 per year (in-state, full-time)

$26,544 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Georgia Institute of Technology2Atlanta, GAMasters in Civil engineering

$14,064 per year (in-state, full-time)

 

$29,140 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign2Urbana, ILMasters in Civil engineering

$18,998 per year (in-state, full-time)

$36,150 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Stanford University4Stanford, CAMasters in Civil engineering$57,861 per year (full-time)
University of Texas--Austin (Cockrell)4Austin, TXMasters in Civil engineering

$10,554 per year (in-state, full-time)

$19,320 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Purdue University–

West Lafayette

6West Lafayette, INMasters in Civil engineering

$10,330 per year (in-state, full-time)

$29,132 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology7Cambridge, MAMasters in Civil engineering$53,450 per year (full-time)

The University of Michigan–

Ann Arbor

7Ann Arbor, MIMasters in Civil engineering

$27,718 per year (in-state, full-time)

$52,098 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Carnegie Mellon University

9Pittsburgh, PAMasters in Civil engineering

$50,100 per year (full-time)

$2,088 per credit (part-time)

Virginia Tech

9Blacksburg, VAMasters in Civil engineering

$13,701 per year (in-state, full-time)

$27,614 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

 

Syllabus 

The basic syllabus structure of MS in Civil Engineering remains same for the universities in the USA. Still, it might differ from college to college. You could refer to the syllabus of MS in Civil Engineering in some of the top universities in the USA listed below:

UniversityLinks to the syllabus of MS in Civil Engineering
MIThttp://catalog.mit.edu/schools/engineering/civil-environmental-engineering/civil-environmental-engineering.pdf
McGill https://www.mcgill.ca/study/2021-2022/faculties/engineering/graduate/programs/master-science-msc-civil-engineering-thesis#msc-engciv-t_cve4_major
UIChttps://cme.uic.edu/graduate/ms-civil/
University of South Alabamahttps://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/engineering/ce/resources/msceprogram2019courselists.pdf

 

Eligibility Grounds

  • Every university in the USA has set different eligibility criteria for admission to MS in Civil engineering. Overall, the basic requirements remain the same for all the universities, but the minimum marks/percentages of various entrance tests might vary. 
  • You must have a 4-year bachelor's degree in civil engineering or a related field.
  • International students willing to pursue MS in Civil engineering will require a minimum 3 GPA out of 4 in their bachelor’s degree.
  • English-proficiency tests(IELTS/TOEFL) are compulsory, especially for international candidates. 
  • In addition to this, you must give the GRE test, the scores for which differ for each university. 
  • Check out the detailed list of requirements of some of the top colleges offering MS in Civil engineering along with their GRE score and IELTS/TOEFL score requirements:
University GRE Qualification scoresMinimum IELTS scoresMinimum TOEFL scores

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(MIT)

  • At least 115 in the quantitative and verbal section.

Or 

  • The average of both the sections must be between 156-168.
7.5100
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
  • Minimum 167 in the quantitative section.
  • At least 156 in the verbal section.
  • An average score in analytical writing should be 3.5
7.090
Stanford University
  • Average of the quantitative and verbal sections should be between 157-170
7.5100
Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Minimum 155 in the quantitative section.
  • Minimum 155 in the verbal section
7.090
UIUC
  • Minimum 165 in the quantitative section.
  • At least 155 in the verbal section.
  • The average score in analytical writing should be 4
6.580
The University of Texas at Austin
  • Minimum 155 in the quantitative section
6.579
Purdue University
  • At least 163 in the quantitative section.
  • An average score of 160  in the verbal section
7.090
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
  • An average score of 165 in the quantitative section.
  • An average score of 156 in the verbal section.
  • An average score in analytical writing should be 3.8
6.584
The Caltech
  • Not mandatory
6.580
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
  • At least 153 in the quantitative section.
  • An average score of 150  in the verbal section
7.087

 

Documents you will need for pursuing MS in Civil Engineering in the USA

Planning to apply for a master's in Civil Engineering in the USA??? Then have a look at the list of documents you will require to secure a seat at one of the best civil engineering colleges in the USA:

  1. Completed Application form: The first apparent essential step is buying and filling out the application form. Finally, submit the form online along with the prescribed fees.
  2. Academic documents: These include all passing certificates, detailed mark sheets, and other relevant documents of your bachelor’s degree. The candidate must have completed a 4-year undergraduate degree in the relevant field of study with an average GPA score of 3 or above.
  3. Letter of motivation/Recommendation Letters: This letter will somehow justify your credibility. It is usually written by a previous/current professor/employer. This letter puts light on your strengths, weaknesses, and past work experiences in a favorable manner. You will require at least 2-3 letters of recommendation stating the candidate’s academic achievements and professional work history.
  4. Language Proficiency Exams results: Scorecards for English-proficiency exams like IELTS TOEFL are required.
  5. Statement of Purpose: It is usually a detailed essay on why you are interested in joining a particular university for a particular course. In this essay, you must justify your purpose of joining the university.
  6. Resume: A resume is required to show relevant work experience in some colleges. Remember!! If you have not taken the GRE tests, you could use your work experience as a waiver.
  7. F-1 Visa: This visa is a prerequisite for international students desirous of pursuing full-time study in the US. This visa is temporary. The US Department of State awards it.

Branches in Civil Engineering

Post your MS in Civil engineering, you can target a wide range of jobs in the following fields of civil engineering:

 

  1. Construction Engineering: It involves the construction of structures and managing all the tasks related to the construction of structures. 
  2. Structural Engineering: It involves analyzing and designing the basic infrastructure facilities like bridges, railway lines, highways, oil and gas fields in the sea. A structural engineer is responsible for measuring and assuming pressures and loads of structures. This gives a clear idea regarding the structure's lifetime, its impact in the future, and its safety for long-term use.
  3. Transportation Engineering: It is concerned with the developing designs of transportation systems to ensure their effective functioning and sustainability. Transportation systems include structures for streets, air transportation, tunnels, overpasses, and railways.
  4. Water Engineering: Water engineers are responsible for understanding the nature of natural water resources and suggesting ways to conserve these water bodies, which are depleting day by day.
  5. Geotechnical Engineering: This field is concerned with understanding the properties of the ground on which a structure is built. Geotechnical engineers are responsible for examining the quality of soil and stones and judging whether the soil will hold the structure for an extended period.
  6. Environmental Engineering: It is concerned with protecting and conserving the environment. It includes activities like green engineering, pollution elimination, solid waste treatment, handling hazardous waste materials, protecting densely populated areas, natural resources in densely populated areas, and many others.
  7. Coastal Engineering: It encircles management and protection of the coastal regions from natural calamities like floods, erosion, etc. 
  8. Earthquake Engineering: It is concerned with designing an infrastructure capable of withstanding the ill effects of earthquakes. Earthquake-prone countries like Japan have a huge demand for earthquake engineers.
  9. Forensic Engineering: This branch of civil engineering revolves around inspecting various types of materials used while constructing any infrastructure. It focuses on improving the process of construction by analyzing the defects in past constructions and devising plans to overcome such failures.

Job prospects after MS in Civil Engineering in the USA

After your MS in civil engineering, you can expect to get a job through the career service department of your college. The career service department invites companies to their campus for recruiting its graduates as interns. 

Although top universities in the USA target 100% placement, not all students are lucky enough to find the job of their dreams. In such a case, you can still apply for the role you are interested in at the career page of your dream organization. This might be a tedious task as you need to visit the company’s career page daily to be aware of the latest job opportunities and to check the status of your job application. 

So, an alternate solution to this problem is to apply to various jobs through some of the popular job portals in the USA like:

  • Indeed
  • LinkedIn
  • Job2Careers
  • Monster.com
  • CareerBuilder
  • Google for Jobs
  • SimplyHired
  • LinkUP

As per the U.S. News and World Report(2022), Civil engineering jobs have been ranked:

  • 1st  in best engineering Jobs, 
  • 16th  in Best STEM Jobs,
  • 43rd  in 100 Best Jobs

According to U.S. News and World Report, the job opportunities for civil engineers are expected to grow by 8% by 2030.

The median annual salary of civil engineers is around $88,570. An entry-level civil engineer can earn around $69,100 yearly. An experienced civil engineer can expect to earn around $115,110.

Top 5 Highest paying cities in the USA for Civil Engineers

The following metropolitan cities are expected to pay the highest compensation to civil engineers in the USA:

Cities in the USAAverage Annual Salary (USD)
New Orleans,  Louisiana$125,910
Sacramento, California$121,970
San Francisco, California$119,860
Redding, California$119,250
Naples, Florida$118,110

 

New Orleans pays the highest average annual salary to civil engineers compared to other cities in the USA. Whereas Naples pays the lowest average annual salary to civil engineers compared with other cities in the USA.

Top 5 Highest Paying States in the USA for Civil Engineers

The following states in the USA pay the highest salary to civil engineers:

States in the USAAverage Annual Salary (USD)
California$113,200
New York$105,210
New Jersey$100,690
Alaska$100,160
Oklahoma$98,940

 

California pays the highest average annual salary to civil engineers in the USA. Whereas, Oklahoma is the lowest paying state for civil engineers.

Top 10 civil engineering organizations
  1. Arup
  2. Atkins
  3. Vinci
  4. Mott McDonald
  5. Stantec
  6. Balfour Beatty
  7. Bechtel
  8. Skanska
  9. Laing O’Rourke
  10. Arcadis

Did you know?

Let’s learn some interesting facts about Civil engineers: 

  • Back in the 18th century, “architects” and “civil engineers” were the same as civil engineering and architecture fields were not different from each other. 
  • John Smeaton was the first-ever civil engineer in the world. He was well-recognized when he constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse.
  • Civil engineers have now opted for the road towards sustainable development of infrastructures. They focus on finding ways to reduce pollution, thereby facilitating cleaner air in the future.
  • Norwich University in the USA was the world’s first civil engineering school founded by  Captain Alden Partridge in 1819.
  • Nora Stanton Blatch was the first woman civil engineer. She was awarded a civil engineering degree in 1905 by Cornell University.
  • The Institute of Civil Engineers(ICE) was founded in 1818. It is interesting to know that it started just in a coffee shop in London with only eight civil engineers on board. One of the founders was only 19 years old.
  • One of the oldest societies of engineers - the American Society of Civil Engineers, was founded in 1852 and is still operational today.
  • There is a term called earthquake engineering, which focuses primarily on reducing the risk of earthquakes.

Can we survive without civil engineers?

Well, the answer is a big no!!! Civil engineers are the backbone of the structures we reside in, the amenities we use for our routine activities, transport networks we use, and a lot more!!! Here’s why civil engineers are here to stay as long as human civilization exists:

  • Construction of basic infrastructures: First things first, the fundamental need of civil engineers arise from the fact that they build and maintain basic structures like roads, buildings, dams, telecommunication lines, and other utilities that we require for the smooth functioning of our lives. 
  • Preservation of the Environment: Yes, you heard it right!! A branch of civil engineering named environmental engineering deals with introducing sustainable ways to treat chemical, biological, thermal, and biochemical waste, which aid in water and air purification.
  • Development of Urban Societies: Civil engineers look after the development and maintenance of water supply networks, street lighting, sewer system, waste management systems, underground utility networks, the distribution of electrical and telecommunication networks, transport service networks, and more.
  • Water Resources Management: Water resource engineering is a sub-field of civil engineering that focuses on collecting and effectively managing water resources. This branch includes predicting and managing the quality and quantity of surface water resources like lakes, rivers, sea, ocean etc.
  • Managing water calamities: Civil engineers are responsible for designing defense mechanism systems to reduce the ill effects of floods and erosion.
  • Material Science: Civil engineers lay a solid foundation of structures utilizing materials like ceramics, concrete, asphalt, strong metals like steel and aluminum, thermosetting polymers.
  • Preventing the risk of earthquakes: Another branch of civil engineering, earthquake engineering, plays a vital role in preventing the risk of earthquakes. Civil engineers understand the interaction of structures to earthquake-prone grounds. As a result, they build structures that can withstand earthquake tremors, minimizing loss of life and property.
  • Surveying: Civil engineers conduct surveying of land areas, which help them design a plan or map or layout to construct vital structures like highways, railways, pipelines, roads, streets.

Conclusion

Civil engineering is an excellent field of study used to build, maintain, and transform infrastructure utilized by humankind. Civil engineering is one of the oldest rooted fields of engineering. Civil engineers are the backbone of the structures we reside in, the amenities we use for our routine activities, transport networks we use, and a lot more!!! This is why civil engineers are here to stay as long as human civilization exists.

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