Mar 29, 2024  
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Civil Engineering (B.S.C.E.)


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Program: B.S.C.E.
Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering  
College of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science


Civil engineers design, construct, manage, and improve the built environment that is all around us. Purdue University Fort Wayne offers a four-year civil engineering undergraduate program leading to a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree.

The program is designed to give students a broad exposure to all areas of engineering; to develop a sound understanding of the science that underlies civil engineering; and to foster students’ creativity and professional skills through design and project work.

Our students, while drawn from diverse backgrounds, are all extremely able and committed to learning. Purdue Fort Wayne delivers an exceptional educational experience to engineering students, encouraging collaboration and teamwork throughout the curriculum.  In addition to coursework, the department supports and encourage student participation in undergraduate research, co-op and internships, and several very active student organizations.

In its recently (2017) released rankings of the best colleges and universities in the United States, U.S. News & World Report deemed the engineering programs at Purdue Fort Wayne to be among the best in the country.


Educational Objectives:

As a framework for the continuous improvement policy, the Civil Engineering program has adopted a set of program educational objectives that describe the anticipated accomplishments of our graduates within a few years after graduation.

The Civil Engineering program educational objectives are to produce graduates who:

  • Advance professionally to roles of greater Civil Engineering technical responsibilities, and/or by transitioning into leadership position in business, government, and/or education.
  • Participate in life-long learning through the successful completion of advanced degree(s), continuing education, and/or engineering certification(s)/licensure or other professional development.

Demonstrate a commitment to community by applying technical skills and knowledge to support various service activities.


Student Learning Outcomes:

The graduates from the Civil Engineering Program will demonstrate that they have:

  • the understanding of basic knowledge in chemistry, mathematics, physics, engineering, and in one additional area of science such as biology, geology, or geography.
  • the ability to design and conduct experiments, interpret and analyze data, and report results in the areas of fluid mechanics, civil engineering materials, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, engineering design, and other related areas.
  • the ability to design a civil engineering system, component, or process that meets desired specifications and requirements including but not limited to technical functions, safety, quality control, time, and cost.
  • the ability to function on teams in assignments and projects, in engineering and science laboratories, and on multidisciplinary design projects.
  • the ability to identify, formulate, and/or solve civil engineering problems in major civil engineering areas including: construction management, environmental engineering, geomatics, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, materials, transportation engineering, and hydraulics engineering.
  • the understanding of the professional and ethical responsibilities and the ability to explain basic concepts in management, business, public policy and leadership.
  • the ability to communicate effectively orally through presentations, classroom participation and discussion, and in writing professional emails, memos, papers, and reports.
  • the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context and to understand the community needs by participating in community activities, conducting research, or designing a project.
  • the recognition of the need for post graduate education/learning and professional licensure, and the ability to engage in life-long learning activities including but not limited to admittance to graduate school, taking the FE exam, getting certifications, and participating in research activities.
  • a knowledge of and exposure to contemporary issues in classroom materials and discussions, projects, papers, articles, presentations, field visits, reading news articles, attending workshops, seminars/webinars, and/or in local, national, global, and professional news briefs such as the ASCE SmartBrief.
  • the ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering software tools and equipment necessary to analyze civil engineering problems and design civil engineering system.

Accreditation:

  • The Civil Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.

Program Delivery:

  • The B.S.C.E. program is delivered primarily through on-campus courses; however, some of the required General Education courses are available as hybrid and/or on-line courses and those can be used to satisfy the program requirements.

Declaring this Major:

Students interested in declaring Civil Engineering as their major may do so in one of two ways:

  • On their application when they first apply to Purdue Fort Wayne
  • After meeting with an CE facutly advisor, who will determine that the student has the requireed math and chemistry background to begin our program

General Requirements:

Program Requirements:

In order to start in the Civil Engineering program, a student must meet the following criteria:

  • Math Placement at or above MA 15400

General Education Requirements


A student must earn a grade of C- or better in each course used to satisfy the Purdue Fort Wayne general education requirements. A student must also have a GPA of at least 2.0 in all general education courses. Students in the civil engineering program will satisfy the Purdue Fort Wayne General Education Requirements in the following manner:

Category

Competency

Course

Credit Hours

A

1

ENGL 13100 Elementary Composition

3

A

2

COM 11400 Fundamentals of Speech

3

A

3

MA 16500 Analytical Geometry and Calculus I

4

B

4

CHM 11500 General Chemistry I

PHYS 15200 Mechanics

4

5

B

5

Select one course from list of approved courses, all Competency 5 outcomes must be met

ANTH 10501- Culture and Society

ANTH 20002 - Language and Culture

CDFS 25500 - Intro. to Couple & Family Relation.

COM 25000 - Mass Communication and Society **

COM 30300 - Intercultural Communication

ECON 20000 - Fundamentals of Economics **

GERN 23100 - Introduction to Gerontology

IET 10500 - Industrial Management **

LING 10300 - Introduction to the Study of Language

OLS 25200 - Human Relations in Organizations

OLS 26800 - Elements of Law **

POL 10101 - Introduction to Political Science **

POL 10300 - Introduction to American Politics

POL 10700 - Introduction to Comparative Politics

POL 10900 - Introduction to International Relations

POL 21200 - Making Democracy Work

POL 25200 - Sports and Public Policy

POL 30101 - Political Parties and Interest Groups

POL 31900 - The United States Congress

PSY 12000 - Elementary Psychology **

PSY 23500 - Child Psychology

PSY 24000 - Introduction to Social Psychology

PSY 33500 - Stereotyping and Prejudice

PSY 35000 - Abnormal Psychology

PSY 36900 - Development Across the Lifespan

SOC 16101 - Principles of Sociology **

SOC 16300 - Social Problems

SOC 31701 - Social Stratification

SOC 32501 - Criminology

SOC 36000 - Topics in Social Policy

WOST 21000 - Introduction to Women’s Studies

3

B

6

Select one course from list of approved courses, all Competency 6 outcomes must be met

AD 10101 - Art Appreciation **

AD 11100 - History Of Art I: Prehistoric To Medieval

AD 11201 - History Of Art II

COM 24800 - Introduction to Media Criticism & Analysis

ENGL 10101 - Western World Masterpieces I

ENGL 20201 - Literary Interpretation

ENGL 25001 - American Literature Before 1865

ENGL 25100 - American Literature Since 1865

FVS 10100 - Introduction to Film

GER 37100 - Special Topics In Germanic Studies

HIST 20101 - Russian Civilization I-II

HIST 10501 - American History I

HIST 10601 - American History II

HIST 11300 - History of Western Civilization I

HIST 11400 - History of Western Civilization II

HIST 23200 - The World in the 20th Century

MUSC 10500 - Traditions in World Music

PHIL 11000 - Introduction to Philosophy **

PHIL 11100 - Ethics **

PHIL 30100 - History of Ancient Philosophy

PHIL 30200 - History of Medieval Philosophy

PHIL 30300 - History of Modern Philosophy

PHIL 30400 - 19th Century Philosophy

PHIL 31200 - Medical Ethics **

REL 23000 - Religions of the East

REL 23100 - Religions of the West

REL 30100 - Islam

SPAN 27500 - Hispanic Culture and Conversation

THTR 20100 - Theatre Appreciation **

3

B

7

Select one course from list of approved courses

ARET 21000- Architecture and Urban Form **

EAPS 30000- Environmental and Urban Geology**

EAPS 30500- Geologic Fund. in Earth Science **

ENGL 10302- Introductory Creative Writing **

ENGL 20301- Creative Writing **

GEOL 31500- Environmental Conservation **

MUSC 15300- Introduction to Music Therapy

OLS 45400- Gender and Diversity in Management

PHIL 12000- Critical Thinking **

PHIL 15000- Principles of Logic **

PHIL 27500- The Philosophy of Art

PHYS 13600- Chaos and Fractals

PHYS 30200- Puzzles, Games, & Prob. Solving **

SOC 10900- Community and the Built Environment

SOC 31401- Social Aspects of Health and Medicine

SPAN 11101- Elementary Spanish I

SPAN 11201- Elementary Spanish II

SPAN 11300- Accelerated First Year Spanish

THTR 13400- Fundamentals of Performance

**PHYS 25100 is not accepted as a B7 General Elective Course**

3

B

4 (or) 7

Select one course from approved science elective courses

BIOL 10000- Introduction to the Biological World (B4)

BIOL 30400- Major Ideas in Biology (B4)

EAPS 10001- General Geology (B4)

EAPS 30000- Environmental and Urban Geology (B7)

EAPS 30500- Geologic Fund. in Earth Science (B7)

FNR 10300- Intro to Environmental Conservation (B4)

GEOG 10700- Physical Systems of the Environment (B4)

GEOG 31500- Environmental Conservation (B7)

3

C

8

Senior Design I (CE 48700)

3

 

 

Total  Credit Hours =

34

 

1) This plan satisfies the competency requirements and the credit hour requirement.

2) This list of CE approved courses is posted at www.pfw.edu/cme.

** Recommended courses for Civil Engineering students.

Technical Elective Courses Credits: 12


Students must select 12 credit hours from the following sections. Students may choose from different areas.

A maximum of two courses can be taken from non-civil engineering courses. 

Other courses may be approved with the consent of the advisor with consultation with the civil engineering curriculum committee

GPA Requirement


The required courses (ENGR, CE, and ECE) and technical elective courses must have a combined minimum GPA of 2.0.

For latest information please visit www.pfw.edu/cme.

Total Credits: 123


Student Responsibilities


All Civil Engineering students are responsible for satisfying the graduation requirements specified for the B.S.C.E. program.  Thus, it is essential that they develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies, and procedures governing their academic career. 

All requests for exceptions to  specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the appropriate chair or dean. 

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