Civil Engineering (BSCE)

Catalog Year

2021-2022

Degree

Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering

Major Credits

101

Total Credits

128

Locations

Mankato

Accreditation

ABET

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology

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Program Requirements

Required General Education

Required Special General Education (23 credits)
The Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree does not adhere to the standard general education program required by other majors. Rather, it requires a special distribution of communication, humanities, and social science courses. Courses may be chosen to satisfy the university cultural diversity requirement concurrently.
Required Humanities and Social Science Courses (minimum of 15 credits) To satisfy this requirement, the courses selected must provide both breadth and depth and should not be limited to a selection of unrelated introductory courses. Each student should discuss with his/her academic advisor on the selection of courses to meet this requirement early in their academic career. A current list of acceptable courses is posted in the department office and on the department web site. Specifically, the minimum requirements consist of at least 6 credits in the humanities area, and at least 6 credits in the social sciences area in addition to the Required General Education courses.
To provide the measure of depth to the course of study, at least 3 credits at the 300-level or above must be included in either the humanities of the social sciences requirement. At least one upper division course must follow a course in the same subject area as a course at the 100 or 200 level.

Students in this course approach writing as a subject of study by investigating how writing works across a variety of contexts.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-1A

Introduction to learning the written and oral communication of technical information. Assignments include writing and presenting proposals, reports, and documentation. Emphasis on use of rhetorical analysis, computer applications, collaborative writing, and usability testing to complete technical communication tasks in the workplace.

Prerequisites: ENG 101 

Goal Areas: GE-02, GE-13

Choose 3 Credit(s).

Emphasis on forces influencing employment and inflation. Current problems of the economy are stressed along with tools government has to cope with them.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05

Examines decision making by the individual firm, the determination of prices and wages, and current problems facing business firms.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05

Prerequisites to the Major

Introduction to the design concepts of civil engineering projects including presentations, codes and standards, construction drawings, and public hearing; problem solving skills for civil engineering analysis and design including the use of appropriate computational tools and programming logic. Includes laboratory component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 101 

Limits, continuity, the derivative and applications, transcendental functions, L'Hopital's Rule, and development of the Riemann integral.

Prerequisites: Satisfy Placement Table in this section, MATH 115 or both MATH 112 and MATH 113 with “C” (2.0) or better.

Goal Areas: GE-04

Techniques of integration, applications of integration, improper integrals, numerical integration, the calculus of parametric curves, and infinite series and sequences.

Prerequisites: MATH 121 with “C” (2.0) or better or consent

Surfaces, vector-valued functions, partial differentiation, multiple integration, and vector calculus.

Prerequisites: MATH 122 with “C” (2.0) or better, or consent

This course presents the theory, computations, and applications of first and second order differential equations and two-dimensional systems.

Prerequisites: MATH 122 with “C” (2.0) or better or consent

Resultants of force systems, equilibrium, analysis of forces acting on structural and machine elements, friction, second moments, virtual work.

Prerequisites: PHYS 221

Kinematics and kinetics of particles, systems of particles and rigid bodies, work-energy, linear and angular impulse momentum, vibrations.

Prerequisites: ME 212 

Load deformation, stress, strain, stress-strain relationship, buckling, energy concepts, stress analysis of structural and machine elements.

Prerequisites: ME 212 

Probability and statistics. Uncertainty, distributions. Numerical solution of algebraic, transcendental and differential equations. Numerical integration and differentiation. Structured programming language required. Prerequisite: CIVE 201 or ME 201 or EE107 with C (2.0) or better, ME 212 Co-requisite: MATH 321 Fall, Spring

Prerequisites: ME 212. Select one course from CIVE 201, EE 107, or ME 201 with "C" (2.0) or better).

Designed for science and engineering students. Calculus-based physics. Covers elementary mechanics including kinematics, statics, equilibrium and dynamics of particles, work and energy, rotational motion, gravitation, and oscillation. Lecture and Laboratory. MATH 121 must be completed with a C or better prior to taking this course or must be taken concurrently. High school physics or PHYS 101 is also strongly encouraged. Fall, Spring

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-02, GE-03

Chemistry Options - Select one of the two Chemistry Options for 5 credits.

Option 1: General Chemistry

Introduction to the basic principles of chemistry including atomic and molecular structure, bonding, chemical reactions, stoichiometry, thermodynamics and states of matter. Laboratory will reinforce lecture concepts. Prereq: C or higher in MATH 112 or the equivalent; high school chemistry or C or higher in CHEM 104

Prerequisites: “C” (2.0) or higher in MATH 112 or the equivalent; high school chemistry or “C” (2.0) or higher in CHEM 104.

Goal Areas: GE-02, GE-03

Option 2: Chemistry Applications - Choose 5 Credit(s).

From an engineering perspective, concepts of general chemistry will be investigated. Topics include atomic structure, stoichiometry, gas laws, periodic trends chemical bonds, thermodynamics, kinetics and organic chemistry.

Prerequisites: High school chemistry or “C” (2.0) or higher in CHEM 104. Student must demonstrate math placement requirements at or above MATH 115 in the placement chart. See Mathematics for details.

Goal Areas: GE-02, GE-03

Introduction to laboratory analyses of aqueous solutions and soils in support of civil engineering or geological applications. Includes Techniques of analysis of water and soil samples. Water analysis includes biological and chemical oxygen demand, corrosion, pH, phosphorus, chlorine, VOCs, nitrogen, hardness, turbidity, thermal measurement and flow tracing. Soil analysis includes pH, loss on ignition, redox, and fertility.

Prerequisites: none

Major Common Core

To prepare the students for a career in engineering with some emphasis in civil; introduce the engineering fundamentals and the skills necessary to have a successful learning experience; and to prepare students for engineering education and profession through interactions with upper-class engineering students and practicing engineers.

Prerequisites: MATH 113 or MATH 115 or MATH 121

Basic computer applications for drafting and designing civil engineering projects. Structure and use of standard CAD software. Basic orthographic construction and projections, and development of different types of drawings - sections, plan and profile, and construction details.

Prerequisites: none

Mechanical behavior and properties of civil engineering materials. Microstructure, response to stress, creep, fatigue, fracture and failure. Composition, application and construction of steel, concrete, asphalt, aggregates, steel, timber, composites and other materials. Includes laboratory component.

Prerequisites: none

Basic civil engineering measurements as relates to construction layout, including distances, angles, bearings, elevations, mapping, and positioning. Includes laboratory component.

Prerequisites: none

Introduction to fluid properties, fluid statics, buoyancy, fluid kinematics, Bernoulli's equation, control volume and differential approach to flow conservation equations, dimensional analysis, similitude, viscous flow in pipes, flow over immersed bodies, and pumps. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 214 or ME 214

Minimum design loads for buildings using ASCE 7 guidelines and load distribution. Analysis of determinate structural systems including the case of moving loads. Analysis of indeterminate structures using the flexibility and moment distribution methods. Use of software to enhance the analysis.

Prerequisites: CIVE 223 or ME 223 

Study of soil behaviors and their classifications; index properties. Applications of mechanics principles to soils as an engineering material, consolidation theory, compaction theory, effective stresses, shear strength; earth pressure and slope stability. Elements of foundation designs. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 223 or ME 223

Introduction to Transportation systems; land use and transportation interaction, planning, and traffic operations; transportation decision making using economic analysis. Introduction to design, construction, maintenance, and operation of various transportation modes. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 145 

Introduction of the fundamental chemical, biological and physical principles of environmental engineering for water and wastewater treatment and distribution systems, solid waste management, air pollution control, and the analysis of air quality, surface water, and ground water. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: MATH 321. CHEM 201 or GEOL 291

Practical civil engineering design project with real world constraints. This course focuses on the planning and formulation of a project, and the presentation of preliminary findings to the public. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 340, CIVE 350, CIVE 360, CIVE 370W

Practical civil engineering design project with real world constraints. Focuses on the engineering analysis, design, and economic analysis of the project. Includes significant design component. Students will prepare for and complete the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.

Prerequisites: CIVE 401W

Provides students with hands-on experience in the testing of civil engineering materials including concrete, metals and structural systems. Includes laboratory component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 340 & CIVE 370 

Provides students with hands-on experience in the testing of civil engineering materials including soil and asphalt, fluid mechanics, hydraulics, and hydrology. Includes laboratory component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 350, CIVE 360 

Physical geology is the study of how the earth works. From mountain building to soil erosion, this course provides an introduction to all the main areas of geologic study. Lecture discussions and laboratory exercises are designed for students seeking a major or minor in one of the natural sciences.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-03, GE-10

Choose 2 - 3 Credit(s).

Fundamental concepts of thermodynamics. Thermal properties of substances and state equations. Conservation of mass, first and second laws. Examples of applications to different engineering systems.

Prerequisites: PHYS 221 

Basic principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. First and second laws of thermodynamics and application to engineering systems and their design. Not for mechanical engineering major.

Prerequisites: PHYS 221 with “C-” (1.67) or better 

Choose 3 Credit(s).

Design of reinforced concrete beams, columns, slabs, and structural foundations according to ACI 318 Building Code requirements. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 340 

Behavior and properties of structural steel. Design of tension members, compression members, beams, and connections using the LRFD method. Use of the AISC Steel Construction Manual is required. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 340 

Major Restricted Electives

Physics II or III - Choose one group

College Physics II

Designed for science and engineering students. Calculus-based physics. Covers electrical charge and field; magnetic field and its sources; current and resistance; simple DC and AC circuits; and electromagnetic induction. Lecture only. (Associated laboratory course is PHYS 232.) MATH 121 must be completed with a C or better prior to taking this course. MATH 122 must be completed before taking this course or taken concurrently. Fall, Spring

Prerequisites: MATH 121 with a “C” or better; PHYS 221 with a “C” or better.

Designed for science and engineering students. Laboratory course accompanying PHYS 222. Experiments involving electric and magnetic fields, electric potential, electric and magnetic forces, and simple circuits. Laboratory only. Prereq: PHYS 221 with a C or better; and PHYS 222 or concurrent. Fall, Spring

Prerequisites: PHYS 221 with a “C” or better; and PHYS 222 or concurrent.

College Physics III

Designed for science and engineering students. Calculus-based physics. Covers fluids, thermodynamics, mechanical and sound waves, geometrical optics, physical optics, and modern physics. Lecture only. (Associated laboratory course is PHYS 233.) Pre: MATH 121 with a Cor better; and PHYS 221 with a C or better. MATH 122 must be completed before taking this course or taken concurrently. Spring

Prerequisites: MATH 121 with a “C” or better; and PHYS 221 with a “C” or better

Designed for science and engineering students. Laboratory course accompanying PHYS 223. Experiments involving fluids, thermodynamics, mechanical waves, geometrical optics, and physical optics. Laboratory only. Prereq: PHYS 221 with a C or better; and PHYS 223 or concurrent. Spring

Prerequisites: PHYS 221 with a “C” or better; and PHYS 223 or concurrent.

Civil and Technical Electives - Choose a minimum of 14 credits in civil (minimum 9) and technical (minimum 2) electives. Elective courses are selected from the list below, and are recommended to be taken after identifying an area of interest and in consultation with an academic advisor.

Civil Engineering Electives - Choose 9 - 12 Credit(s).

Advanced surveying techniques related to control surveys, coordinate systems, error identification, adjustment computation, ethics and client relations, and techniques specific to a range of applications including: land development, highway layout, mining, hydrography and riparian boundaries.

Prerequisites: none

History and concept of boundaries; boundary location procedures; property ownership and conveyance; metes and bounds; legal research regarding boundaries; rules of boundary evidence including classification and evaluation; land description composition; easements.

Prerequisites: none

A practical surveying project with real world constraints. Focuses on residential or commercial land development incorporating: subdivision and land development regulatory processes, zoning issues, elements of civil infrastructure design, boundary description and location, grading and earthwork, utility design and layout, and storm water management. Supports preparation for the Fundamentals of Surveying licensure examination.

Prerequisites: none

Selected studies in the properties and design of concrete mixtures, cement chemistry, concrete durability, specialty concrete, construction, admixtures, and quality control. Includes laboratory and significant design components.

Prerequisites: ME 223 

Design of reinforced concrete beams, columns, slabs, and structural foundations according to ACI 318 Building Code requirements. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 340 

Design of prestressed concrete structures. Basic materials and prestress loss mechanisms. Flexure, shear, and deflections of prestressed concrete beams. Load-moment interaction curves for columns. Prestressed concrete bridge girders. The use of software is expected. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 340

Behavior and properties of structural steel. Design of tension members, compression members, beams, and connections using the LRFD method. Use of the AISC Steel Construction Manual is required. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 340 

Analysis of open channel flow systems. Includes natural channels, designed channels, flow transitions, steady flow, unsteady flow, uniform flow, and non-uniform flow. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 350 

Analysis and design of water regulating structures. Includes dams, spillways, gates, dikes, levees, stilling basins, water distribution systems, and various simpler structures. Environmental impacts of hydraulic structures are discussed throughout the course. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 350 

Application of fluid mechanics and hydrology to the design of stormwater management facilities. Environmental impacts of stormwater management are discussed throughout the course. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 350 

Performance and design of rigid, flexible, and composite pavement structures with emphasis on modern pavement design procedures. Principles of pavement maintenance, rehabilitation, and pavement management systems. Materials characterization, tests, quality control, and life cycle cost analysis. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 370, CIVE 223 or ME 223

Classification of foundations; applications of fundamental soil mechanics to design and analysis of soil-structure systems; design and computer application of shallow and deep foundations, piles and caissons, retaining structures. Introduction to rock mechanics. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 360 

Design and construction of traditional embankments, including slope stability analysis; earth and rockfill dams, introduction to seepage analysis; excavations, earth retaining structures, and other geotechnical structures. Geotechnical software application in analysis and design. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 360 

Elements of traffic engineering including road use, vehicle and roadway systems; traffic flow theory; traffic studies and data collections; traffic control devices; principles of intersecting signalization; capacity and level of service; analysis of freeways, rural highways and intersections using computer software for traffic operations and management. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 370W

Classification and design process of highways; development and use of design controls; criteria, and highway design elements; design of vertical and horizontal alignment, and establishment of sight distances; design of cross sections, intersections, and interchanges. Extensive use of CAD software. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 145, CIVE 370W

Development and design of airport facilities and the integration of multiple disciplines including runway orientation and capacity, terminal facilities, forecasting, planning, noise, airspace utilization, parking, lighting, and construction. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 370W

Overview of municipal water and wastewater treatment and distribution practices. Application of chemical, biological and physical principles to design and the operation of water and wastewater treatment and distribution systems. Includes significant design component.

Prerequisites: CIVE 380 

This course will be taught as a classroom based course with a combination of lecture, individual and group projects, reading, homework, discussion, review, and examinations. The goal of the course is to develop competency in the design and implementation of landfill design and hazardous waste remediation, with understanding of both performance and cost implications to all choices.

Prerequisites: CIVE 380

Technical Electives - Choose 2 - 5 Credit(s).

An introduction to the general principles and methods used in the study of microorganisms. Lab included. Prereq: One BIOL course and one semester of chemistry from among CHEM 104, CHEM 106, CHEM 111, or CHEM 201. Fall, Spring, Summer

Prerequisites: One BIOL course and one semester of chemistry from among CHEM 104, CHEM 106, CHEM 111, or CHEM 201 

Goal Areas: GE-03

Fundamentals of contracts, the law of sales under the UCC; the legal liability of accountants to clients and third parties. Formation of contracts; statute of frauds and parol evidence rule; contract performance; remedies for breach of contract; scope of UCC Article Two; sales warranties; remedies for breach of contracts.

Prerequisites: BLAW 200 

Legal aspects of United States global trade policies, regulation of imports, contracting in the global marketplace, international marketing concerns, structure of various international organizations and treaties. Legal aspects of international licensing and technology, transfers risks of nationalization and expropriation, international dispute resolution, comity, the Act of State, and sovereign immunity doctrines.

Prerequisites: BLAW 200 

The course introduces students to the legal framework for environmental protection in the United States. Students will study the principle treaties, common law, constitutional principles, statutes, and regulations that govern environmental regulation. They will also explore issues of land use and planning, clean air and water laws, sustainability, and emerging environmental legal issues.

Prerequisites: BLAW 200 

Legal responsibilities of architects, engineers and contractors in dealing with each other, the project's owner, sureties and subcontractors. Special emphasis on performance problems, forms of business association, legal relationships with independent contractors, the AIA contract documents, mechanics liens, AAA Construction Arbitration Rules, dispute avoidance, claims management and collection strategies.

Prerequisites: BLAW 200 

Continuation of the basic principles of chemistry including properties of solutions, kinetics, acids and bases, equilibria, buffers, precipitation reactions, electron transfer reactions, electrochemistry, entropy and free energy. Laboratory will reinforce lecture concepts.

Prerequisites: “C” (2.0) or higher in CHEM 201 

Introduction to the principles of chemical analysis, with emphasis on classical methods of analysis. Lectures will stress the theory of chemical measurements and sample handling. Laboratory exercises will provide students with opportunities to explore calibration methods, method development, and established procedures for volumetric and gravimetric analyses. Basic atomic spectroscopy is also presented.

Prerequisites: “C” (2.0) or higher in CHEM 202 

The sources of various elements and chemical reactions between them in the atmosphere and hydrosphere are treated. Current research topics relevant to the field of environmental chemistry will also be addressed. Laboratory exercises will emphasize proper sampling technique and various analytical methods for quantifying environmentally important components.

Prerequisites: “C” (2.0) or higher in CHEM 305 

Prerequisites: none

This course covers types of estimates and their uses, the basics of quantity take-off, labor and equipment productivity and basic computer applications.

Prerequisites: MATH 113 or MATH 115 or MATH 121

The course focuses on understanding project planning, scheduling and control models emphasizing the critical path method. It will introduce techniques used in the industry by utilizing commercial software to create a construction project schedule. The class highlights the importance of analyzing project schedules and schedule alternatives.

Prerequisites: CM 220

This course examines the project management framework, including key terminology, project management context, and project management processes. Topics include project management knowledge areas, life cycles, and organizational designs. Different project delivery methods will be discussed and the roles of project stakeholders will be identified and analyzed.

Prerequisites: CM 220, CM 222, CM 297

Prerequisites: none

This course is meant to develop Electrical Engineering Circuit Analysis skills in DC and AC circuits. It includes circuit laws and theorems, mesh and node analysis. Natural and step response of RL, RC, and RLC circuits.

Prerequisites: PHYS 222 or concurrent, MATH 321 or concurrent

This is a lecture course introducing students to major federal environmental laws and regulations. Discussions include the cause(s) that prompted the enactment of various environmental legislation as well as intent and implementation of the legislation. Both Federal and State of MN environmental statutes will be discussed.

Prerequisites: none

This is a lecture course that introduces students to sources and controls for pollutants in air, water, and soils including hazardous waste. Chemical and biological mechanisms that are important in nature and used to control/treat various types of pollutants are emphasized. Strongly recommended that this course be taken immediately after completing 1 year of Chemistry.

Prerequisites: 1 year CHEM 

The purpose of this lecture/lab class is to introduce students to standard practices and procedures used in sampling and analysis of environmental matrices and to develop an environmental research project. Standard quality control/quality assurance procedures per EPA are emphasized.

Prerequisites: none

This course will cover elements of the structure of the earth and the variety of landforms found on the earth's surface, with emphasis upon the processes, both past and present, that act upon the surface to create the landforms now visible. Local field trips.

Prerequisites: none

The course will be an introduction to the analysis of spatial data using the concept of a geographic information system (GIS). Content of the course will be, to a great extent, based on the NCGIA core curriculum with assignments tailored to the data and software available within the department such as ArcGIS.

Prerequisites: none

Four major sets of ideas will be covered: (1) Introduction to Spatial Organization, (2) Network Analysis, (3) Allocation Methods, and (4) Urban Transportation. The emphasis is on these approaches to understanding the geography of transport by description, explanation, and normative or optimal methods.

Prerequisites: none

Study of the processes and results of rock deformation at scales ranging from microscopic to plate tectonic, and at conditions ranging from the Earth's surface to the deep interior.

Prerequisites: GEOL 121 

The application of geologic data and principles to problems created by human occupancy and use of the physical environment. Lecture and laboratory topics include soil classification and conservation, hazardous waste site evaluation and remediation, and living with geologic hazards.

Prerequisites: GEOL 121 

This course introduces physical and chemical studies of hydrogeology. The main areas of discussion will include the physical and chemical attributes of aquifers, movement of ground-water and solute through soils and rocks, and reactions between earth materials and pollutants in ground-water systems. The class includes extensive use of MODFLOW and MT3D, the two most commonly usedgroundwater modeling programs currently available.

Prerequisites: CHEM 201, GEOL 121 

Prerequisites: none