The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Civil Engineering, Bachelor of Science

Program Overview

The Civil Engineering Program prepares graduates for local, regional or world-wide employment in the engineering profession or placement in a graduate school. The program affords students opportunities to meet and interact with practicing engineers, businesses and government agencies; to participate in professional engineering organizations and in research. The faculty endeavor to be accessible, maintain state of the art instruction and facilities, and to provide liberal access to laboratories and academic support.

Progression requirements for this program.

  • Students must receive a grade of ‘C’ or better in all courses that are prerequisites for Civil Engineering courses.

Specific graduation requirements for this program beyond university bachelor’s degree requirements. 

  • Students must receive a grade of ‘C’ or better in all CIVE courses. 
  • A minimum overall institutional GPA of 2.4 is required to take CIVE 4391 CE Senior Fundamentals and CIVE 4392 CE Senior Project; therefore, a minimum GPA of 2.4 is necessary for graduation.

 

Core Curriculum – 42 Hours

The Core Curriculum serves as a broad foundation for the undergraduate degree. All candidates for a bachelor’s degree must achieve core student learning outcomes, including communication, critical thinking, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibility, by completing courses within each category or component area of the Core Curriculum as outlined below.

The University has approved specific courses that satisfy Core Curriculum Requirements. Approved courses can be found on the Core Curriculum Page. Students seeking the most efficient way to complete the core curriculum and major or minor requirements are advised to take approved courses that can fulfill both requirements. Although core curriculum courses can also be used to fulfill major or minor requirements, earned credits hours are only applied once.

The courses listed below fulfill core curriculum and major requirements. Students who have completed a core curriculum category with courses other than those listed below will still be required to take the listed course(s) to meet major requirements.

020 Mathematics - 3 hours

MATH 2413Calculus I

4

MATH 2413 is given three credit hours for the lecture component

030 Life and Physical Science - 6 hours

PHYS 2425Physics for Scientists and Engineers I

4

PHYS 2426Physics for Scientists and Engineers II

4

PHYS 2425 and PHYS 2426 are given three credit hours each for the lecture component.

040 Language, Philosophy, and Culture - 3 hours

PHIL 2326Ethics, Technology and Society

3

090 Integrative and Experiential Learning - 6 hours

Complete an additional 3 hours from Integrative and Experiential Learning section of the approved core curriculum except PHIL 2326 and complete the required courses below. 

PHYS 2425Physics for Scientists and Engineers I

4

PHYS 2426Physics for Scientists and Engineers II

4

CHEM 1109Chemistry for Engineers Lab

1

PHYS 2425 and PHYS 2426 are given one credit hour for the lab component.

Major Requirements - 87 hours

Required courses - 70 hours

Civil Engineering Core:

CIVE 1101Introduction to Civil Engineering

1

CIVE 2220Civil Engineering Measurements

2

CIVE 3440Civil Engineering Materials

4

CIVE 3321Mechanics of Materials

3

CIVE 3315Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics

3

CIVE 3115Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics Lab

1

CIVE 3324Structural Analysis I

3

CIVE 3331Environmental Engineering

3

CIVE 3341Structural Steel Design

3

CIVE 3345Transportation Engineering

3

CIVE 3475Geotechnical Engineering and Applications

4

CIVE 4335Water Resources Engineering

3

CIVE 4346Reinforced Concrete Design

3

CIVE 4347Foundation Design

3

CIVE 4349Construction Planning and Management

3

CIVE 4391Civil Engineering Senior Fundamentals

3

CIVE 4392Civil Engineering Senior Project

3

MATH 2415Calculus III

4

MATH 3341Differential Equations

3

MECE 2301Statics

3

MECE 2302Dynamics

3

MECE 2350Numerical Methods for Engineers

3

MANE 3332Engineering Statistics

3

MANE 3337Engineering Economics

3

Prescribed Electives - 6 hours

Choose any two of these 4000-level courses, or one 4000-level and one of the 3000-level courses below:

CIVE 4300Special Topics in Civil Engineering

3

CIVE 4315Applied Hydrology

3

CIVE 4333Water and Wastewater Treatment

3

CIVE 4348Highway Engineering

3

CIVE 4350Open Channel Flow

3

CIVE 4351Structural Analysis II

3

CIVE 4352Earthwork Engineering and Design

3

CIVE 4359Construction Scheduling

3

CIVE 3300UG Full-Time Internship/Co-Op

3

CIVE 3100UG Research and/or Part-Time Internship

1

CIVE 4340Advanced Asphalt Pavement Materials

3

In lieu of one CIVE course above, the student may enroll in CIVE 3100 up to three times for a total of three credits. To receive elective credit for CIVE 3100, the student must complete 3 terms/enrollments performing research and/or a part-time internship in the same area as approved by the department through the enrollment approval process

Support Courses - 12 hours

Basic Science - 7 hours

Required:

CHEM 1309Chemistry for Engineers

3

Choose one:
GEOL 4411Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

4

BIOL 1406General Biology I

4

ENVR 1401Introduction to Environmental Science I

4

GEOL 1401Earth Sciences I

4

GEOL 1403Physical Geology

4

GEOL 1404Historical Geology

4

Mathematics – 5 hours

MATH 2413Calculus I

4

MATH 2414Calculus II

4

MATH 2413 is given one credit hour for the lecture component.

Advanced Minimum Credit Hours: 42

Total Credit Hours: 130