Undergraduate programs - Civil and Environmental Engineering

Civil Engineering B.S. (BSCE)

The BSCE degree includes required and elective courses in structural analysis and design, environmental engineering, water resources, transportation engineering or geotechnical engineering.

Students may elect to focus coursework in a specialty area in their senior year through electives. The program culminates with a final capstone design course that allows students to apply many of the principles and concepts on a community-serving project.

The Civil Engineering (CE) degree program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Civil and Similarly Named Engineering Program Criteria.

BSCE Program Educational Objectives

The civil engineering program at Portland State University prepares graduates to practice civil engineering responsibly and ethically by (1) working effectively in the professional engineering community and (2) continuing to learn and enhance their abilities in civil engineering.

BSCE Student Outcomes

Graduates of the civil engineering program at Portland State University will have the skills and abilities to prepare them to begin professional practice or to succeed in graduate studies.

Graduates will have:

an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

 

Requirements

BSCE majors must complete all University and department degree requirements:

  1. Freshmen and sophomore math, science, and engineering courses must be completed with a minimum grade of C;
  2. Junior and senior engineering and science courses, and EC 314U must be completed with a minimum grade of C-;
  3. Prerequisite courses must be passed with the minimum grade ("C" for 100 and 200 level courses, "C-" for 300 and 400 level courses) or better in order to move ahead in the sequence;
  4. The student’s cumulative PSU GPA must be 2.33 or higher to graduate from the BSCE program;
  5. Any deviation from the required courses including engineering and mathematics substitutions must be approved in writing by the Department Chair.
 
Transfer students should follow the information found on the MCECS Transfer Page: https://www.pdx.edu/cecs/transferring-credits.

Freshman Year

CE 111Introduction to Civil and Environmental Engineering

3

CE 112Civil and Environmental Engineering Computations

3

CE 115Civil Engineering Drawing and Spatial Analysis

3

Ch 221General Chemistry I

4

Ch 222General Chemistry II

4

Ch 227General Chemistry Laboratory

1

Ch 228General Chemistry Laboratory

1

Mth 251Calculus I

4

Mth 252Calculus II

4

Mth 261Introduction to Linear Algebra

4

First Year Inquiry

15

Total Credit Hours:46

Sophomore Year

EAS 211Statics

4

EAS 212Strength of Materials

4

EAS 215Dynamics

4

CE 211Plane Surveying and Mapping

3

CE 212Field Problems in Plane Surveying

1

Mth 254Calculus IV

4

Mth 256Applied Ordinary Differential Equations

4

Ph 221General Physics (with Calculus) I

3

Ph 222General Physics (with Calculus) II

3

Ph 223General Physics (with Calculus) III

3

Ph 214Lab for Ph 201 or Ph 211 or Ph 221 or Ph 231

1

Ph 215Lab for Ph 202 or Ph 212 or Ph 222 or Ph 232

1

Ph 216Lab for Ph 203 or Ph 213 or Ph 223 or Ph 233

1

Sophomore Inquiry

8

Total Credit Hours:44
Ph 211-Ph 213 are interchangeable with Ph 221-Ph 223.

Junior Year

CE 315The Civil and Environmental Engineering Profession

1

CE 316Applied Probability and Statistics for Civil & Environmental Engineering

4

CE 321CEE Properties of Materials

4

CE 361Fluid Mechanics

4

CE 324Elementary Structural Analysis

4

CE 325Indeterminate Structures

4

CE 341Soil Classification and Properties

4

CE 351Introduction to Transportation Engineering

4

CE 362Engineering Hydraulics

4

CE 364Water Resources Engineering

4

CE 371Environmental Engineering

4

G 301Geology for Engineers

3

Ec 314UPrivate and Public Investment Analysis

4

Total Credit Hours:48

Ec 314U is a required course that can be taken as a part of some upper-division clusters.

Senior Year

CE 444Geotechnical Design

4

CE 484Civil & Environmental Engineering Project Management and Design I

3

CE 494Civil & Environmental Engineering Project Management and Design II

3

One Structural Design Elective

4

One Transportation Design Elective

4

Approved civil engineering electives

19

Upper-division cluster

8

Total Credit Hours:45

Approved Structural Design Elective:

CE 432Structural Steel Design

4

CE 434Principles of Reinforced Concrete

4

Approved Transportation Design Elective:

CE 450Transportation Safety Analysis

4

CE 458Public Transportation Systems

4

CE 459Transportation Operations

4

CE 462Traffic Engineering Applications and Signal Timing

4

CE 493Design and Operation of Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure

4

Approved Civil Engineering Electives:

CE 401Research

1-6

CE 403Honors Thesis

1-4

CE 404Cooperative Education/Internship

1-12

CE 405Reading and Conference

1-6

CE 406Special Projects

1-6

CE 407Seminar

1-6

CE 410-499

CE 510-599

CE 401CE 406: 4 credits recommended maximum across all numbers, 2 maximum for CE 404 Internship credit; additional credits require Department Chair approval.

CE 407: 3 credits recommended maximum; additional credits require Department Chair approval.

Total Credit Hours: 183

Students may take one course outside the CEE Department to apply toward senior electives. Approved non-CE courses are ME 321, ME 455, G 424, Geog 488, and Geog 492. Additional non-CE classes require prior approval of the CEE Department; requests should be sent to ceedept@pdx.edu prior to the start of the term.