To many students, the curriculum they follow to get their degree reads like a magical list of courses that someone long ago thought was the path towards graduation. Engineers are different. We follow a very formal procedure for getting you from where you are to the end of your career. You are a big part of the process.

The process is described below in detail. Briefly, we start with defining the people important to the program (constituents - this includes you). We ask the constituents (including you through the Senior Exit Survey starting in 2009) for help in identifying the appropriate career achievements for a civil engineer (program educational objectives). Periodically, we ask alumni and employers if our graduates have met theses achievements. We created a list of skills and knowledge that you need at the end of your senior year in order to achieve the career objectives. Items on this list are called the program outcomes. The curriculum is designed to help you achieve the program outcomes. We check your work throughout your time here and ask for your opinion to determine whether you have achieved the program outcomes. In the vernacular of higher education, the program is outcomes based (based on what you know and can do, not based on what is covered in class) and devoted to continuous improvement.

Accreditation

UB's civil engineering program is accredited by ABET, Inc. With an ABET-accredited BS degree, graduates eventually may apply for registration as a Professional Engineer (PE). ABET conducts reviews of undergraduate programs for accreditation at 6-year intervals. The most recent review of the civil engineering program took place in December, 2002. Our next ABET review is scheduled for October, 2008.

The Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering has developed a program of self-evaluation and continuous improvement designed to sustain a civil engineering education of increasing high quality and meet the accreditation requirements of ABET. Details regarding the current status of ABET-accreditation activities are available from the Department web site. Key components of this program include:

Definition of the constituents served by the civil engineering program
Establishment of program educational objectives with our constituents
Establishment of program outcomes, in conjunction with ABET and ASCE
An ongoing program of assessment that measures the degree to which the program educational objectives and program outcomes are being met
An ongoing program of evaluation to improve the civil engineering program in response to feedback from the assessment process

Constituents

The constituencies of the civil engineering program include:

Current students in the civil engineering program and their families
Department faculty
Other faculty in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Other faculty of the University at Buffalo
Employers who participate in the Engineering Career Institute and the civil engineering internship and co-op programs
Graduate and professional schools
Employers of civil engineering graduates, including engineering consulting firms, government agencies, manufacturing and construction companies, and educational and research institutions
Program alumni

Program Educational Objectives

Program educational objectives are broad statements that describe the career and professional accomplishments that the program is preparing you to achieve. Consistent with the mission and vision of the Department, the program educational objectives of the civil engineering program are to:

Be employed and promoted as civil engineers in consulting, industry, government, and academia or employed and promoted in related professions.
Maintain state-of-the-art knowledge through lifelong learning, such as graduate study and continuing education.
Respond to the changing impact of civil engineering solutions in a global and social context.
Advance and support the engineering profession through participation in professional societies, civic groups, and educational institutions.

Program Outcomes

Consistent with the program educational objectives outlined above, graduates of the civil engineering program should be able to:

solve problems in mathematics through differential equations, calculus-based physics, chemistry, and one additional area of science
design a civil engineering experiment to meet a need; conduct the experiment, and analyze and interpret the resulting data
design a complex system or process to meet desired needs, within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
function effectively as a member of a multi-disciplinary team
solve well-defined engineering problems in four technical areas appropriate to civil engineering
analyze a complex situation involving multiple conflicting professional and ethical interests, to determine an appropriate course of action
organize and deliver effective verbal, written, and graphical communications
determine the global, economic, environmental, and societal impacts of a specific, relatively constrained engineering solution
demonstrate the ability to learn on their own, without the aid of formal instruction
incorporate specific contemporary issues into the identification, formulation, and solution of a specific engineering problem
apply relevant techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools to solve a simple problem

A more detailed list of program outcomes may be found in The Undergraduate Studies Manual. In each course syllabus, you will see how the course relates to the outcomes in Appendix C. For example, a course linked to “3a(K)” will help you “solve problems in mathematics through differential equations, calculus-based physics, chemistry, and one additional area of science.”

Assessment

Formal assessment activities were initiated in 1999 with the first exit survey of civil engineering seniors. End-of-semester surveys and the senior exit survey are a component of the Department's self-assessment. Since the 2002 ABET visit, assessment efforts have been expanded to include examination of student work to determine if program outcomes are being achieved. This effort includes a comprehensive examination of student work, student experiences in co-ops, and performance data from the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.

Program educational objectives were developed with the assistance of a target group of employers and other constituents. Program educational objectives are assessed through employer and alumni surveys.

Evaluation and Continuous Improvement

In response to the feedback received from the assessment program, the Department is engaged in an on-going program of self-improvement. Recent examples of these activities include:

Revisions to the program Educational Objectives assessment process
Revisions to the program Outcomes based on the ASCE Body of Knowledge
Execution of a pilot study to design the program outcome assessment and evaluation process
Addition of primary data sources to the assessment process for program outcomes
Inclusion of professional development milestones
Expansion of the transportation faculty and course offerings
Cumulative design experience revisions
Increase in the credit hours of the laboratory courses
Prerequisite enforcement
Standardization of course syllabi
Student computing laboratory rehabilitation
Undergraduate Studies secretary hired
Redistribution of assessment/evaluation responsibilities
Career Services specialist in engineering

HIGHLIGHT

UB's Great Lakes Program develops, evaluates, and synthesizes scientific and technical knowledge of the Great Lakes ecosystem. GLP researchers are working on the development and application of mathematical models to support understanding of a variety of Great Lakes basin issues.

THE FACES OF CSEE

Dan McDaid
Watertown, NY
Civil Engineering, B.S. Junior

"I'm studying civil but I'm emphasizing environmental in my program; it's an interest I discovered along the way."

PROSPECTIVE UNDERGRADS

You can apply for admission to our bachelor’s programs as an incoming freshman, as a sophomore already enrolled at UB, or as a transfer.

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