2024-2025 Course Catalog

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Civil Engineering Major

2024-2025 Academic Catalog

Program Curriculum

CEE Electives

The CEE department requires 12 credits of Fundamental Electives, 8 credits of Fundamental Electives with lab, 9 credits of Advanced Electives, 3 additional credits of Advanced Electives (Design Project), and 12 credits of Technical and Restricted Electives as follows.

Fundamental and Advanced Electives (32 credits)

Fundamental and Advanced Electives provide adequate breadth across the discipline and depth of knowledge in specialty areas of interest. Interdisciplinary Technical Electives, Independent Study, and Undergraduate Research courses do not satisfy these requirements but may be taken to satisfy the Technical Electives.

Fundamental and Advanced Electives are selected from the list below and must meet the following criteria:

1. Complete Fundamental courses in 6 of the 8 specialty areas, at least two of which must have a lab (20 credits). These courses count toward satisfying degree core requirements.
2. Complete one Advanced course in 3 of the 6 specialty areas in which Fundamental courses were selected in Step 1 (9 credits).
3. Complete one additional Advanced course in a specialty area in which an Advanced course was selected in Step 2 (3 credits).
4. Within the selections made above, complete at least one Design Project course.

Technical and Restricted Electives (12 credits)

Technical Electives include any course selected from the list of Fundamental, Advanced, and Interdisciplinary Technical Electives. Restricted Electives are earned by selecting courses from the approved list of Restricted Electives or selecting courses within an officially declared minor selected from the list of approved minors. Technical and Restricted Electives can be satisfied in one of three ways as follows:

1. Complete 6 credits of Technical Electives and 6 credits of Restricted Electives
2. Complete 9 credits of Technical electives and 3 credits of Restricted Electives
3. Complete 12 credits of Technical Electives

Another option for earning Technical and Restricted Electives allows students to request substitution of up to 6 credits of Restricted Electives for up to 6 credits of Technical Electives. To be considered for the substitution option, students must follow these steps:

1. Meet with an Academic Advisor. Discuss the goals for the substitutions and seek guidance. Students should carefully consider their options and ensure they are making the best choices for their educational and professional development.
2. Develop a Plan of Study. Outline which courses you wish to substitute and how they fit into your overall academic plan.
3. Prepare a Written Proposal. In the narrative, describe the added value of the courses to your degree and career aspirations. Clearly articulate how the courses will help you achieve your professional goals.
4. Verbal Presentation. Orally defend your proposal to the Associate Department Head for Undergraduate Affairs or their designee.

Fundamental, Advanced and Interdisciplinary Technical Electives

Restricted Electives

Approved Minors

• Business (BUSR)
• Computer Science (CS)
• Data and Decisions (DTDC)
• Economics (ECAS)
• Engineering Science and Mechanics (ESM)
• Entrepreneurship-New Venture Growth (ENVG)
• Environmental Policy and Planning (EPP)
• Geographic Information Science (GIS)
• Geosciences (GEOS)
• Green Engineering (GREN) 4
• Industrial Design (IDS)
• Innovation (INNO)
• Mathematics (MATH)
• Professional and Technical Writing (PTW)
• Public and Urban Affairs (PUA)
• Real Estate (REAL)
• Smart and Sustainable Cities (SSC)
• Statistics (STAT)
• Watershed Management (WSM)

Career Bridge Experiences help prepare students for post-graduation life and develop a professional identity. Internships, Co-ops, and Undergraduate Research are examples of possible Career Bridge Experiences. Students must participate in a Career Bridge Experience to complete the BSCE degree. Because some of these experiences are not credit bearing, the ENGE 3900 course is used to track and assess student participation in Career Bridge and to record fulfillment of this degree requirement on the transcript. Students should enroll in ENGE 3900 during the semester (or one of the semesters) that they undertake the Career Bridge Experience. Enrollment in ENGE 3900 requires approval of a Career Bridge Plan.

Further information about acceptable Career Bridge Experiences and the process for submitting a Career Bridge Plan are explained in CEE 2804.

Design Project Course

Enrollment is on a space-available basis during drop-add.

Electives chosen within the minor must include 6 credit hours of non CEE courses that do not satisfy BSCE degree requirements.

Satisfactory Progress Towards Degree

University Policy 91 outlines university-wide minimum criteria to determine if students are making satisfactory progress towards the completion of their degrees. The CEE Department fully supports this policy. Specific expectations for satisfactory progress for Civil Engineering majors are as follows:

• Each student must meet the minimum University-wide criteria as described in Policy 91 and summarized in the Undergraduate Catalog (undergradcatalog.registrar.vt.edu/).
• A 2.0 overall GPA and a 2.0 in-major GPA must be maintained for continued enrollment in CEE. The in-major GPA consists of all courses taken with a CEE designator.
• Upon completion of 64 GPA hours, a student must have satisfactorily completed CEE 2804 Introduction to Civil and Environmental Engineering , CEE 2814 Geomatics , and CEE 2834 Civil Engineering Drawings and Virtual Modeling .
• Be enrolled in at least one 3-credit CEE course each fall and spring semester.

Graduation Requirements

Students must pass all required courses and both the in-major and overall GPA must be at least 2.0 for graduation. The in-major GPA consists of all courses taken under the CEE designation.

C- Policy

A C- or better grade is required in any course that is a prerequisite for a CEE course. The notation (C-) is provided for first and second-year advising purposes only and indicates that those courses are prerequisites for a course with a CEE designator.

Additional Comments

Displayed course offerings are subject to sufficient resources. Courses are taught in the term in which they appear on the roadmap. CEE Fundamentals courses are typically taught each fall and spring term, whereas CEE Advanced courses may not be offered each academic term. Consult the CEE course listing and your departmental advisor for updates.

Acceptable Substitutions

1. MATH 2405H Mathematics in a Computational Context may be substituted for MATH 2114 Introduction to Linear Algebra
2. MATH 2405H Mathematics in a Computational Context + MATH 2406H Mathematics in a Computational Context may be substituted for MATH 2114 Introduction to Linear Algebra and MATH 2204 Introduction to Multivariable Calculus and MATH 2214 Introduction to Differential Equations
3. ESM 2114 Statics & Structures may be substituted for ESM 2104 Statics
4. ME 3024 Engineering Design and Economics may be substituted for ISE 2014 Engineering Economy
5. ESM 2114 Statics & Structures + AOE 2024 Thin-Walled Structures may be substituted for ESM 2104 Statics and ESM 2204 Mechanics of Deformable Bodies

Foreign Language Requirements

Students must have had 2 years of a foreign language in high school or one year at the college level (6 credit hours) of the same language. College-level credits used to meet this requirement do not count towards the degree.