Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil and Construction Engineering

Useful Downloads

• 2013-14 CVCE Recommended Eight-Semester Plan
• 2013-14 CVCE Approved Eight-Semester Plan
• 2013-14 CVCE Approved Degree Requirements
• CVCE Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes
• UALR Construction Programs Poster

 What is Civil and Construction Engineering (CVCE)?

Civil engineers design infrastructure and public works  that support transportation, commerce, and public health. Construction engineers design and manage the processes that allow projects to be built. Through required and elective courses, UALR’s program exposes students to all of the major areas of civil engineering, including:

• Materials engineering: properties of building materials, such as aggregates, cement, concrete, steel, masonry, timber, asphalt, etc.
• Geotechnical engineering: properties of soil and rock; design of shallow and deep foundations, slope stability, etc.
• Geomatics engineering: surveying and geographic information systems (GIS).
• Structural engineering: design of columns, beams, and frames to support vertical and lateral loads.
• Water resources engineering: design of pipelines, pipe networks, and open channels, to carry drinking water, storm water, and wastewater.
• Environmental engineering: design and operation of water and wastewater treatment plants.
• Transportation engineering: geometric design of highways, pavement design, traffic analysis, etc.
• Construction engineering and management: Construction drawings, materials, methods, and equipment; estimating, bidding, contract administration, building information modeling (BIM), planning, scheduling, and safety.

The civil and construction engineering program prepares students to design and manage construction in the following areas:

• Public Works and Infrastructure: Highways, bridges, locks, dams, levees, airports, railroads, water/wastewater treatment plants, power plants, buildings, etc.
• Temporary Structures: Formwork, falsework, scaffolding, shoring, bracing, temporary bridges, cofferdams, heavy lift rigging, etc., to support construction.

Admission Policy

Interested students should declare the civil and construction engineering (CVCE) major in the Student Request section of BOSS. Full admission to the CVCE major requires readiness to take MATH 1451 Calculus I, CHEM 1406 Engineering Chemistry, and RHET 1311 Composition I. However, students who are not prepared to take these courses will be admitted to the CVCE major as pre-engineering students.   Students should request the CVCE major as early in their academic career as possible, so that they can receive proper advising.

Advising

Dr. Nickolas S. Jovanovic is the advisor for all civil and construction engineering (CVCE) majors and pre-engineering majors. Advising for spring semester is usually done in November, and advising for summer and fall is usually done in April. Dr. Jovanovic can be found in ETAS 202F or contacted at nsjovanovic@ualr.edu. The department office can be contacted at (501) 569-8133.

Transferring from Another Institution

Students planning to transfer to UALR from other institutions are encouraged to contact Dr. Jovanovic to discuss the courses that will apply toward the civil and construction engineering degree at UALR. Most community colleges do not offer all of the necessary freshman and sophomore level courses in math, science, and engineering. Most students transferring from community colleges should not expect to be able to complete the civil and construction engineering major in two or even three years. In fact, an engineering major generally requires at least four years starting from the semester in which the calculus sequence is started.

Potential transfer students from community colleges should also be aware that the civil and construction engineering program requires a much smaller number of general education (core, basics, etc.) courses than are required for most associate degrees. Taking additional general education courses at the community college will delay entry into and completion of the civil and construction engineering program. The civil and construction engineering program requires:

• English Composition I and II (6 hours)
• U.S. Government or U.S. History (3 hours)
• Three electives in the fine arts, humanities, social sciences, or foreign languages (9 hours)

In order to transfer into civil and construction engineering as a sophomore, the following courses generally must have been completed elsewhere:

• Calculus I and II (differential and integral calculus)
• General Chemistry I with Lab (the introductory chemistry course for chemistry majors)
• University Physics I with Lab (calculus-based physics)

In order to transfer into civil and construction engineering as a junior, the following additional courses generally must have been completed elsewhere:

• Calculus III (vector calculus)
• Engineering Statics (mechanics of rigid bodies)
• Mechanics of Materials (mechanics of deformable bodies)

Work Experience Requirement

All CVCE students are required to complete a minimum of 800 contact hours of practical work experience in an approved construction-related activity. This stipulation provides the graduate with valuable industry experience and insights.

Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil and Construction Engineering

The civil and construction engineering program combines courses in civil engineering with courses in construction engineering and management to prepare graduates to practice engineering within the construction industry, at an engineering design firm, or in a government agency.

Basic courses in engineering science prepare students for the required passage of the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination, the first step toward licensure as an Engineer Intern (EI) or Professional Engineer (PE). Construction engineering and management courses prepare students for the required passage of the Construction Fundamentals (CF) examination, the first step toward becoming an Associate Constructor (AC) or Certified Professional Constructor (CPC).

Students seeking a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil and Construction Engineering must pass each required CNMG course with a grade of C or higher. The degree requires at least 48 credit hours of engineering courses, and at least 32 credit hours of mathematics and laboratory science courses. For graduation, a grade point average of 2.00 or above is required in these engineering, mathematics, and science courses, and a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or above is required for all work completed at UALR.

A minor is not required for the civil and construction engineering degree.

Student Activities

UALR civil and construction engineering students have the oppurtunity to become involved with several engineering organizations, including the Construction Institute (CI) and the Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and Engineers Without Borders (EWB).

Civil and construction engineering students have recently participated in several regional student competitions, including ASCE/AISC steel bridge competitions (Baton Rouge, LA in 2013, Martin, TN in 2012), and ASC/TEXO construction competitions (Dallas, TX in 2013 and 2012).

Accreditation

New engineering programs are not eligible to seek accreditation from the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET until at least one student has graduated. The initial class graduated in May 2013, so the civil and construction engineering program has requested an initial accreditation visit in the fall of 2013. The initial accreditation decision will be made in July 2014. If granted, the accreditation will be retroactive to include the initial graduating class.  The Rules of the Arkansas State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors state that “an applicant will be considered as having graduated from an EAC of ABET accredited program if their program is/was accredited within three (3) years after their graduation.”

Enrollment and Graduation Data

FT-full time

PT-part time

1st-freshmen (<30 credit hours completed)

2nd-sophomores (30-59 credit hours completed)

3rd-juniors (60-89 credit hours completed)

4th-seniors (>89 credit hours completed)

postbac-students who already have a baccalaureate degree in another field

The civil and construction engineering program was approved by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education in April 2010.