Civil Engineering

2024-25 Civil Engineering UG Degree Programs (CE-BS, BAS, BASH, BSH, Secondary, MINOR)

— ABET ACCREDITATION CRITERIA APPLY —

Civil engineers plan, design, construct and sustain the built environment including buildings and bridges, energy and water systems, and coasts and waterways.  Civil engineers work to protect society from natural catastrophes and risks, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and sea-level rise, as well as help to manage our natural resources

As their work is crucial to the day-to-day lives of most people, civil engineers bear an important responsibility to the public. The civil engineering field is both technical and people-oriented, requiring excellent communication skills and an ability to manage both people and multi-faceted projects. Students in the major learn to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and the primary areas of civil engineering to conduct experiments, design systems to solve engineering problems, and communicate their ideas effectively to the scientific community.

UG Director: Greg Deierlein, ggd@stanford.edu
Student Services: Jill Filice, 316 Y2E2, jill.filice@stanford.edu
Departmental Chair: Sarah Billington, 313 Y2E2, billingt@stanford.edu

For instructions on how to declare the Civil Engineering major, jump to the bottom of this page.

Objectives and Outcomes for Civil Engineering

Objectives:
Graduates of the civil engineering program are expected within a few years of graduation to have the ability to:

1. Establish themselves as practicing professionals in civil engineering or a related field
2. Pursue graduate study in civil engineering or other fields
3. Work effectively as responsible professionals independently or in teams handling increasingly complex professional and societal expectations

Outcomes:

1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
2. 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
3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
4. 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
5. 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
6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze, and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Planning Sheets

CE Program Sheets

CE Flowchart

CE 4-Year Plans

CE 4-Year Plans for Going Abroad

The 2024-25 Curriculum and Requirements

The undergraduate civil engineering curriculum and course requirements can be found in the Stanford Bulletin. Undergraduates potentially interested in the Civil Engineering major should also consider the Environmental Systems Engineering major as a possible alternative; a comparison of these two alternative majors is presented in the Environmental Systems Engineering page.

For more information on civil engineering, students are encouraged to visit the CEE website, talk to a CEE faculty member, or contact the CEE Student Services Specialist, Jill Filice, in room 316 of the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment & Energy (Y2E2) Building.

Research Experience for Undergraduates

The department of Civil and Environmental Engineering welcomes student participation in the VPUE Undergraduate Research Programs. Interested students should check the VPUE website and the CEE website for announcements regarding the application procedures. Annual program announcements appear in January with application due dates in February.

Exploring Civil Engineering as a Major

Are you wondering whether a Civil Engineering major is for you? If so, here are some courses accessible early in your undergraduate career that will help you explore your interest in our major. If you end up joining our program, this early start on fulfilling requirements will pay off by giving you more flexibility in class scheduling for your junior and senior years.

1-The following electives are accessible to frosh/sophomores, and can count towards the major:

CEE 41Q: Clean Water Now! Urban Water Conflicts  (Soph Introsem)
CEE 63: Weather and Storms

CEE 64: Air Pollution and Global Warming: History, Science & Solutions

CEE 80N: Engineering the Built Environment: Intro to Structural Engr
CEE 83: Seismic Design Workshop

CEE 107A: Understanding Energy
CEE 120A: Building Modeling for Design and Construction
CEE 131C: How Buildings Are Made: Materiality and Construction Methods
CEE 162F: Coastal Processes (prereq: PHYSICS 41)

2-For an introduction to Civil Engineering, classes required for all of our declared majors that are readily accessible to you are

Requirements: Civil Engineering Major

Mathematics and Science (45 Units Minimum)

Technology in Society (this course required):

CEE 102A Legal/Ethical Principles in Design, Construction, and Project Delivery

Engineering Fundamentals (2 Courses minimum)

• ENGR 14 Introduction to Solid Mechanics 3 units
• ENGR 90 Environmental Science and Technology (same as CEE 70) 

Engineering Depth

At least 68 units of Fundamental + Depth courses are required by ABET and by the Department.

Professional Licensing

The first step towards professional licensing is the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam. To prepare for a career as a practicing civil or environmental engineer, your elective choices should prepare you for at least one of these choices of FE exam:

Civil FE: CEE 101A, 101C, 180, 182
Environmental FE: CEE 101B, 166B, 172, 174B, 177 (or 170).
General FE: Physics 43, CEE 101A, 101B; ENGR 15 (which may count under Other Electives)

# If you are aiming to apply to a CEE coterm program, your elective choices should include, at minimum:
Atmosphere/Energy: CEE 64, 107A
Environmental Engineering: CEE 101B, 177 (or 170)
Structural Engineering & Mechanics: CEE 101A, 101C, 180, 182
SDC (Sustainable Design & Construction) – Energy: CEE 120A, 156, 176A
SDC – Management or SDC – Structures: CEE 101A, 101C, 180
SDC – Urban Systems:  CEE 120A, 141A, 155

OTHER ENGINEERING ELECTIVE COURSES (up to 15 UNITS)

Students must take at least 68 units of engineering science and design courses (Engineering Fundamentals + Core + Electives) in order to satisfy ABET and departmental requirements to graduate.  

Coterm Deadlines and Contact

Instructions for Declaring a Major in Civil Engineering

1. Enter your major declaration as Civil Engineering in Axess.
2. Download and complete the Excel major Program Sheet  
3. To open a new program sheet, start by choosing the academic year for the major you wish to use (Example: 2020-21 or 2021-22; must be from a year you are matriculated at SU)
4. Be sure and list all courses already taken and those you plan to take -- you will have the opportunity to revise this later, so please fill in as many courses as you can and print out.
5. Email your Stanford transcript (unofficial is fine) and completed program sheet to Jill Filice, CEE Student Services, jill.filice@stanford.edu, and request to have a CEE major faculty advisor assigned to you. You may request a specific advisor if you wish. Office hours are 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. 
6. Schedule a Zoom meeting with your CEE major faculty adviser and email them your program sheet and unofficial transcript so that you may both review your course study plan, and so that they may approve/sign off on your program sheet.
7. Email your signed program sheet to Jill Filice (jill.filice@stanford.edu), who upon receiving your signed sheet will approve your major declaration in Axess.
8. You are encouraged to meet with your CEE undergraduate adviser at least once a quarter to review your academic progress. Changes to your program sheet can be made by printing out a revised sheet, obtaining your undergraduate adviser’s signature, and returning the approved sheet to the CEE Student Services Office. NOTE: Be sure to revise your program sheet, print, and have signed by your advisor during your senior year and at least one quarter prior to graduation.
9. Other Information:

• Procedures for requesting transfer credits and program deviations are described in detail in Petitions. The online forms may be filled out electronically. If you are requesting transfer credits or program deviations to apply to Core or Depth requirements, you should bring your completed petition form with your transcript to the CEE Student Services office. If your petition is for a breadth requirement, follow the process on the Transfer or Exceptions page. 
• Check with the CEE Student Services Office to make sure that you are on the CEE undergraduate student email list for important announcements about department events and activities.