Civil Engineering Technology

Associate in Applied Science Degree

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This program prepares students to enter the workforce as civil engineering technicians (or related positions) or transfer to a higher education institution. Coursework addresses the planning, design, and construction phase of civil engineering projects including aspects such as highway design, soil mechanics, material strength, steel & reinforced concrete design, hydraulics, hydrology, and construction management. Instruction occurs in the classroom, field, and laboratory settings. The program includes the use of MicroStation and Civil3D, the CAD platforms most widely used in the civil engineering field. A Capstone project with a service-learning component is completed using knowledge gained in the program. The Civil Engineering Technology Program is accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org.

Program Educational Objectives: 

  1. Graduates will have the technical and organizational skills necessary to
    succeed in careers in the planning, design, or construction phase of the
    Civil Engineering Technology field and/or to pursue higher educational or
    professional development opportunities.
  2. Graduates will maintain and foster a positive environment in the
    workplace conducive to teamwork, professionalism, and continuous
    improvement.
  3. Graduates will, within two to three years upon graduation, have
    progressed in their technical careers to levels of higher responsibility
    and/or will have completed additional education development to meet the
    needs of employers in the region.

Student Outcomes:

  1.  An ability to apply knowledge, techniques, skills and modern tools of
    mathematics, science, engineering, and technology to solve well-defined
    engineering problems appropriate to the discipline
  2. An ability to design solutions for well-defined technical problems and
    assist with the engineering design of systems, components, or processes
    appropriate to the discipline
  3. An ability to apply written, oral, and graphical communication in
    well-defined technical and non-technical environments; and an ability to
    identify and use appropriate technical literature
  4. An ability to conduct standard tests, measurements, and experiments and
    to analyze and interpret the results
  5. An ability to function effectively as a member of a technical team

Program Specific Curricular Areas:

  1. Utilization of principles, hardware, and software that are appropriate to
    produce drawings, reports, quantity estimates, and other documents
    related to civil engineering
  2. Performance of standardized field and laboratory tests related to civil
    engineering
  3. Utilization of surveying methods appropriate for land measurement
    and/or construction layout
  4. Application of fundamental computational methods and elementary
    analytical techniques in sub-disciplines related to civil engineering

Total Credit Hours: 64

First Semester

This course is an opportunity for students to develop the skills necessary to be successful in college. Students learn the importance of the faculty-student and advisor-advisee relationship, develop time management techniques, apply effective study skill techniques, recognize the implications of living in a diverse society, utilize college resources, and explore career and transfer requirements. Collaborative projects are included. Students matriculated in a degree program must take this course in their first term of study.

This course focuses on several kinds of writing-self-expressive, informative, and argumentative/persuasive, and others. A minimum of five essay compositions are required. The course emphasizes the composition of clear, correct, and effective prose required in a variety of professions and occupations. Prerequisites: Appropriate high school GPA or placement test score or EN090 Basic Writing Skills or SL116 ESL4: Advanced Composition or SL145 ESOL Advanced Composition

This course includes both basic technical drawing techniques and MicroStation CAD to support engineering design. Topics include line types, dimensioning, scaling, auxiliary views, sectioning, and notations. This course also introduces the use of MicroStation software. Topics include operational concepts; main palette use; projecting elements; entity construction and editing; entity manipulations; and text and dimensioning parameters.

This course introduces the many aspects of Civil Engineering to students who are interested in pursuing a career in either the Civil Engineering and/or Surveying Technology field. It also introduces students to the various tools required for use in these fields as well as the fields of engineering or engineering technology program. The use of personal computers is introduced as engineering tools for work enhancement. Experience is provided with a variety of microcomputer software applications, including word processing, electronic spreadsheets, presentations, file management, and database software. Engineering and surveying ethics are also introduced.

This course introduces the techniques and concepts of GIS. The mapping software package ArcGIS is used to display, analyze, and query spatial data sets. Topics include coordinate systems/datums, symbology, classifications, digital imagery, and global positioning systems. (Fall semester)

This is the first of a two-course sequence for students in programs that require mathematics through polynomial calculus. Algebraic manipulations, graphing skills and problem solving are emphasized. Topics include systems of linear equations including Cramer’s Rule, quadratic equations, variation, factoring and fractions, vectors and oblique triangles, and an introduction to trigonometry and applications. Prerequisite: Appropriate high school GPA or placement test score or MA115 Intermediate Mathematics.

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Second Semester

This course encourages a deeper understanding of human nature and the human condition through the study of ideas and values expressed in imaginative literature. Emphasis is placed on the use and development of critical thinking and language skills. Library-oriented research is required. Prerequisite: EN101 English 1: Composition or EN105 English Composition for Speakers of Other Languages or EN106 English 1: Composition & Reading.

This course is a study of force systems and their actions on bodies at rest. Topics include force systems, equilibrium, distributed forces, centroid, moment of inertia, and friction. Prerequisite: MA121 Fundamentals of College Mathematics 1. (Spring, Summer semester)

This is the second of a two-course sequence for students in programs that require mathematics through polynomial calculus. Topics include complex numbers, exponential and logarithmic functions, analytic geometry, limits, derivatives and integrals of polynomial functions, applications of the derivative, and area under a curve. Prerequisite: MA121 Fundamentals of College Mathematics 1.

This non-calculus Physics course for technology, business administration, computer science, and liberal arts and sciences students covers topics in mechanics, wave motion, and heat. Prerequisite: Appropriate high school GPA or placement test score or MA121 Fundamentals of College Mathematics 1, or MA125 College Algebra and Trigonometry.

This course presents the biological and evolutionary history of humans. Basic concepts of evolutionary theory, human genetics, human biological adaptation and diversity, and the hominid fossil record are explored. It includes the behavior and ecology of living non-human primates.

This course introduces economic theory and its relevance to daily life in a market economy. Topics include scarcity, supply and demand, choice, economic growth, taxation, and the role of government in the economy. Attention is given to current economic issues and their impact upon everyday life.

This course introduces the discipline of political science through the study of American government. Topics include the concept of the political system, democracy in theory and practice, the historical background and content of the Constitution, Federalism, and the role of the Supreme Court in civil rights. It stresses these aspects of the American political system: public opinion, voting behavior, the electoral system, political parties, and modern campaigning techniques.

This course introduces the many and varied facets of psychology. Emphasis is on interactions of individuals in their cultural, social, and economic environments as determined by their cognitive, behavioral, and emotional experiences and training.

This course gives an understanding of and a feeling for the society in which we live. The concepts and theories discussed relate to humanity, its culture and society, and to those forces that contribute to the smooth operation of this society as well as those forces that contribute to conflict and social problems. Topics include culture, socialization, stratification, population, and patterns of social organization.

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Third Semester

This course introduces surveying, and includes the topics in the care and use of surveying instruments, field note procedures, land surveying, topographic surveying, construction surveying, and mapping from field notes. Fieldwork includes the use of measurement equipment, levels, transits, the odolites, total stations, and Global Positioning System (GPS). Corequisite: MA121 Fundamentals of College Mathematics 1.

This course introduces the fundamental concepts used to design structural members. Topics include the relationship between stress and strain, design of beams, shear and moment diagrams, deflection of beams, and columns. Practicums include computational work, related to problem analysis, and the performance of tests on various construction materials such as steel, concrete, and asphalt. Prerequisite: CT121 Statics. (Fall Semester)

This course introduces soil mechanics and its application to problems encountered in civil engineering. Topics include the flow of water through soils, soil strength and compressibility, the effect of water on these properties, and geo-synthetics. The theories of soil mechanics are applied to the design of foundations and retaining walls. This course explores the methods of performing field explorations. Laboratory tests commonly used to evaluate the engineering properties of soils are studied and performed. Corequisite: CT221 Strength of Materials: Civil. (Fall Semester)

This course covers transportation modes, including the interlocking relationships among transportation, economics, community, and the environment. Emphasis is placed on the process behind a transportation project including planning, design, construction and maintenance especially on highway design. Prerequisite: MA121 Foundations of College Mathematics 1.

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Fourth Semester

This course explores the design of structural members and connections using structural steel. Prerequisite: CT221 Strength of Materials: Civil. (Spring semester)

This course explores reinforced concrete beams, slabs, columns, footings, and walls. Prerequisite: CT221 Strength of Materials: Civil. (Spring semester)

This course covers basic practices in hydraulics and hydrology, as well as environmental topics encountered in the civil engineering field. Prerequisites: MA121 Fundamentals of College Mathematics 1 and CT151 Surveying 1.

This course covers the legal problems, building codes, specifications and efficient construction methods relating to construction projects. Topics include estimating costs of construction projects and construction scheduling.

In this course students collaboratively design and present a project that integrates program course knowledge with long-range planning and economic, budgetary, environmental, scheduling, and public concerns. Students present the final design to a group of professionals formally. Prerequisites: CT102 Engineering Drawing and MicroStation CAD, CT151 Surveying I, CT222 Soil Mechanics and Foundations, and CT231 Transportation Engineering. Corequisite: CT232 Environmental Engineering.

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(a) Restricted Social Science Electives: AN101 Biological Anthropology, BM101 Survey of Economics, PS101 American National Government, PY101 Introduction to General Psychology, or SO101 Introduction to Sociology.