Civil Engineering

Our program leading to the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) degree is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.

Civil engineers design, build, and maintain the structures and systems society depends on every day, from roads, bridges, and buildings to water systems and the infrastructure that keeps cities running. Christian Brothers University’s Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) is a design-oriented, lab-intensive program built to turn students into job-ready civil engineers, not just classroom theorists. As one of the established civil engineering colleges in Memphis, TC, CBU pairs a rigorous, ABET-accredited curriculum with hands-on labs, paid internships, and small class sizes led by practicing engineers. 

A few things set CBU’s civil engineering program apart from other civil engineering universities:

• ABET-Accredited, Design-Oriented Curriculum – CBU’s BSCE program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the recognized standard employers and licensing boards look for in a bachelor of science in civil engineering. The curriculum is built around real design work rather than lecture-only instruction, so every core course, from structural design to hydraulics, includes a hands-on lab or applied design component. 
• Paid Internships Built Into the Degree – The majority of CBU civil engineering students complete a paid internship during their junior or senior year, often with a local firm or agency, and many of those internships turn into full-time job offers before graduation. It’s one of the clearest ways CBU’s civil engineering education connects classroom learning to real-world practice before you ever walk the stage.
• Accelerated Five-Year BS/MSEM Pathway – Students who want both a technical degree and a management credential can combine their Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering with a Master of Science in Engineering Management (MSEM) in just five years. It’s a direct route from entry-level engineer to engineering leadership without the cost or time of two separate degree programs.

Why Choose CBU for Civil Engineering 

Our program is design-oriented and lab intensive, emphasizing hands-on experience and teamwork. You’ll learn basic civil engineering principles, develop problem-solving skills, and spend lots of time in the laboratory so that you build a working knowledge of traditional and newer areas of civil engineering. Courses are taught by professors with active PE licenses and industry experience, not just researchers, and the program’s design-first philosophy means students graduate having already applied civil engineering principles to real problems rather than encountering them for the first time on the job. 

CBU is one of the few civil engineering universities offering a two-semester senior capstone that mirrors a real design cycle with concept development, analysis, design, report writing, and a final presentation, often timed to overlap with a student’s internship and mentorship from a licensed professional engineer.

Customize Your Degree with Electives

Beyond the core classes needed for civil engineering, students can tailor their degree with electives in: 

Capstone Experience

The two-semester capstone experience gives you the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned as you complete a design cycle from concept development through analysis, design, report writing, and presentation. Your capstone experience might coincide with an internship and involve working with a professional engineer.

Paid Internships

Internships are a large part of your experience, helping you connect classroom learning with the “real-world” environment. The majority of our students have a paid internship in their junior and senior year that often leads to a full-time position with the company.

Civil Engineering Courses and Curriculum 

CBU’s bachelor’s degree in civil engineering requires 131 credit hours, combining CBU’s core liberal arts and general education requirements with a full sequence of civil engineering classes and labs. Civil engineering courses in the program include:

Minors Offered Through the School of Engineering

The School of Engineering offers the following minors:

Prerequisites for Civil Engineering at CBU 

Incoming students don’t need prior engineering coursework to apply, but a strong foundation in math and science makes the transition into the program smoother. Typical prerequisites for civil engineering and the high school classes needed for civil engineering applications include: 

• Four years of high school math (through pre-calculus or calculus, when available) 
• Chemistry and physics 
• Strong performance in writing and communication courses, since civil engineers regularly write technical reports and present designs 

Once enrolled, students move through foundational civil engineering classes—calculus, statistics, mechanics of materials, and geomatics—before advancing into upper-level design courses like steel structures, reinforced concrete, and foundations. 

Full admission requirements and application steps available here.

Is Civil Engineering for You?

Civil engineers are inquisitive, detail-oriented, and comfortable tackling complex, multi-variable problems. In their designs, civil engineers weigh environmental impact, construction costs, and government regulations while protecting public safety and the surrounding community. If that mix of technical problem-solving and real-world impact sounds like your kind of work, a bachelor of civil engineering may be the right path.

Civil Engineering Subspecialties 

• Structural engineers design and analyze buildings, bridges, and other infrastructures.
• Transportation engineers design highways, railroad systems, traffic signal systems, and airports.
• Geotechnical engineers explore the subsurface conditions of a site to determine what types of foundations should be used.
• Environmental engineers design systems to minimize pollution caused by wastewater, stormwater, hazardous materials, and noise.
• Water resource engineers design dams and channels to prevent erosion and flooding.
• Construction engineers use technology to minimize the cost of building and maintaining infrastructures.

Careers for Civil Engineering Graduates 

Demand for civil engineering graduates remains high, driven in part by an aging current workforce (per the American Society of Civil Engineers) and infrastructure that requires constant rebuilding and modernization. Government agencies, consulting firms, and large corporations all hire civil engineers, and the degree also serves as strong preparation for law school, medical school, or an advanced degree in civil engineering. 

Clubs & Organizations

The CBU student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gives civil engineering majors the opportunity to participate in community service events, engineering competitions, and other activities. The group participates in the annual concrete canoe and steel bridge competitions, sponsoring teams who work on each project in the ASCE Deep South Competition.

Related Programs

Meet the Faculty

Dr. Andrew Assadollahi, PE, SE

Dean and Professor, Gadomski School of Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Gene McGinnis, PE

Interim Chair, Associate Professor and BSEM Construction Management Concentration Coordinator, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dr. Pong Malasri, PE, CPLP Professional, CPP

Packaging Initiatives Coordinator, Packaging, Engineering Management

Pinnaduwa Kulatilake, PhD, PE, F.ASCE, M.SME

Professor of Civil Engineering, Gadomski School of Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering