Suggested Topics for a Civil Engineering Curriculum

Public works and infrastructure management have always been the primary domain of civil engineers. In recent decades, however, the role of the civil engineer in this field seems to have been decreasing in importance, with increasing emphasis being placed on administrative skills, management experience, and political savvy over technical expertise. If civil engineers want to regain a prominent position in the planning and management of public works, a new curriculum must be devel-oped and implemented. This curriculum should provide students with a basic knowledge and understanding of (a) mathematics and basic science; (b) engineer-ing science; (c) technical aspects of infrastructure systems; (d) decision analysis in the face of uncertainty; (e) management and business principles; (f) societal needs, ethics, public policy, and political science; and (g) communication skills. Further-more, faculty members need to be exposed to practical problems so that they can bring back that experience into the classroom. A broad-based undergraduate degree should be followed with a more specialized master’s-level degree for civil engineering practice at a professional level. Public works or civil infrastructure has always been intimately associated with the civil engi-neering profession. The planning, design, construction, and operation of public works were the main reasons for the existence and education of civil engineers in many countries around the world. In these countries, civil engineering schools maintained a close connection with the national/state departments of public works, and civil engineering graduates often became gov-ernment employees at the national, regional, or municipal level. It was also common to have civil engineers serve as not only the local and regional heads of infrastructure management offices (e.g., for hydroelectric power generation, irrigation, transportation, waste disposal, and water supply) but also as the national/state secretary (or minister) of public works (encompass