Online Civil Engineering Degree Curriculum
Dive into a robust civil engineering curriculum that balances core principles with the flexibility to select elective courses. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the field's challenges and opportunities, equipped with the skills to innovate and lead in their future careers.
Civil Engineering Curriculum Breakdown
- Core Courses (53 Hours)
- Civil Engineering and Technical Electives (15 Hours)
- Mathematics and Basic Sciences (32 Hours)
- Bradley Core Curriculum (24 Hours)
Total: 124 hours
Civil Engineering Core Courses (53 Hours)
Brief course descriptions of Bradley University undergraduate civil engineering courses are listed below.
For course descriptions from other departments, please view the Bradley University Undergraduate Catalog.
C E 100 - Introduction to Civil Engineering (1 hour)
Introduction to the civil engineering professions. Introduction to fundamental engineering concepts; engineering design; engineering ethics; professional societies; introduction to computers and computer applications.
C E 150 - Mechanics I (3 hours)
Analysis of two- and three-dimensional force systems by vector algebra. Applications of principles of equilibrium to particles, rigid bodies, and simple structures. Friction, distributed forces, center of gravity, centroids, moments of inertia. U.S. and SI systems of units and applications. Prerequisite: MTH 121 or MTH 115 or MTH 119
C E 224 - CADD (3 hours)
Examinations of graphical capabilities of current computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) systems. Theoretical and hands-on applications of the most widely used CADD systems available for Civil Engineering and Construction students. Prerequisite: CON 132.
C E 250 - Mechanics II (3 hours)
Kinematics and kinetics of particles and rigid bodies using vector analysis. Kinetics includes principles of force-mass-acceleration, work-energy, and impulse-momentum. Prerequisite: CE 150.
C E 260 - Fluid Mechanics (3 hours)
Fluid properties and fluid motion: basic laws of motion in integral form; applications of basic laws in solving fluid flow problems. Hydrostatics, dimensional analysis, similitude, and incompressible viscous flow (both laminar and turbulent) in conduits. Introduction to open channel flow; culverts, sewers, and streams. Laboratory experiments. Prerequisite: CE 250.
C E 270 - Mechanics of Materials (3 hours)
Internal forces; stress, strain, and their relations; stresses and deformations in axial and torsional loading; indeterminate problems; stresses and deformations in flexural members; transformation of stresses; introduction to member design; column buckling analysis. Prerequisite: CE 150.
C E 350 - Geotechnical Engineering (4 hours)
Physical properties of soils, soil profiles, and deposits. Soil strength determination. Flow of water through soil masses. Laboratory experiments. Prerequisite: CE 260, CE 270.
C E 356 - Pavement Design (4 hours)
Pavement engineering and design. Selection testing, and use of highway pavement construction materials in relation to function, environment, and cost. Structural properties of asphalt (flexible) and concrete (rigid) pavements; laboratory experiments. Prerequisite: CE 350.
C E 359 - Structural Analysis (4 hours)
Analysis of statically determinate structures including influence lines. Deflections by area-moment, conjugate beam, and Castigliano's theorem. Analysis of statically indeterminate structures including influence lines. Classical solutions by consistent displacements, three-moment theorem, moment distribution, and slope deflection methods. Matrix methods for structural analysis by stiffness approach. Prerequisite: CE 270.
C E 360 - Introduction to Environmental Engineering (4 hours)
Analysis techniques and design procedures for unit operations and unit processes for water and wastewater treatment. Techniques for the examination of water and wastewater quality. Laboratory experiments. Prerequisite: CHM 110 and CHM 111.
C E 365 - Reinforced Concrete Design (4 hours)
Theory and design of reinforced concrete structures: beams, columns, slabs, walls, and buildings. Current ACI Code provisions for elastic and ultimate design. Laboratory experiments. Prerequisite: CE 359.
C E 383 - Ethics and Sustainability (1 hour)
Engineering ethics with applications to sustainable civil infrastructure. Ethical responsibilities to the public, clients, and employers. Social responsibility and public participation for civil infrastructure.
C E 393 - Sustainability and Public Policy (2 hours)
Introduction to engineering economics with applications to assessment of sustainable alternatives in infrastructure, ability to engage in lifelong learning, knowledge of contemporary issues, understanding professional and ethical responsibility, and ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams. Applications of systems engineering concepts including optimization. Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor
C E 400 - FE Review (0 hours)
To review Civil Engineering topics in preparation for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Examination offered through the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Prerequisite: Senior standing
C E 480 - Transportation Engineering (3 hours)
Introduction to transportation engineering and planning as it relates to highways. Characteristics of highway systems: the driver, vehicle and roadway, traffic engineering studies, highway safety, traffic flow fundamentals, capacity and level of service concepts, intersection traffic control, transportation planning and site impact analysis, geometric design of highways. Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
C E 493 - Civil Engineering Design Project I (3 hours)
First of a two-semester course design project sequence. Discussions of the relationship between the owner, architect, consultant, superintendent, construction manager, general contractor and subcontractors. Methods of project delivery, Project concepts through construction, design phases, and project challenges. Leadership, ethics, public policy issues, LEED, and basic business management practices. Oral and written report of preliminary plan. Prerequisite: C E 393
C E 498 - Civil Engineering Design Project II (3 hours)
Detailed design of systems. Application of engineering design principles to realistic projects in structural engineering, environmental engineering, site development. Codes and standards, feasibility studies, consideration of design alternatives, selection criteria including systems sustainability, and aesthetics. Oral and written report of final design with specifications, engineering drawings, and project cost estimates. Prerequisite: C E 493. Advisor consent may be required.
CON 132: Construction Graphics (2 hours)
Symbols, conventions, details of construction drawings, and blueprint reading. Emphasis on interpretation and communication of requirements of contract drawings.
CON 326: Construction Estimating (3 hours)
Feasibility estimates, design estimates, quantity takeoff, direct and overhead costing, and cost control. Material, equipment, and labor estimates of construction projects, bidding strategy, and basic concepts in management and business. Includes laboratory. Prerequisite: CON 132
Civil Engineering Elective Courses
Students must take 15 hours of elective courses, including 6 hours of civil engineering elective courses and 9 hours of technical elective courses. All electives selected by the student should be approved by the student's academic advisor. The student can select technical electives that reflect career objectives. Students wishing to enroll in a graduate-level course must have a minimum 2.75 GPA overall.
C E 206 - Surveying (3 hours)
Theory and applications of measurements of horizontal distances, differences in elevations, horizontal angles, vertical angles, bearings, azimuths, and areas and volumes. Simple horizontal and vertical curves, topographic surveys and mapping. Public land surveying system. Introduction to GPS technology.
C E 422 - Foundation Analysis and Design (3 hours)
Analysis and design of footings, raft foundations, retaining walls, piles, and caissons, based on current theories and design considerations in soil mechanics, concrete, and steel. Prerequisite: CE 350, CE 365.
C E 430 - Water Supply & Hydraulic Engineering (3 hours)
Water use and wastewater generation. Conveying and distributing water. Wastewater and stormwater conveyance system design. Design of storage structures and other systems for water conservation and water use; open channel flow, closed conduit flow, hydraulic structures, hydraulic power conversion. Prerequisite: CE 260.
C E 442 - Design of Steel Structures (3 hours)
Design of steel structural members. Behavior of members and connections. Theoretical and practical considerations in member selection and joint design. Prerequisite: CE 359.
C E 465 - Surface Water Hydrology (3 hours)
Introduction to the hydrological cycle. Hydrologic measurements and monitoring. Surface water hydrology: runoff and the catchment, hydrographs, unit hydrographs, hydrograph routing, urban and small watershed hydrology, hydrologic design, synthetic streamflows, simulation models, applications of probability and statistics to surface water hydrology. Prerequisite: CE 260, CE 310 or equivalent.
C E 481 - Projects I (1-3 hours)
Supervised individual study of civil engineering projects. Prerequisite: consent of advisor.
C E 482 - Projects II (1-3 hours)
Supervised individual study of civil engineering projects. Prerequisite: consent of advisor.
C E 491 - Special Topics I (1-3 hours)
Topics of special interest which may vary each time course is offered. Topics are stated in the current Schedule of Classes. Prerequisite: consent of advisor.
C E 492 - Special Topics II (1-3 hours)
Topics of special interest which may vary each time course is offered. Topics are stated in the current Schedule of Classes. Prerequisite: consent of advisor.
C E 508 - Advanced Soil Mechanics (3 hours)
Consolidation theory and settlements, stress-path method, strength and deformation behavior of soils, failure theories, confined flow, flow nets, numerical analysis of flow, unconfined flow, seepage through earth dams. Laboratory experiments on consolidation and shear strength. Prerequisite: C E 350; or graduate standing.
C E 515 - Advanced Foundation Engineering (3 hours)
Advanced pile capacity formulations, buckling, and lateral loading. Mat foundations, finite difference solutions. Foundations on difficult soils. Slope stability; stability of earth dams. Excavations; geotechnical instrumentation. Prerequisite: C E 422; or graduate standing.
C E 520 - Advanced Numerical Methods (3 hours)
Selected numerical methods and applications chosen to meet current needs for solving problems in civil engineering. Prerequisite: C E 210; or graduate standing.
C E 541 - Pollution Modeling (3 hours)
Phenomena that affect mass balance of contaminants in environmental systems. Advection, diffusion, dispersion, and interfacial mass transfer. Physical, chemical, and biological descriptions of these processes with mathematical models. Solutions to these models with illustrations from reactor engineering and surface water quality modeling. Application to actual process reactor. Prerequisite: C E 360; or graduate standing.
C E 542 - Advanced Water Treatment (3 hours)
Design of physical and chemical unit processes and unit operations with an emphasis on water treatment. Design of aeration systems, coagulation and flocculation processes, sedimentation tanks, filtration systems, chemical precipitation processes, ion exchange processes, and disinfection processes. Advanced purification methods including adsorption, reverse osmosis, electro-dialysis, and membrane processes. Treatment and disposal of physiochemical process sludges. Prerequisite: C E 360; or graduate standing.
C E 543 - Advanced Wastewater Treatment (3 hours)
Application of concepts from microbiology and biology to environmental engineering systems. Detailed integrated design of wastewater treatment. Microbiology of wastewater treatment processes and soil bioremediation processes. Interaction between biogeochemical phenomena and microbial processes in an environmental engineering context. Prerequisite: C E 360; or graduate standing.
C E 546 - Groundwater Hydrology (3 hours)
Groundwater in the hydrological cycle, fundamentals of groundwater flow; flow net analysis; steady-state and transient well testing techniques for parameter estimation; multiple well systems; leaky aquifers; sea water intrusion; groundwater investigation; artificial recharge of aquifers, design of wells; subsidence and lateral movement of land surface due to groundwater pumping. Design and computer applications. Prerequisite: C E 260, or graduate standing.
C E 555 - Sustainability and Environmental Regulations (3 hours)
Sustainability as it is expressed in environmental regulations and policies for conventional and hazardous wastes in air, water, and groundwater. Toxicological, risk assessment, risk-based engineering, and regulatory aspects for the sustainable management of all types of waste. Prerequisite: C E 360 or CON 352; or graduate standing.
C E 558 - Solid Waste Management (3 hours)
Sources, composition, and properties of solid waste. Transport of solid wastes and design of transfer stations. Separation, transformation, and recycling of waste materials. Landfill siting. Leachate generation, collection, and removal systems. Liner system design. Landfill settlement and stability analysis. Accelerated treatment of solid waste. Methane recovery from landfills. Closure, restoration, and rehabilitation of landfills. Case studies. Prerequisite: C E 350 or CON 320; or graduate standing.
C E 560 - Advanced Structural Analysis (3 hours)
Direct stiffness method for the analysis of two-dimensional trusses and frames, equivalent nodal forces, thermal and settlement effects, principle of virtual work, space trusses, grid structures, static condensation, Lagrange multipliers, tapered elements. Prerequisite: C E 210 and C E 359; or graduate standing.
C E 562 - Advanced Steel Design (3 hours)
Structural framing systems; rigid frame design; design of bracing; design of simple rigid and moment resisting connections; torsion of steel open sections; design of beams subjected to torsion; design of steel plate girders; design of composite beams. Prerequisite: C E 442; or graduate standing.
C E 565 - Advanced Concrete Design (3 hours)
Advanced topics in flexural design; torsion in beams; behavior and design of slender columns; biaxial bending of columns; design of two-way slabs; behavior and design of frame-wall structural systems; inelastic analysis of flexural members; use of strut and tie analysis; yield line analysis; design of mat foundations. Prerequisite: C E 365; or graduate standing.
C E 567 - Prestressed Concrete Design (3 hours)
Theory and analysis of prestressed concrete members by various methods of prestressing; design of simple and continuous beams and slabs; prestress losses; composite beams. Extensive study of materials used in prestressed concrete. Precast concrete systems. Prerequisite: C E 365; or graduate standing.
C E 570 - Advanced Mechanics of Materials (3 hours)
Two- and three-dimensional stress and strain at a point; two-dimensional elasticity; beams on elastic foundations; torsion of noncircular sections; curved beams; unsymmetrical bending; plastic collapse and limit analysis. Prerequisite: C E 270; or graduate standing.
C E 575 - Structural Dynamics (3 hours)
Single degree of freedom systems; multi-degree of freedom systems; lumped mass and consistent mass-MDOF beams; free and forced vibrations; earthquake loading; impact and impulsive loads; numerical procedures. Prerequisite: C E 210 and C E 359; or graduate standing.
C E 577 - Seismic Design (3 hours)
Theory, analysis, and design of building structures under earthquake loading. Application of current codes and standards related to steel, concrete, masonry, and wood structures. Prerequisite: C E 365 and C E 442; or graduate standing.
C E 580 - Highway Safety (3 hours)
Safety aspects of streets and highways; planning, implementation, and evaluation of highway safety improvement projects and programs. Highway risk analysis and risk management systems. Prerequisite: C E 310 and C E 480; or graduate standing.
C E 582 - Traffic Flow Theory (3 hours)
Traffic flow theories and applications in the design, development and operation of transportation systems, macroscopic and microscopic models of traffic flow, mathematical distributions of traffic events, car following theory, shock wave analysis, queuing analysis. Prerequisite: C E 480 and C E 310; or graduate standing.
C E 583 - Geometric Highway Design (3 hours)
Application of standards, theory, and practice in design of streets and highways. Design of streets and highways including cross section elements, shoulder, and roadside features. Prerequisite: C E 480; or graduate standing.
C E 584 - Urban Transportation Planning (3 hours)
Planning and analysis of urban transportation; travel demand models including trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice and traffic assignment; land use planning, site impact analysis and traffic impact studies for proposed developments, and context sensitive solutions. Prerequisite: C E 480; or graduate standing.
C E 585 - Pavement Management Systems (3 hours)
Distresses in pavements, assessment of asphalt (flexible) and concrete (rigid) pavements, performance tests of pavement materials, material characterization to maintain and rehabilitate pavements, pavement maintenance and rehabilitation methods, life cycle cost analysis of pavement maintenance and rehabilitation. Prerequisite: C E 356; or graduate standing.
C E 586 - Advanced Pavement Design (3 hours)
Materials characterization for pavement, base, and subgrade; traffic load analysis to design pavement; structural design of flexible (asphalt), rigid (concrete) and composite pavements; pavement distress evaluation and rehabilitation. Prerequisite: C E 356; or graduate standing.
C E 587 - Traffic Signal Design (3 hours)
Analysis and design of traffic signals for isolated intersections and coordinated systems. Hardware, communication, and detection systems associated with signal systems. Fundamental concepts of simulation of traffic operations. Application of optimization/simulation computer software programs. Prerequisite: C E 480; or graduate standing.
C E 588 - Transportation Economics (3 hours)
Application of engineering economy for transportation systems; analysis of congestion costs, highway transportation costs, and road user consequences. Identification and measurement of highway benefits, concepts of value and time, and willingness to pay; discount rate and vest charge; concepts of depreciation and service life; life cycle cost analysis; evaluation of transportation alternatives and evaluation of completed projects/programs. Prerequisite: C E 393; or graduate standing.
C E 591 - Advanced Topics I (1-3 hours)
Topics of special interest, which may vary each time course is offered. Topic stated in the current Schedule of Classes. Prerequisite: Consent of department chair.
C E 592 - Advanced Topics II (1-3 hours)
Topics of special interest, which may vary each time course is offered. Topic stated in the current Schedule of Classes. Prerequisite: Consent of department chair.
C E 593 - Advanced Project I (1-3 hours)
Supervised individual study of civil engineering and construction projects. Prerequisite: Consent of department chair.
C E 594 - Advanced Project II (1-3 hours)
Supervised individual study of civil engineering and construction projects. Prerequisite: Consent of department chair.
Technical Electives
Elective List
- Any C E Elective course listed above
- CON 352: Sustainable Urban Environment - 3 hours
- CON 356: Construction Safety - 3 hours
- CON 388: Contract Administration - 3 hours
- CON 392: Construction Scheduling - 3 hours
- CON 394: Construction Labor and Unions - 3 hours
- CON 494: Construction Practices - 3 hours
- CON 520: Advanced Construction Practice - 3 hours
- CON 522: Advanced CADD - 3 hours
- CON 524: Building Information Modeling - 3 hours
- CON 526: Advanced Construction Estimating - 3 hours
- CON 528: Advanced Construction Scheduling - 3 hours
- CON 529: Advanced Construction Contracts - 3 hours
- CON 536: TQM Principles - 3 hours
- CON 537: Construction Simulation - 3 hours
- CON 540: Project and Company Management - 3 hours
- CON 591: Advanced Topics I - 1 to 3 hours
- CON 592: Advanced Topics II - 1 to 3 hours
- CON 593: Advanced Project I - 1 to 3 hours
- CON 594: Advanced Project II - 1 to 3 hours
- ME 301: Thermodynamics I - 3 hours
- ME 302: Thermodynamics II - 2 hours
- ME 521: Intermediate Fluid Mechanics - 3 hours
- ME 536: Industrial Pollution Prevention - 3 hours
- ME 537: Building Energy Management - 3 hours
- ME 556: Mechanics of Composite Materials - 3 hours
- ME 577: Finite Element Methods in Engineering - 3 hours
- IME 301: Engineering Economy I - 3 hours
- IME 313: Operations Research I - 3 hours
- ECE 227: Electrical Engineering Fundamentals - 4 hours
- Any BUS, BSA, ATG, ECO, BLW, BMA, ENT, MIS, FIN, ML, MTG, or IB course
- Any computer science course above CS 202
- Any biology course
- Any astronomy course
- Any geological science course
- Any environmental science course
- Any mathematics course above MTH 224
- Any physics course above PHY 110
- Any chemistry course above CHM 110
Mathematics and Basic Science Courses (32 Hours)
- C E 210: Numerical Methods in C E - 3 hours
- C E 310: Probability, Statistics and Decision Making in C E - 3 hours
- MTH 121: Calculus I - 4 hours
- MTH 122: Calculus II - 4 hours
- MTH 223: Calculus III - 4 hours
- MTH 224: Differential Equations - 3 hours
- CHM 110: General Chemistry I - 3 hours
- CHM 111: General Chemistry I Lab - 1 hour
- PHY 110: Physics - 4 hours
- Basic Science Elective - 3 hours
Students must take 3 semester hours from the following courses:- Any biology course
- Any astronomy course
- Any geological science course
- Any environmental science course
Bradley Core Curriculum Courses (24 Hours)
See Bradley Core Curriculum (BCC) list in the schedule of classes each semester. All BCC courses should be approved by the student's academic advisor.
- Writing 1 (W1) - 3 hours
- Writing 2 (W2) - 3 hours
- Oral Communication (OC) - 3 hours
- Multidisciplinary Integration (MI) - 3 hours
- Humanities (HU) - 3 hours
- Fine Arts (FA) - 3 hours
- Global Perspectives (GP)- 3 hours
- Social & Behavioral Sciences (SB) - 3 hours
ADMISSIONS DATES AND DEADLINES
Fall 2025
Jul
20
Final Application Date
July 20, 2025
Fall 2024
Aug
27
Start Date
August 27, 2025
Fall 2025
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