Civil Engineering

Department mission/description:

The Department of Civil Engineering provides its students with an outstanding educational opportunity to enter a challenging and fulfilling professional career. Most of our students will enter professional practice in the South Sound area following their undergraduate studies. Many of our graduates enroll in the Master of Civil Engineering Program or the Master of Engineering Management at Saint Martin’s as part-time students while working regionally in the profession.

Civil engineers plan, design, manage and construct buildings, bridges, highways, airports, dams, tunnels, ports, offshore structures, water supply systems, power plants, space structures and wastewater collection and treatment facilities. Civil engineering is a creative, practical and satisfying profession in high demand worldwide. Most civil engineers work in industry, government or private consulting firms. A professional engineering license is mandatory for career success as a civil engineer. Professional competence is built on a foundation of mathematics, physical and natural sciences, engineering sciences, design and laboratory experience. The basic scientific principles learned in these areas are then applied to practical problems in structures, foundations, transportation systems and environmental problems. The role of the engineer as problem-solver and designer is the common thread throughout the engineer’s career, both during preparation and in practice.

In the junior and senior years, students are required to take a core program that includes structural, transportation, environmental and geotechnical engineering. They also take a minimum of eight credits of electives to begin specializing in a selected discipline area. All upper-division courses incorporate engineering design. The program culminates with a major, year-long teamwork-based capstone design experience in the senior year.

The educational objectives of the civil engineering program are as follows.

Graduates will be:

  • Valued members of their organization and successful practicing engineers
  • Capable of complex problem solving who can apply critical, sound and ethical judgment while designing sustainable engineering systems for society.
  • Effective communicators with quality interpersonal and leadership skills.
  • Steadfast in pursuing personal and professional growth opportunities such as continuing education, advanced degrees, professional licensing, membership in professional societies, to foster personal and organizational growth.
  • Engaged in service to their profession and their communities, consistent with the Benedictine tradition of service.

Student outcomes for the Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering Program

  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. 

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Hal and Inge Marcus School of Engineering

The Hal and Inge Marcus School of Engineering seeks to provide our graduates with an education that will prepare them for successful careers in engineering practice and serve as preparation for advanced graduate studies, all while keeping with our Benedictine tradition as the guiding principle.