<p>I’m a math major, physics minor. I still have no idea what the hell I want to do with my life. However, as a profession, general civil engineering is attractive as far as engineering is concerned. Otherwise, I’d probably do the M.S. Applied Math at my university.</p>
<p>At any rate, they have a General Civil Engineering M.S. option. I emailed the department asking what typical undergrad leveling courses would be. They haven’t responded back yet. I’ve taken Classical Dynamics, Modern Physics, Quantum Mechanics, and I’m currently in Thermal Physics. Would the number of undergrad Civil Engineering courses be prohibitive?</p>
<p>Math and Science Courses Required by Engineering Schools*</p>
<p>Math: Calculus through Differential Equations, MATH 256
Physics: Introductory Physics I and II, PHYS 215 and PHYS 236
Chemistry: Introductory Chemistry I and II, CHEM 115 and CHEM 116
Computer Science: Programming Language course, CS 231</p>
<p>*Different engineering majors may require slightly different basic math and science courses for entrance. Please check the current requirements for your intended major at your intended school for a specific list.</p>
<p>Note: Columbia University requires a course in Economics. Washington University requires at least 6 semester hours of social science courses and 6 semester hours of humanities courses. In addition, 2 of these courses must be from the same department with one course at the upper level [300-400].</p>
<p>Where did you see that? I got a MS in Civil Engineering from Columbia without ever taking economics. Did you mean Engineering Economy?</p>
<p>When I visited Carnegie Mellon, I met accepted grad students who would need to stay an extra semester or two because they were a chemistry or biology major. They would only take the undergrad courses that were directly related to their concentration. As students with an environmental engineering focus, they would not take geotech courses, for example. </p>
<p>I don’t understand how a general civil engineering master’s degree would work. It’s too broad of a field for that to work, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I’m graduating Spring 2012 with a B.S. Mathematics and physics minor. I want to know what typical leveling courses are for someone who wants to do graduate without having an undergrad CivE. I’ve seen the General Civil option at several different universities. The curriculum consists of coursework in the various specialties, e.g. geotechnical, structural, water management, etc. Texas A&M has this option.</p>
<p>I looked at the link - there are a smattering of courses required in each area. I guess I still don’t see the point of a general CE master’s degree. You’re going to need to be proficient in only one of the areas. I would rather concentrate on the area I thought I would practice in. Taking undergrad courses is how you figure out which area you want to go into.</p>
<p>I don’t see any advantage to “flexibility” within CivE. I don’t call myself a “civil engineer;” I’m a structural engineer. I also know geotechnical engineers, bridge engineers, construction engineers, etc. My friends who call themselves “civil engineers” usually work on site plans and/or drainage plans. CivE is a very broad field, and as a rule, most people don’t practice in more than one part of it.</p>
<p>ken285, do you have any ideas where the flexibility would be useful?</p>
<p>I can see flexibility being useful for those for are a part of the construction industry, but aren’t actually engineers. Someone who decides to go to law school with the intention of working in construction law would benefit from breadth, but no depth. Perhaps it would be helpful for future architects too, just so they know what their consultants are talking about.</p>
<p>For actual engineers, a structural engineer would benefit from having some knowledge of geotechnical engineering. Construction managers and engineers should have knowledge of both of these areas if they are working on the structural side of projects. Other than that, I’m at a lost for ideas.</p>
<p>For a general curriculum, perhaps soil mechanics, fluid mechanics, structural analysis, introduction to environmental engineering? It’s hard to guess, since it’s really just up to your advisor.</p>
<p>Just look at the job reports from last year. Manufacturers are adding jobs, retailers are adding jobs, healthcare is adding jobs, and even with the outsourcing problems, there are plenty of openings for computer scientists and programmers. The only sector of the economy that is bad and continuing to get worse is the construction industry, which is strongly tied to civil engineering. Construction spending continues to decline, housing prices and sales are struggling, and unemployment in the construction industry is worse than the unemployment rate during the Great Depression in many cities.</p>
<p>You’d need a couple of magnitude 8 earthquakes and a few dozen Cat 5 hurricanes to get major cities, and even that might not be enough to wipe out the housing surplus.</p>
Ah, I see. But you should be aware that your chances of getting into the field are slim. I’d also enjoy becoming a professional football player, but realistically, I’d be better off spending most of my time on something with a higher chance of success.</p>
<p>Most civil engineers don’t work on “houses,” though (most houses don’t require structural or site design). Our liability insurance broker works with a lot of professionals in the construction industry. He said that the engineers all report that their work is up, while architects are struggling, since a lot of THEM do depend on house design. My husband and I make a nice living as structural engineers, and I would not hesitate to recommend civil engineering as a major.</p>
<p>I just got a reply from the new CivE academic advisor. He’s going to respond to my questions as soon as possible. I picked my major and minor because I wanted a broad technical education. I’m looking at graduate school as advanced training for a particular career.</p>