Civil engineers plan, design and build our environment and are the technical professionals who deal with the creation of buildings and infrastructure. Whether it be a detached family house or a high-rise, a footbridge or a motorway viaduct, an environmentally-friendly waste disposal facility or hydro-power plant, the construction of a new housing scheme or a town development – civil engineers are at work in all the places where there are technological issues to be resolved.

Civil engineering is a broad field and the course offers a varied range of options, within the load-bearing structure and infrastructure specialisations. Alongside the practical content such as foundation work, construction engineering, road systems and hydraulic engineering, there is also a focus on such wider fields as communication and economics.

The practice-orientated programme, offered in a reasonably-sized learning environment where students are treated as individuals, is the focus of the course. Theory and practice are closely linked by teaching staff with practical experience and in the project work that students are set. This gives graduates an excellent grounding for their transition to working life.

Civil engineers possess a wide range of specialist knowledge. As professionals they are in great demand and enjoy a high degree of recognition. They shape our environment in many settings: engineering offices, construction companies, public administration, insurance companies or banks. Possible areas of activity are planning and undertaking the calculations involved in the following:

• Ferroconcrete, metal and timber structures
• Roads, tunnels and bridges
• Energy sector infrastructure, e.g. power stations and dams
• Environmental protection measures such as anti-noise barriers, ecological hydraulic engineering, waste water treatment
• Town- and traffic planning