Civil Engineering at Iowa State University

Civil engineers apply principles of motion and materials to plan, design, construct, maintain, and operate public and private facilities, while working under economic, social, and environmental constraints. Commonly included are transportation systems; bridges and buildings; water supply, pollution control, waste management, irrigation, and drainage systems; river and harbor improvements; dams and reservoirs. Civil engineering also includes planning, designing, and executing surveying operations and locating, delimiting, and delineating physical and cultural features on the earth's surface. Research, testing, sales, management, and related functions are also a part of civil engineering. Work on campus is supplemented by inspection trips, which furnish an opportunity for firsthand study of engineering systems in operation, as well as projects under construction.

Environmental engineering, as an emphasis in civil engineering, is concerned with protecting the public and natural health; providing an ample safe water supply; managing solid and hazardous waste; treating and disposing of domestic and industrial wastewaters and waste; resource recovery; providing adequate drainage of urban and rural areas for sanitation; and controlling water quality, soil contamination, and air pollution. The environmental emphasis for the civil engineering degree replaces some of the courses and electives in the general curriculum with further courses in chemistry, biology, and microbiology as well as specific topics in environmental engineering and design.