Course overview

Civil engineering is key to economic and social stability throughout the world and civil engineering education is aimed at producing professionals who plan, design, construct and manage large-scale public works and amenities that underpin society. Here at Portsmouth, our course is designed to produce graduates who can:

• Use a combination of general and specialist civil engineering knowledge and understanding to apply existing and emerging technology.
• Apply appropriate theoretical and practical methods to design, develop, construct, commission, operate and maintain (as appropriate) civil engineering products, processes, systems and services.
• Provide technical and commercial management in the construction industry.
• Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills and a personal commitment to professional standards, recognising obligations to society, the profession and the environment.

This degree will lead you to a recognised professional qualification in civil engineering. It is accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) and the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE). The course partially satisfies the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) under the United Kingdom Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). Further learning such as an accredited MSc would be required to fully satisfy the educational base. Students on the BEng programme may transfer to the MEng programme at the end of Year One or Two subject to satisfactory performance. The MEng programme is accredited by the above institutions and fully satisfies the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng). The School maintains excellent links with these professional bodies and regularly updates and advises students on matters relating to their progress to professional status.

Placement and fieldwork

The course can be taken in sandwich mode, enabling you to take a year in industry to gain experience. The sandwich year is usually taken between Year two and three of the degree programme. Close links are maintained with a wide range of organisations in the civil engineering industry and the School has an excellent record of obtaining suitable industrial training. In addition to the experience gained on a placement, you will also gain valuable experience during field trips. All students undertake field studies in surveying, soil mechanics, environmental hydraulics and construction. The course makes extensive use of the ‘real-world laboratory’.

Exchange opportunities

Opportunities exist for part of your studies to be undertaken in France, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic or Turkey. The School has developed educational links with a number of institutions including Grand Ecole d’Ingenieur at St Etienne in France, Ecole Superieure at Cachen in France, Fachhochschule Trier in Germany, Universidad de Granada in Spain, Universidad de A Coruna in Spain, Technical University of Ostrava in the Czech Republic and Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, Turkey.

Course content

The BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering degree is completed over three years. The course may also be taken as a sandwich course, with approved year-long industrial training undertaken at the end of year one or two. The course is unitised and credit is given for each unit successfully completed. Each year is made up of a number of compulsory (core) and optional units.

Year one

Year one introduces you to the key theories and principles upon which civil engineering practice is based. It comprises 120 credits, all of which are compulsory.

Units include:

• Introduction to Environmental Science and Geology: the fundamental concepts in environmental science and geology and their relevance to civil engineering.
• Soils and Materials 1: the nature and performance of soils and major construction materials.
• Introduction to Design: the nature of the design process and the importance of imaginative thinking, critical evaluation and communication in the process.
• Engineering Analysis: the fundamental mathematical techniques that have application in civil engineering.
• Surveying the theory and practice of measuring angles, distances and heights and their application in data collection and construction site setting out.
• Hydraulic Principles 1: the behaviour of fluids at rest and in motion.
• Construction Practice: the construction processes and their implications for health, safety and welfare of project participants and the environment.

You will also take the following two units, which last a full academic year:

• Structures 1: the behaviour and modelling of simple structural elements.
• Professional Skills: the technical, practical and people skills required for effective communication in the construction industry, with an opportunity for a residential field course or gaining a recognised diving qualification.

Year two

Year two will deepen your understanding and ability to analyse complex civil engineering systems. It also comprises 120 credits (100 from core units and 20 from optional units).

Core units include:

• Structures 2: the behaviour and modelling of complex structural elements.
• Hydraulic Principles 2: the analysis and management of closed conduit and open channel flow of fluids.
• Conceptual Design Project: creative thinking in solving civil engineering problems.
• Structural Elements: the design of simple structural elements in reinforced concrete and steel.

You will also take the following three units, which last a full academic year:

• Soils and Materials 2: the nature and performance of soils and major construction materials and their subsequent impact on civil engineering structures.
• Construction Management and Economics: the financial, contractual, statutory and economic considerations relevant to construction projects.
• Mathematics with Quantitative and Numerical Methods: mathematical, probabilistic and numerical techniques relevant to civil engineering.

You will also take 20 credits worth of optional units from the following:

• Legal Studies 1: basic knowledge about the legal framework within which construction projects are undertaken.
• Infrastructure Development and the Environment: the role of construction industry professionals in ensuring that projects meet requirements for acceptability, sustainability and minimisation of environmental impact.
• Legal Studies 2: advanced knowledge about the legal framework within which construction projects are undertaken.
• Diving and Underwater Engineering: the basic theory and practice of diving at work.
• Mechanisms of Environmental Pollution: the types, behaviour and impact of pollutants commonly found in water and the atmosphere.
• Environmental Assessment Methodology: the legal framework, content, procedures and post-construction auditing required to produce an Environmental Statement for a project.
• Institution-Wide Language Programme the basics of a variety of languages – Arabic, British Sign Language, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
• Industrial Placement: the application of civil engineering knowledge in a professional work environment over a period of one year.

Year three

Year three builds on all the knowledge acquired over the course so that you are able to design and manage civil engineering systems in an integrated manner. It comprises 120 credits (100 from core units and 20 from optional units).

Core units include:

• Environmental Hydraulics: the application of hydraulics to the design and management of water in a river catchment area.
• Geotechnical Engineering: the application of soil mechanics to the design and management of embankments, retaining walls and foundations according to standard codes of practice.
• Structures 3: the application of plastic analysis to civil engineering structures.
• Structural Frames: the application of structural analysis to the design and management of reinforced concrete, steel and composite civil engineering structures.
• Civil Engineering Design and Management Project: the integrated design, to professional standards, of a practical civil engineering project as a group exercise.

You will also complete Research Methods and Individual Project (40 credits) over a full academic year, which covers the application of knowledge, techniques and skills to solve a civil engineering problem and/or create new knowledge through a systematic research process.

Optional units include:

• Environmental Engineering: the application of knowledge and techniques to the design and management of water and wastewater treatment systems.
• Contract Management: the design and management of contractual relationships in construction projects.
• Highway Engineering : the design and management of highway route location, vertical and horizontal alignment as well as road pavements, drainage and lighting.
• Pre-stressed and Post-tensioned Concrete: the design and management of pre-stressed and post-tensioned concrete elements and structures.
• Corporate Management: the design and management of operations in a construction organisation.
• Civil Engineering Heritage and History: the management of historical civil engineering infrastructure.
• Surveying 3: the application of Global Positioning Systems, Geographic Information Systems, photogrammetry and Ground-Probing Radar in the construction industry.
• Professional Diving Skills: the design, implementation and management of scuba and commercial open water diving operations.
• Traffic Engineering: the design and management of traffic movement.
• Harbour and Coastal Engineering: the application of knowledge and techniques to the design and management of port and harbour facilities.
• Introduction to Finite Element Methods: the application of finite element principles to analyse and design civil engineering structural systems.

Teaching and assessment

We use a variety of teaching such as lectures, seminars, tutorials, site visits and laboratory and field exercises. Teaching is also enhanced by the extensive research, consultancy and other scholarly activities carried out by academic staff, and we increasingly use the internet to support independent learning.

You will be assessed in each individual unit by either coursework or examination or by a weighted combination of both. Assessment takes place within each teaching period and your results are published after the end of each period. Feedback is provided on all assessment artefacts to show you what you did well, what you didn’t do well and how you can improve your performance.

Career prospects

Since commencing degree courses more than 30 years ago, the School of Civil Engineering and Surveying has enjoyed a sound reputation with employers. Graduates have been outstandingly successful in finding employment in the construction industry, but the qualification is designed to be equally valuable as a means of securing employment in other sectors of the economy such as business, banking, IT and local government.

What the employers say

'Having recruited three Industrial Placement students from the University of Portsmouth who performed exceptionally whilst with us, BAM Nuttall are keen to continue working closely with the University. The students demonstrated excellent standards in safety awareness, were extremely conscientious, reliable and motivated. They showed a good attitude towards supervision and all got on well with their peers on site. They were honest and punctual. As a result of their performance on site, they have now been sponsored by us for the remainder of their degree courses and will join us as graduates when they finish. Since their return to university, I have heard from the sites that they are very much missed!'

Nicola Young, Student Liaison Officer, BAM Nuttall Ltd

Facilities and features

You will have use of the University Library with learning resources including books, periodicals, journals, trade magazines, electronic databases and an interlibrary loan facility. The School also has laboratories for materials and structures testing, fluid flow modelling and chemical investigation, as well as an onsite environmental laboratory located at a real sewage treatment works. We also have an extensive network of computers with general and specialist software.

Our team of experienced academic, support and administration staff are always willing to help. We also have a long-established network of civil engineering consulting and contracting organisations that provide real-world case studies, curriculum advice, feedback on your work and employment opportunities.

Maths Café

The Maths Café is a daily drop-in facility, where ANY student of the University can receive help on any maths or statistics problem they encounter in their studies. We operate in a friendly, informal location which we hope will encourage students to visit us. Handouts on key topics are available to take away. Students can be shown how to use computer aided learning packages, which can be accessed from any computer attached to the University's computer network.

Entry requirements

View all the entry requirements for BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering for the academic year 2012/13 (opens in new window).