Integrated Civil Engineering Curriculum: Five-Year Review |
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Authors: | Neil S. Grigg Marvin E. Criswell Darrell G. Fontane Laurel Saito Thomas J. Siller Daniel K. Sunada |
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Affiliation: | 1Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO 80523. 2Assistant Professor, Dept. of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Univ. of Nevada Reno, MS 186, 1000 Valley Rd., Reno, NV 89512. 3Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO 80523.
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Abstract: | An integrated curriculum, which draws material from different areas to teach students about design and problem-solving, offers civil engineering educators an option for accommodating new topics without increasing the number of courses. Freshman engineering and the senior capstone course are two examples of integrated courses, and the writers present a 5-year perspective on an approach that extends the concept of integration to six additional courses, comprised of an 8-course, integrated civil engineering core curriculum. Drawing on their combined experiences with the courses and assessment in a review by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the writers conclude that the curriculum offers a useful vehicle by which to add material to the 4-year program without increasing the number of credit hours, and offers flexible courses to meet goals of professional groups. The paper describes lessons learned, challenges that remain, and current approaches to improvement. |
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Keywords: | Computer aided design Computer software Control systems Engineering education Curricula Geographic information systems Information technology (IT) Intelligent transportation systems System engineering |
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