Knowledge and understanding
At the completion of a bachelor degree course in civil engineering, a student should have acquired a sound knowledge and understanding of:
* basic mathematics and science, and scientific method;
* applied sciences, such as solid and fluid mechanics and properties of materials;
* techniques of measurement and experimentation;
* the engineering design process and the engineering approach to problem solution;
* ethical standards and legal responsibilities;
* the principles of management of human, material and financial resources for engineering purposes.
Technical skills
The student should have acquired technical skills in the application of knowledge to the analysis and design of civil engineering tasks across the field of structural and geotechnical engineering, water engineering and transportation.
Professional skills
The student should have acquired professional skills in the areas of:
* technical presentation, both oral and written;
* team working, including team leadership;
* logical and methodical evaluation;
* computer applications;
* time and resource management.
Attitudes
The student should have developed appropriate attitudes in relation to:
* the community responsibility of an engineer and community consultation;
* interaction with other engineers in professional societies;
* environmental management for sustainable use of resources;
* safety in the workplace;
* continuing self-education.
Course of studies
The scope of civil engineering is vast. Civil engineers work in branches such as structural engineering, soil engineering, rock engineering, dam engineering, hydraulic engineering, highway engineering, traffic engineering, sanitary engineering, water resources engineering, town planning, and coastal engineering. In any of these branches a civil engineer may work in the functional areas of research, investigation, design, construction or operation, and the undergraduate course in the Department of Civil Engineering prepares a student accordingly. The areas of structures, geomechanics, water and transport are the major areas of civil engineering activity and form the basis of the department's organisation and teaching.
The civil engineering course includes basic science, as a necessary foundation for engineering science, which in turn provides a foundation for the applied science and a background for the applied art of civil engineering. Thus, at level one, a major section of the course consists of the basic sciences of mathematics, physics and chemistry. Level-one studies also introduce some major interests of all five departments at the Clayton school, the civil engineering component concentrating on mechanics of structures. Computing is also introduced at this level because of its importance throughout the remainder of the course.
Level-two core subjects expand and extend the coverage of engineering science with studies in fluid mechanics, stress analysis, soil mechanics, materials science and further mathematics, while the applications to engineering are elucidated by the commencement of a stream of studies in civil engineering practice, studies in structural analysis and design and in surveying.
Level-three and four core subjects further extend the studies in engineering science but with an increasing emphasis on their integration with applied civil engineering. A wider range of water engineering, transport and geomechanics topics is added to the already strong and continuing structural component, together with more general but essential material in management and systems engineering.
The level-four electives concentrate on the practice of civil engineering as a preparation for professional employment. Design and project work require the synthesis of applied science and engineering judgment. A limited degree of specialisation is possible at this level by judicious choice of subjects. General broadening studies are introduced in levels three and four in the form of interfaculty electives and it is possible to total up to twenty-one credit points in non-engineering studies. There is also a requirement of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, that students obtain relevant practical experience during the long vacations.
The overall aim of the course is to prepare a well-rounded professional poised for employment in any of a wide range of civil engineering occupations and eager for continuing education to remain abreast of latest developments in his or her discipline.