About

Department mission

The Civil and Environmental Engineering department at UMass Dartmouth offers a bachelor of science (BS) degree in Civil Engineering and master's degree (MS) in Civil and Environmental Engineering. The program:

provides service to meet the needs of students, industry, government and society
offers excellence, access, and value through a strong commitment to teaching, scholarship, outreach, and professionalism
contributes to the economic development of the region by providing a resource of practice-oriented education for local industry and business, by conducting research, and by active involvement in community affairs

Teaching-focused

We teach students how to deal with water resource issues, waste water problems, flood control, ground water management, and the design of roads, bridges, tunnels, and runways. We also teach new technologies and new methodologies of design construction and maintenance of civil facilities. Graduates are prepared to enter the profession—whether to work for themselves, for local, state, or federal government; or at private firms that are engaged in regional, national, and international projects. They are also well-prepared to pursue graduate education and research.

Research-focused

Our faculty are at the forefront of research in areas such as coastal engineering, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, and water resources engineering. Both undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to work with faculty on innovative research projects.

Well-rounded education

The academic preparation for such a varied profession requires considerable breadth and depth. Students receive:

a thorough grounding in mathematics, the basic sciences, and the engineering sciences
a broad background in the basic civil engineering specialties
depth of understanding in a specialty area; learn more about our focus areas

Each student's program culminates in the capstone program: a major design experience. Students are paired with mentors (typically Professional Engineers) at local firms or municipalities to undertake real-world design challenges. Recent senior design projects have included the redesign of intersections on the Massachusetts Top 100 Crash List, design of a new municipal sewer system for a Cape Cod town, redesign of local bridges, design of new cells for a local landfill, and design of a hazardous waste remediation strategy for a major USEPA Superfund site.