BS in Civil Engineering

The BSE in Civil Engineering at Iowa State University is built around practical application, with students developing technical skills through laboratory courses, geomatics, computer-based engineering problem solving, design work, inspection trips, and team-based learning. The program specifically uses the Geotechnical/Materials Teaching Laboratories, where every civil engineering undergraduate gains hands-on experience with geotechnical and asphalt-concrete testing equipment, while the Institute for Transportation provides specialized structural and transportation research facilities for faculty and student research.

Students gain practical experience through:

• Civil Engineering Learning Community: CE 1200 – Civil Engineering Learning Community introduces first-year students to teamwork, academic preparation, study skills, and preparation for the civil engineering profession through individual assignments and learning-team activities with faculty and peer mentors.
• Computer applications: CE 1600 – Systematic Problem Solving and Computer Applications for Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineers provides laboratory-based experience with spreadsheets, structured programming, data processing, graphing, curve fitting, and engineering problem solving.
• Geomatics and surveying: CE 1110 – Geomatics includes laboratory work involving geospatial measurement, engineering surveying, instrumentation, construction staking, curve layout, geographical information systems, and measurement equipment.
• Materials and geotechnical laboratories: The Geotechnical/Materials Teaching Laboratories in Town Engineering are used by every civil engineering undergraduate during their time at Iowa State and provide hands-on experience with geotechnical and asphalt-concrete testing equipment.
• Mechanics laboratory: EM 3270 – Mechanics of Materials Laboratory gives students direct laboratory experience applying mechanics principles to engineering materials.
• Inspection trips: The civil engineering curriculum supplements campus work with inspection trips, giving students firsthand opportunities to study engineering systems in operation and projects under construction.
• Civil engineering design: CE 4850 – Civil Engineering Design provides advanced design experience in the final year, requiring students to integrate their technical and professional knowledge.
• Structural research facility: The Wallace W. and Julia B. Sanders Structural Laboratory is used by faculty and student researchers and features a 1,920-square-foot reaction floor, high-capacity loading points, a 15-ton overhead crane, structural actuators, and data-acquisition systems.
• Transportation and materials testing: The Iowa Department of Transportation Materials Laboratory provides specialized equipment and expertise for materials quality verification, specification compliance, and pavement-performance testing.
• Internships and co-op: Civil engineering students are encouraged to participate in cooperative education, internships, progressive summer engineering employment, and study abroad. Iowa State’s College of Engineering offers full-time co-op placements and summer internships that allow students to gain practical experience in their engineering field while enrolled.
• Team-based professional development: The curriculum develops teamwork, leadership, communication, and professional skills, with the department describing its undergraduate approach as experiential and collaborative from first-year learning communities through senior-level design. 

The BSE in Civil Engineering at Iowa State University prepares graduates for professional careers in civil engineering, construction, environmental engineering, and related fields, with increasing responsibility and opportunities for professional development and licensure. The program also supports progression into graduate study, while its curriculum develops technical analysis and design alongside communication, teamwork, leadership, and ethics.

Typical job roles: Civil Engineer, Structural Engineer, Transportation Engineer, Environmental Engineer

• Career services: Engineering Career Services supports engineering students with career preparation and employer connections, while Iowa State provides career fairs and recruiting opportunities where students can connect with employers across engineering and infrastructure-related sectors.
• Employment outcomes: 2024–2025 Iowa State College of Engineering data reports 103 Civil Engineering graduates, with 96 reporting outcomes; 78 were employed, and the report records a 92.6% placement figure among respondents under its placement methodology.
• Salary outcomes: For the same 2024–2025 Civil Engineering graduating cohort, the reported starting salary was $72,368 average, with a $45,760–$98,000 range, based on 73 reported salaries.
• Internship opportunities: Iowa State’s 2023–2024 Engineering Career Services internship data records 117 Civil Engineering students reporting internship salaries, ranging from $12.00 to $28.00 per hour, with an average of $20.42 per hour.
• Industry-connected learning: The Institute for Transportation (InTrans) provides specialized transportation and infrastructure research facilities and works on transportation research relevant to government and industry needs, giving civil engineering students opportunities to engage with applied infrastructure research.
• Professional development: The department specifically encourages students to participate in cooperative education, internships, progressive summer engineering employment, and study-abroad programs, helping connect academic preparation with professional practice.
• Long-term professional value: The program’s educational objectives explicitly include pursuing professional development and licensure, allowing graduates to continue developing toward professional engineering careers according to their career goals.
• Graduation outcomes: Iowa State’s civil engineering objectives expect graduates, within three to five years, to have developed professional expertise and increasing responsibility in civil, construction, environmental engineering, or related professions, collaborate effectively on multidisciplinary teams, and pursue lifelong learning.
• Graduate study: Students can continue into Iowa State’s graduate Civil Engineering programs, including M.S., M.Engr., and Ph.D. options with specializations such as structural, transportation, geotechnical, environmental, construction engineering and management, civil engineering materials, and transdisciplinary infrastructure engineering.

Further Academic Progression: Graduates can progress from the BSE into an M.S. or M.Engr. in Civil Engineering for advanced technical or professional specialization, or pursue a Ph.D. for research-oriented careers. Iowa State also offers a pathway for qualified students to pursue a concurrent bachelor’s and Master of Science in Civil Engineering, providing an opportunity to complete both degrees in approximately five years.