You are in the official 1995-96 General Catalog for California State University, Fresno.

Engineering - Civil and Surveying Engineering
and Construction

School of Engineering
Department of Civil and Surveying
Engineering and Construction
KARL E. LONGLEY, Chair
Engineering East Building, Room 178
(559) 278-2889
FAX (559) 278-6759

B.S. in Civil Engineering
B.S. in Construction Management
B.S. in Surveying Engineering
M.S. in Civil Engineering


The Department of Civil and Surveying Engineering and Construction offers programs of study leading to the Bachelor of Science degrees in civil engineering, surveying engineering, and construction management. Civil and Surveying programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology which represents the major professional engineering groups in the United States. The Construction program is accredited by the American council for Construction Education.

Civil engineering includes the research, development, planning, design, construction, and maintenance associated with urban development, water supply, structures, energy generation and transmission, water treatment and disposal, and transportation systems. The civil engineer deals with the function and safety of such public facilities as buildings, bridges, dams, pipelines, powerplants, highways, and harbors, and is concerned with the protection of the public against natural hazards of earthquakes, floods, landslides, and fires.

The graduate curriculum leading to an M.S. degree in Civil Engineering provides specialized training in the fields of structural engineering and applied mechanics, soil mechanics and foundation engineering, environmental engineering, water resources engineering, highway engineering, and surveying engineering.

Surveying engineering includes the science of making measurements to determine the relative positions of points on or near the earth's surface (surveying) and the science of making accurate measurements from photographs or other types of imagery (photogrammetry). Surveying engineers apply their knowledge to locating land and water property boundaries, collecting terrain data for engineering planning, making measurements for guiding construction operations, and accurately establishing horizontal and vertical control points for scientific and engineering works. Besides map making, photogrammetry is used for a wide variety of unusual measurements such as topology of the human body, nondestructive testing of engineering materials, monitoring structural deformations, and for architectural and anthropometric measurements.

Students in construction management (CM) are exposed to a wide variety of topics, ranging from courses in management and administration of construction companies, projects, people, and equipment to courses focusing on specific techniques for project planning and control work improvement and estimating. The Construction Management program also provides opportunities to develop a strong background in computer applications in construction. Computer skills combined with a solid management and technical background are major assets of the construction management graduate.

Faculty and Facilities

The teaching and research specialties of the department's faculty cover every area of civil engineering, surveying engineering, and construction. Most faculty members are licensed as civil engineers, land surveyors, or contractors and have a wide range of professional experience in engineering design, analysis, research and development, and project planning and management.

Excellent laboratory facilities exist for testing of soils and construction materials, hydraulics testing, and water quality analysis.

Administrative Academic Probation

A minimum GPA of 2.0 must be maintained in all courses taken in the School of Engineering. Students who fail to maintain a 2.0 GPA in courses within their major may be placed on administrative academic probation. Failure to eliminate the grade point deficiency could result in disqualification from the School of Engineering.

Career Opportunities

Employment opportunities for civil engineers in industry, state, and federal government agencies remain at a high level as a result of increasing urban growth and land development, and the recent emphasis on the maintenance and repair of the nationwide highway system. Civil engineers are also in demand to meet the growing challenge of cleaning the environment.

Opportunities for specialists in surveying engineering continue to grow with rapid advancements in analytical photogrammetry, geographic information systems, and inertial and satellite positioning methods. Most graduates of this program have been employed by federal and state government agencies, the petroleum industry, and other private industries.

Many graduates have earned professional license as civil engineers or land surveyors within a few years of leaving school and are in private practice.

Opportunities for construction management graduates are excellent. Examples of positions held by construction management graduates are project manager, construction manager, project administrator, estimator, scheduler, architectural representative, project superintendent, and construction administrator. Students should consider this challenging, satisfying, and high-paying profession.

Civil Engineering - Degrees

Civil Engineering - Courses

Surveying - Degrees

Surveying - Courses

Construction Management - Degrees

Construction Management - Courses

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