Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering is a broad-based, diverse discipline that primarily involves the planning, design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure such as buildings, bridges, tunnels, highways, industrial facilities and water supply and waste disposal systems.  A civil engineer also works on projects that involve natural systems.  These types of projects include hydrologic watershed studies, the design and construction of flood control works and the development of natural resources.  Sustainability and structural durability and the impact of climate change on civil engineering works have become increasingly important challenges in the field of civil engineering.

Civil engineering is composed of several sub-disciplines including structural, geotechnical, environmental, transportation and water resources engineering.  Additional specialist areas falling under civil engineering include rock engineering, construction project management and structural health monitoring.  Faculty members of the Department of Civil Engineering at Lakehead University are specialists in their sub-discipline field of endeavour and offer current information related to theory and practice by conducting research and liaising with organizations on a local, provincial, national, and international basis.

The Faculty of Engineering offers a uniquely designed 4-year Bachelor of Engineering degree program in Civil Engineering which is accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). A coop education/internship Bachelor of Engineering degree is also available. 

Students can enter the first year of the Bachelor of Engineering degree program directly from high school, or if additional academic preparation is required, by successfully completing the Common Year in Applied Science.  The structure of this program permits students to complete the requirements of an Engineering Technology Diploma in Civil Engineering by the end of the second year of the Bachelor of Engineering degree program. At this stage;

  • You may continue in the degree program, with or without the co-op/internship option, to earn a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Civil Engineering in two more years of study,
  • You may choose to obtain work experience since you have graduated with marketable skills from an accredited Civil Engineering Technology program.  After acquiring valuable work experience, you may apply to return to Lakehead University to complete your engineering degree, or
  • You may choose to enter the workforce as a Civil Engineering Technologist. 

Qualified engineering technology graduates from accredited Canadian technology programs can enter the degree program in third year after completing post-diploma transition courses offered in the summer session prior to third year. The summer program is designed to assist qualified engineering technologists from other institutions make the transition to university studies.

The first two years of the Bachelor of Engineering degree program in Civil Engineering enable the student to understand the design determinants, purpose and principle of operation of engineering works and systems and thus, prepares the student for supervisory positions in the construction, maintenance, renovation, and operation of such works and systems.  In addition the foundation provided in mathematics and engineering science, together with the appropriate technical knowledge, enables the graduate technologist to initiate and control the development of solutions to many operational engineering problems.

The last two years of the Civil Engineering degree program extend the graduate technologists' capabilities in construction and operations activities into the conceptual and design phases of engineering by means of additional and engineering sciences. The elective courses in the program permit the student to gain knowledge and problem-solving capability in a particular field. These may be problems with which the student gained considerable familiarity and interest through his/her experience as a technologist.

The Department of Civil Engineering supports the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) and encourages students to become active members of this organization. 

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