Skip to main content

DEGREE Civil Engineering, BS

Apply Today

Major in civil engineering

As a civil engineer, you can design sustainable facilities that protect the health and welfare of communities and our environment, while also ensuring society’s financial health. Many of our civil engineering graduates serve society through leadership roles in projects to conceive, design and construct public works.

To expand your knowledge, you can also add the construction engineering and management option—a formal “sub-major” also reflected on your educational transcript.

View department Student services

At a glance

Civil and environmental engineering department

30
Professors of practice who mentor our students
16
civil engineering undergraduate ranking among public universities
98
Undergraduates placed in a job or post-graduate studies within a year of graduation
Facts & stats

Program and degree information

View the Undergraduate Guide for information on requirements, four-year plans and more.

Determine what kind of student you will be and learn more about what information you need to apply.

Freshman A freshman includes anyone who is currently a student in high school or who has not taken college coursework since graduating from high school.
Transfer Student A transfer student is anyone who has attended another college or university after graduating from high school and wishes to enroll in an undergraduate degree program at UW–Madison.
Cross-campus Student Cross-campus transfer students are students who are currently enrolled in another school or college at UW-Madison who wish to transfer into the College of Engineering.
Reentry Student Students who previously attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an undergraduate and would like to complete their first undergraduate degree will need to apply for reentry admission. Reentry students are those who have not been enrolled in courses for a semester or more.

Tuition and segregated fee rates are always listed per semester (not for Fall and Spring combined).

 

View tuition rates

The College of Engineering is committed to recognizing the potential and accomplishments of incoming and enrolled students by supporting their education through a variety of scholarships at the college and departmental level.

 

View scholarship information

Educational Objectives
We recognize that our graduates will choose to use the knowledge and skills that they have acquired during their undergraduate years to pursue a wide variety of career and life goals, and we encourage this diversity of paths. Whatever path our graduates may choose, we expect them to be meeting the following objectives at least three to five years after graduation.

  1. Design and construct both natural and built processes and systems to efficiently meet determined needs using technical knowledge; modern tools; design principles; ethical practice; and communication, leadership, and team skills.
  2. Utilize measurement and analysis tools along with experimental data in investigating natural and built systems.
  3. Understand and incorporate economic, environmental, political, social, safety and global considerations in design, investigation and construction of natural and built systems.
  4. Engage in lifelong learning to keep pace with the continuous evolution of policies, procedures, technologies and tools for engineering analysis, design, and decision making.
  5. Serve others through participation in professional and/or civic activities and responsibilities.

Learning Outcomes

  1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
  2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
  3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
  4. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
  5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
  6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
  7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies
  8. an ability to explain basic concepts in management, business, and public policy
  9. an ability to explain the importance of professional licensure
  10. an ability to understand common failure mechanisms of a component, process, or system and their causes and prevention

Degrees

Our Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET

View the UW-Madison Guide for information on all civil and environmental engineering courses.

 

View all CEE courses

To expand your knowledge, you can also add the construction engineering and management option—a formal “sub-major” also reflected on your educational transcript.

Certificate programs

In addition to our engineering majors, you also can choose from nine certificate programs that are designed to enhance your education, expand your skillset, and make you a more versatile, marketable engineer. When you successfully complete a certificate program, you’ll also see it reflected on your transcript.
Close up of putting liquid into tray of vials

Certificate for Biology in Engineering for Engineering Majors

People looking at drafting table

Certificate in Architecture

Data center with AR screens

Certificate in Engineering Data Analytics

Solar panel on blue sky background

Certificate in Engineering for Energy Sustainability

Green field, wind turbines and blue sky.

Certificate in Engineering Thermal Energy Systems

Global map with push pins in various locations

Certificate in International Engineering

CNC Laser cutting metal

Certificate in Manufacturing Engineering

atom orbit in space

Certificate in Nuclear Engineering Materials

Close up typing on Laptop

Certificate in Technical Communication

Fast track to a master’s degree

An accelerated engineering master’s program is a great choice if you’d like to earn your master’s degree by adding as little as a single year of study at UW-Madison. Here’s a program that is popular with other undergrads who are majoring in civil engineering. If this isn’t what you’re looking for, be sure to check out everything we offer!
View all accelerated programs
Overhead photo of a large Dam

Civil and Environmental Engineering: Professional, MS

The civil and environmental engineering professional (accelerated) master’s program from UW–Madison equips you with the latest scientific and technological knowledge and the skills and tools you need to analyze advanced engineering problems.

View Program

Research opportunities

You’re an undergrad at a university known for its world-changing research. As an undergrad, you can be part of that—whether in a lab in our department, elsewhere in engineering, or even in other schools or colleges across UW-Madison! And if you discover a passion for research, want to further specialize in your field, or simply enjoy the process of learning in an academic setting, you can get any of those through our advanced master’s and PhD degree programs, too!

Civil and Environmental Engineering: Research, MS

As a student in our research-based two-year master’s program, you’ll be able to advance your education in one of several areas of specialization, including construction engineering and management, environmental engineering, geo and pavement engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, and water resources/environmental fluid mechanics.

Environmental Chemistry and Technology Research, MS

If you have a strong background in chemistry and want to apply your interest and expertise to challenges in environmental systems, our interdisciplinary Environmental Chemistry and Technology program will provide you the experience you need to make a difference.

Geological Engineering, MS

As a master’s student in geological engineering, you’ll work with faculty mentors on challenges related to using earth’s resources while protecting the environment.

Research experience

As an undergrad, you can help pioneer new knowledge or technologies on your own or as a researcher in a professor’s lab.  It’s a great opportunity to apply what you’re learning in class, explore a field or topic that interests you, and gain insight into what it’s like to be a graduate student.

Undergraduate research

Civil and environmental engineering news

Our research is making a global impact, especially in mobility, water and building, and energy, infrastructure and environmental considerations thread through everything we do.
All department news
Grad student Anna Konstant examines a collaborative robot
October 4, 2023

When UW-Madison engineering ideas make their way across Wisconsin, everybody wins

A student talks with a recruiter at the fall 2023 Engineering & STEM Career Fair.
September 15, 2023

Hungry for engineering talent, employers flock to UW-Madison

Steven Loheide
September 11, 2023

Ask an expert: Loheide discusses drought

Become a Badger Engineer