Civil and Environmental Engineering

The innovative, dynamic work of civil and environmental engineers can be seen everywhere in today's world. Civil and environmental engineers analyze, plan, design, and build structures such as buildings, bridges, and dams; infrastructure systems for transportation; water resources and natural hazard protection; and environmental control and remediation of both the natural and constructed environment.

The U.S.C. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is at the forefront of education and research, expanding in areas such as hurricane and earthquake design, sustainable development, intelligent transportation systems, high-performance and novel materials characterization, bioelectrical remediation, life-cycle analyses, nondestructive evaluation, and cardiovascular flow.

While working on their degree, U.S.C. civil and environmental engineering undergraduate students also have the opportunity to participate in research projects and work with graduate students and professors as research assistants. Research projects stem from the five areas of civil and environmental engineering and are often conducted by multidisciplinary teams and researchers of different backgrounds.

Civil and environmental engineers enjoy high salaries and have a multitude of employment opportunities. Our graduates are prepared to enter the job market with federal, state, and municipal agencies; with private consulting firms involved with aspects of planning, design, construction, or environmental sustainability; and with the development of facilities, resources, and environmental control for industrial development.

Areas of Study

Environmental Engineering Here we focus on improving the environmental quality of air, water, and soils, including physical and biochemical remediation and treatment, sustainable construction, modeling of environmental systems, solid and hazardous waste control, air pollution control and drinking water system designs. The focus area extends to the new area of environmental application and implication of nanotechnology.

Geotechnical Engineering Here we focus on soil, rock and engineered geomaterials with specific concentrations on field and laboratory investigations using standard and novel testing technologies, design and performance of foundations and earth structures, slope stability analyses, soil dynamics and liquefaction, pavement design and performance, landfill design and instrumentation, and geoenvironmental studies.

Structural Engineering Here we focus on the areas of structural mechanics, structural analysis and design, structural testing and materials. The focus of the program is in structures and facilities related to the transportation infrastructure. It addresses: traditional and modern materials; design innovations, structural health monitoring, and life cycle analysis; structural performance and assessment to extreme loads (earthquakes, blasts, etc); advanced analytical and computer methods for modeling and simulations.

Transportation Engineering Here we focus on the planning, design, operation, and management of transportation systems with emphasis on intermodal and multi-modal transportation (including high-speed rail) which are designed to move people and goods from an origin to a destination in the most efficient, cost-effective, and safe manner, utilizing mathematical modeling and computer simulation.

Water Resources Engineering Here we focus on the study and physical and computer modeling of natural and industrial flows and transport processes, management of rivers and watersheds, dam break and levee breach, flood prevention and forecasting, river mechanics and marine sediment transport, stormwater management and modeling, environmental protection and restoration, and sustainable systems.

What kind of careers do civil and environmental engineers find?

Our graduates find high paying jobs within:

• Federal, state and municipal agencies
• Private consulting firms involved with aspects of planning, design, construction, or environmental sustainability
• The development of facilities, resources, and environmental control for industrial development

Cost & Fees

Founded in 1801, then-South Carolina College flourished pre-Civil War, overcame post-war struggles, was rechartered in 1906 as a university and transformed itself as a national institution in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Palmetto State established South Carolina College — the precursor to the University of South Carolina — on Dec. 19, 1801, as part of an effort to unite South Carolinians in the wake of the American Revolution. South Carolina's leaders saw the new college as a way to promote "the good order and harmony" of the state.

The founding of South Carolina College was also a part of the Southern public college movement spurred by Thomas Jefferson. Within 20 years of one another, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia established state-supported colleges.