Civil Engineering (Hons)

Overview

Study this accredited Civil Engineering degree in the city that gave the world Isambard Kingdom Brunel and step into a career that could shape the world.

BEng or MEng?

The 3-year Bachelor's degree (BEng) and 4-year integrated Master's degree (MEng) share many of the same modules in years 1–3.

When you finish the BEng course successfully, you'll meet the educational requirements for Incorporated Engineer (IEng) status. The MEng allows you to achieve a Master’s level degree with just one extra year of undergraduate study and when you finish the MEng course successfully, you'll meet the educational requirements for Chartered Engineer status (CEng).

What you’ll experience

• Study practical diving and underwater engineering and infrastructure, due to our coastal location, and get a recognised PADI diving qualification
• Visit constructions sites across the city, such as the new Ravelin Sports Centre or the upcoming Southsea Coastal Scheme
• Explore soil types and rock formations on visits to the Isle of Wight and take a field trip to the National Construction College
• Enter a global design competition, run by Engineers Without Borders

• Learn from industry specialists – recent guest speakers have come from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Atkins, Portsmouth Water, Mott MacDonald, Portsmouth City Council, Colas and WSP

Work experience and career planning

All civil engineering roles are listed in the UK Government’s 'skills shortage list' and you can expect an average salary from £30,000 up to £70,000.

In fact, 95% of our BEng graduates and 90% of our MEng course graduates are in work or further study 15 months after they graduate and 100% of those MEng graduates are in highly skilled work – which means the skills you’ll learn on our course are in high demand. 80% of those graduates work as engineering professionals.

What’s more, 100% of our graduates find their work meaningful. So start making a difference, and be rewarded well for it.

Graduate destinations

Our graduates have worked for companies such as:

• Sir Robert McAlpine – a civil engineering company that’s contributed to the construction of the NHS Nightingale Hospitals and the expansion of the Royal Albert Hall
• Skanska – a recent project, Haymarket Edinburgh, provides more than 380,000 sq. ft designed to benefit the local residential and business community
• Multiplex Construction Europe – with offices in Australia, the Middle East, United Kingdom and Canada, this company has completed more than 1,000 projects globally
• Balfour Beatty – a leading international infrastructure group developing projects from the UK to the United States and Hong Kong
• Gallagher Group – a UK company delivering civil engineering contracts ranging in value from £100,000 to £15 million

What jobs can you do with a civil engineering degree?

Roles you could go into include:

• materials engineer
• geotechnical engineer
• civil engineer
• construction manager
• transport planner

• structural engineer

Teaching

Teaching methods on this course include:

• lectures
• workshops
• seminars
• group work

There's an emphasis on learning through field trips and lab work with many practical opportunities to put your knowledge into practice.

How you're assessed

• written exams
• web assessments
• essays and reports
• project presentations
• a dissertation

You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.

You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

The way you're assessed will depend on the modules you select throughout your course. Here's an example from a previous academic year of how students on this course were typically assessed:

BEng students only:

• Year 1 students: 68% by written exams, 4% by practical exams and 28% by coursework
• Year 2 students: 63% by written exams, 4% by practical exams and 33% by coursework
• Year 3 students: 20% by written exams, 12% by practical exams and 68% by coursework 

MEng students only:

• Year 1 students: 68% by written exams, 4% by practical exams and 28% by coursework
• Year 2 students: 63% by written exams, 4% by practical exams and 33% by coursework
• Year 3 students: 30% by written exams, 8% by practical exams and 62% by coursework
• Year 4 students: 13% by written exams, 43% by practical exams and 44% by coursework