This three-year, accredited, course has a student satisfaction rating of 89%.

If you have a good grasp of maths and design and love to solve problems creatively, then this civil engineering degree will be an excellent choice for you. During this degree, you will be actively involved in developing the specific design and professional skills required by civil engineers and will tackle numerous design problems to develop your analytical, technical and decision-making abilities. You will study all the major areas of civil engineering, such as structural design and applications, fluid mechanics and water engineering, geotechnical engineering and construction project management. Mathematics is embedded into all our engineering subjects which enables the relevance of sometimes obscure mathematical concepts to be appreciated.

For the first two years of the degree, all of our undergraduates follow an integrated BEng or MEng route. Once you’ve finished your second year, you’ll then choose whether to complete the BEng or go on to study for an MEng degree.  Progression to the MEng will require excellent second year examination results.

This degree is ideally suited to international or UK students who want to complete their studies in 3 years. It is a flexible option that offers a quicker route to industry than a 4 year MEng and can be topped up with a 1 year postgraduate masters at a later date, to qualify as a Chartered Engineer.

First year

The first year is common across all Engineering Schools. You’ll study a broad range of engineering subjects, giving you breadth of knowledge while allowing you to keep your options open if you’re not yet sure which branch of engineering interests you most. You can also choose to study a language – French, German, Japanese or Spanish.

Second year

You’ll extend your technical understanding and learn how to apply your knowledge and creativity to solving engineering problems. You’ll focus on designing real structures using concrete and steel and broaden your outlook by studying subjects such as ethics, disaster science or sustainability.

Third year

In your third year you’ll solve real-world problems through challenging design projects, working in teams and on your own to engineer appropriate and creative design solutions. 

Related links

• Civil Engineering undergraduate degree courses
• Frequently asked questions

How will I be taught?
As a Birmingham student, you are joining the academic elite and have the privilege of learning from world-leading experts in the field of civil engineering. Throughout your studies, you will be encouraged to become an independent and self-motivated learner, thriving on challenge and opportunities to think for yourself.

Personal tutor
At the start of your degree, you'll be assigned a Personal Tutor who will remain with you throughout your studies to help you in three important areas: supporting your academic progress, developing transferable skills and dealing with any welfare issues.

Contact hours
In your first and second years, the course is delivered as lectures, small group workshops, laboratories, computer-based activities, enquiry-based learning and tutorials.  A strong emphasis is placed on design project work in your third year.

Laboratory-based work is an integral part of our civil engineering degree programme, vital to develop your experimental practical skills, and to reinforce concepts introduced in lectures or to explore a particular phenomenon. Lab work takes place mainly in the first two years of the programme when you'll learn all the fundamental concepts, but you can also opt for a laboratory final-year project. You never know, you could be 'playing' in the Schools newly constructed wind tunnel.

Build something big. You could spend a week during your degree on site with your fellow students building a scale version of an iconic structure. It is muddy and exhilarating and our undergraduates rate it as one of the best experiences possible during a civil engineering degree:

Lectures take place in our theatres which, as well as the traditional whiteboard and pen, are equipped with the latest technology, including facilities to show movies, animations and molecular graphics, to record lectures and to interact with 'ask the audience' style electronic voting systems.

Small-group tutorials/personal tutorials run alongside the lecture course, addressing any individual problems you may have and allowing you to consolidate lecture material, as well as test your understanding through problem-solving exercises.

Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) is a group activity which requires you to work in a team, with a variety of assessment methods; in either a group or individually, by written reports and sometimes as a presentation. Based on techniques used in research-led organisations like the University of Birmingham, EBL gives you a research-orientated approach to a problem and helps you to gain essential skills that are highly valued by employers.

Feedback shows that, on average, 85% of the students on this course go straight into work and/or further study after graduating, and those in work are, typically, earning £22,000-£23,000 sterling a year six months after graduation. Of those working, 87% have professional/managerial jobs.

As one of our Civil Engineering students, the range of career opportunities open to you when you graduate is enormous. The civil engineering and construction industries offer a wealth of jobs (from engineering consultants to contractors), with work in such fields as structures, geotechnics, water, environmental, highways, and railways. Engineering management jobs could also come from the environmental protection and local government sectors, or your problem-solving skills could, equally, be directed towards a career in finance, law, teaching and/or research.

Superb opportunities exist for you to gain industrial experience before you graduate:

You could add a year to your programme and spend this time in paid employment; usually between your second and third study years. You will gain relevant work experience, and earn money putting into practice the skills and knowledge gained from your degree.  Students on placement get involved in practical projects which ask challenging questions that require good engineering answers - and which often lead to sponsorship and/or the offer of a graduate job.

Spending at least two summers in industries will enable you to obtain a 'with industrial experience' degree.

Many top construction companies offer sponsorship to students through the RESPECT scheme.

A rich vein of experience will be available for you to tap into, not only through the University's dedicated Careers Network, but from the School's own industrial liaison officer. From these careers professionals you will gain the skills to help you secure a range of placements from vacation jobs to, eventually, your graduate job.

At School-level, you can opt to add a year to your programme, whatever the course you are studying, and spend this time on placement in industry. You will gain relevant work experience, and earn money putting into practice the skills and knowledge gained from your degree.  Students on placement get involved in serious projects which ask searching questions that require good engineering answers - and which often lead to sponsorship and/or the offer of a graduate job.  On successful completion of a placement in industry organised by the School, and success in your studies, you will be awarded the Certificate in Industrial Studies to add to your degree and improve your employability prospects.

 At University-level, our unique careers guidance service is tailored to academic subject areas, offering a specialised team (in each of the five academic colleges) who can give you expert advice. Our team sources exclusive work experience opportunities to help you stand out amongst the competition, with mentoring, global internships and placements available to you. Once you have a career in your sights, one-to-one support with CVs and job applications will help give you the edge. In addition, our employer-endorsed award-winning Personal Skills Award (PSA)   recognises your extra-curricular activities, and provides an accredited employability programme designed to improve your career prospects.

Whichever of the above forms of careers guidance, or combination of such, you select you will find your prospects for employment after graduation considerably enhanced.  If you make the most of the wide range of careers advice we can offer, you will be able to develop your career from the moment you arrive.

Career destinations of previous graduates include:

• Amey
• ARUP
• Atkins
• Balfour Beatty Ltd
• Bam Nuttall Ltd
• Birmingham City Council
• Bombardier Transportation
• Costain Group PLC
• Edmund Nuttall Ltd
• FaberMaunsell/AECOM
• Galliford Try
• Grontmij
• Interserve
• Jacobs
• Keller
• Laing O'Rourke,
• Met Office
• Metronet Rail BCV
• Mott MacDonald Group Limited
• Nottinghamshire County Council
• Npower
• Nuttall
• Royal Haskoning
• Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
• Wardeil - Armstrong

University Careers Network

Preparation for your career should be one of the first things you think about as you start university. Whether you have a clear idea of where your future aspirations lie or want to consider the broad range of opportunities available once you have a Birmingham degree, our Careers Network can help you achieve your goal.

If you make the most of the wide range of services you will be able to develop your career from the moment you arrive.

Contact us

• Sophie Miller - Careers consultant (s.a.miller@bham.ac.uk)
• Richard Newman- Careers consultant (r.j.newman@bham.ac.uk)
• Caroline Egan - Careers adviser (c.egan@bham.ac.uk)
• Brendan Bacon - Internship officer (b.bacon@bham.ac.uk)
• Carl Jukes - Applications support adviser (c.jukes@bham.ac.uk)

Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) 2009/10

The DLHE survey is conducted 6 months after graduation.

Range of Courses of Further Study for Birmingham's Civil Engineering Graduates

• Civil Engineering Chartership
• MRes Materials and Sustainable Technology
• MRes Science and Engineering of Materials
• MSc Construction Management
• MSc Environmental Technology
• MSc European Real Estate
• MSc Quantity Surveying
• MSc Railway Systems Engineering and Integration
• MSc Road Engineering and Management
• PhD Civil Engineering

Range of Occupations for Birmingham's Civil Engineering Graduates

• Civil Engineer
• Consultant
• Geotechnical Engineer
• Graduate Engineer
• Hydrologist
• Project Engineer
• Project Manager
• Site Engineer
• Structural Engineer
• Water Engineer

Visit the Careers section of the University website for further information.