Undergraduate Students

Civil Engineering – Creating the Built Environment

The civil engineering profession is concerned with the built environment. Civil engineers plan, design, and construct major facilities including highways, transit systems, dams, tunnels, energy facilities, harbors, canals, buildings, and bridges. Civil engineers help manage our air, water, and energy resources and help protect society from natural catastrophes, such as earthquakes, as well as dealing with the hazards society itself generates in the form of toxic wastes.

The undergraduate major in Civil Engineering (CE) provides for two alternative tracks, one focusing on structures and construction and the second focusing on environmental and water studies. The CE degree program is ABET accredited and prepares students for professional practice or possible graduate study in engineering or other fields.

The Civil Engineering Curriculum

The undergraduate civil engineering curriculum includes a core, to be taken by all declared majors, that provides a broad introduction to the major areas of civil engineering. Two tracks then allow students to take additional specialized course work in either Environmental and Water Studies or Structures and Construction. For specific course listings and requirements, see the Civil Engineering (PDF document) section of the School of Engineering's undergraduate studies handbook.

Environmental Engineering - Understanding and Protecting the Natural Environment

The environmental engineering profession works to protect and manage our air, water, and energy resources. Environmental engineers quantitatively analyze the environmental changes that inevitably result from human activities, designing strategies to remediate problems, minimize impacts, and measurably improve environmental quality.

The environmental engineering field is refreshingly multi-disciplinary in nature, combining fundamental principles drawn from physics, chemistry, geology and biology with analytical methods. Practitioners focus on developing devices, techniques and solutions that can effectively address a variety of real-world environmental problems.

The undergraduate program in Environmental Engineering (EnvE) is ABET accredited and prepares students for professional practice or possible graduate study in engineering or other fields.

The Environmental Engineering Curriculum

The undergraduate environmental engineering curriculum consists of a set of core classes considered essential for the major, along with additional classes students can select from a list of breadth electives. This major was added to Stanford's undergraduate curriculum in 2000. The B.S. in Environmental Engineering is ABET accredited program. High priority is placed on integrating research with engineering education. For specific course listings and requirements, see the Environmental Engineering (PDF document) section of the School of Engineering's undergraduate studies handbook.

Those undergraduates potentially interested in the Environmental Engineering major may want to examine the Environmental and Water Studies specialization of the Civil Engineering major as a possible alternative. If you would like more information on the BS or BAS in Environmental Engineering, contact Sandra Wetzel in Room 316 of the Yang and Yamazaki Environment and Energy Bldg.

Architectural Design - Designing for a Sustainable Future

The Architectural Design major seeks to integrate engineering and architecture in ways that blend innovative architectural design with cutting-edge engineering technologies. Combining hands-on architectural design studios with a wide variety of courses, students can choose from a broad mix of elective courses concerning energy conservation, sustainability, building systems, structures, as well as design foundation and fine arts courses.

Visit Architectural Design »

In addition to preparing students for advanced studies in architecture and construction management, the program's strong math and science requirements prepare students well for graduate work in other fields, such as civil and environmental engineering, law, and business. The major provides a background for individuals wanting to explore a diversity of careers in architecture, engineering, construction, and structures.

This undergraduate major grants a degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a specialization in Architectural Design. This engineering major is not an ABET accredited engineering degree, nor is it designed to lead directly to professional licensure in architecture. In order to become a professional architect or engineer, additional graduate training is required.

The Architectural Design Curriculum

The Architectural Design curriculum focuses on three themes: Representation, Process and Sustainability.

Representation - the visual expression of a design. Courses provide hands-on experience in freehand drawing, mechanical drawing, model building and 3-D and 4-D computer modeling.

Process - the methodologies to design and construct architectural forms and systems. While gaining an understanding of the entire lifecycle of the collaborative design and contstruction process, students will learn to think clearly, reason critically and document and manage the evolution of creative ideas.

Sustainability - designs that meet the needs of the present without depleting or permanently damaging the resources required to execute on those designs. Coursework includes topics such as energy systems, ecologically friendly building materials, water conservation and indoor air quality.

Atmosphere/Energy - Improving Climate and Air Quality Through Renewable and Efficient Energy Systems

Atmosphere/Energy encompasses two broad themes: understanding energy effects on air pollution, climate, and weather and mitigating such problems through development, implementation, and analysis of renewable and efficient technologies and renewable energy resources.

The Atmosphere/Energy undergraduate degree is a pre-approved School of Engineering Individually-Designed Major (IDM) and first became available during the 2007-2008 academic year. The degree conferred is

"Bachelor of Science with an Individually Designed Major in Engineering: Atmosphere/Energy"

Please visit the link here for more information, including the curriculum.

Those undergraduates interested in the Atmosphere/Energy major should contact Sandra Wetzel in Room 316 of the Yang and Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building.