The curriculum of an academic program is the sequence of courses a student should complete to obtain the admitted and desired degree. The department has prepared forms that contain information about the curriculum and helps the students plan their corresponding program of studies. The revised forms are included in this document. These contain a list of each core course, pre-requisite or co-requisite, the corresponding credits, and the sequence of courses for each semester.

Bachelors of Civil Engineering Program

The new Civil Engineering Program, which came into effect in August 2023, requires a curricular sequence of five years. Students need to obtain 151 credits that are distributed as shown: 31 credits in Math and Sciences, 6 credits in Spanish, 12 credits in English, 9 credits in Socio-humanistic, 2 credits in Physical Education, 12 credits in free electives, 28 credits in Engineering Fundamentals and 51 credits in core Civil Engineering curses.

The Civil Engineering Program required a curricular sequence of five years. Students need to obtain 180 credits that are distributed in the following way: 15 socio-humanistic electives, 3 technical electives, 12 free electives, 2 physical education electives, 58 required departmental courses, 26 required sciences in engineering courses, and 64 required courses in general studies.

Bachelors of Surveying and Topography Program

The Bachelors of Surveying and Topography Program requires a curricular sequence of four years. Students need to obtain 138 credits that are distributed as follows: 32 credits in Math and Sciences, 6 credits in Spanish, 12 credits in English, 6 credits in Socio-humanistic, 2 credits in Physical Education, 12 credits in free electives, 10 credits in Engineering Fundamentals and 41 credits in core Surveying and Topography curses.

The Previous Bachelors of Surveying and Topography Program requires a curricular sequence of four years. Students need to obtain 148 credits that are distributed in the following way:  6 socio-humanistic electives, 6 technical electives, 12 free electives, 2 physical education electives, 42 required departmental courses, 13 required sciences in engineering courses, and 67 required courses in general studies.

For further questions, schedule a meeting with your academic counselor.

The socio-humanistic electives are courses that provide students basic knowledge about social sciences and humanities. Their purpose is to have the students familiarize themselves with intellectual knowledge that serves as a technical background. A list of all the courses that qualify as socio-humanistic courses for the programs of the Bachelor’s of Civil Engineering and the Bachelor’s of Surveying and Topography is provided by the Office of the Dean of Engineering.

Technical electives are courses from the Department of Civil Engineering (codification INCI) that are offered in different areas of expertise to complement requisite courses and allow students to be better prepared in a specific area among the wide diversity of Civil Engineering and Surveying and Topography.

Free electives are courses from any department that students can feel free of taking if available to complete their professional development. Free electives must be of an equal or higher level of required courses and cannot duplicate the content of these required courses.

The courses for the first two years of both programs will provide students the necessary background in Math, Chemistry, Physical Sciences, and Basic Sciences of Engineering. In the remaining years, students will take specific courses offered by the Department of General Engineering or Civil Engineering. These specific courses will prepare students for the different areas of expertise in the respective programs.

Students are responsible for maintaining their curriculum up to date and coordinating regular meetings with their academic counselor for orientation about the program.

Socio-Humanistic Electives

As part of their course program, students that are admitted into the Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering must complete as a requisite 15 credits of socio-humanistic electives. Students of the Surveying and Topography Program should complete 6 credits of socio-humanistic electives. A list of all the socio-humanistic courses available for students from the Engineering Faculty is provided in the following link. Courses are divided in the following areas:

  • Spanish
  • English
  • German
  • Arts
  • Political Sciences
  • Philosophy
  • French
  • History
  • Economics
  • Italian
  • Comparative Literature
  • Psychology
  • Sociology

Technical or Departmental Electives

Technical electives offer students the opportunity of choosing on their own courses that allows them to prepare better in a specific area within the diverse disciplines of Civil Engineering or Surveying and Topography. In many occasions, technical courses may have pre-requisites that students need to complete before enrolling in the course.

The requisites for the Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering include three (3) credits in technical electives. These courses will be selected by the student with the approval of the academic counselor. Six (6) credits are required for the Bachelor’s in Surveying and Topography.

 

TECHNICAL ELECTIVES OF THE SURVEYING AND TOPOGRAPHY PROGRAM THAT CAN BE RECOMMENDED FOR THE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROGRAM

INCI 4051 – Geodesy I

INCI 4071 – Adjustment Computation I

INCI 4085 – Theory of Map Projections

INCI 4086 – Introduction to Physical Geodesy

INCI 4081 – Photogrammetry I

INCI 4087 – Special Surveys

INCI 4059 – Geodetic Astronomy

 

TECHNICAL ELECTIVES OF THE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROGRAM THAT CAN BE RECOMMENDED FOR THE SURVEYING AND TOPOGRAPHY PROGRAM

INCI 4008 – Introduction to Environmental Engineering

INCI 4055 – Introduction to Construction Management

INCI 4095 – Mathematical Methods in Civil Engineering

INCI 4137 – Introduction to Transportation Engineering

INCI 4138 – Introduction to Water Resources Engineering

INCI 4088 – Cartography

Free Electives

A course in a specific discipline at a 3000 level or more can be credited as a free elective only if such course is different in content and of an equal or higher academic level than the first course required in such discipline by the curriculum of a Bachelors in the Department or Faculty (see Certification Number 74-36 of the Academic Senate). This action needs to be evaluated by the department before accrediting the elective course.

Students from the Civil Engineering or Surveying and Topography Program have to take twelve (12) credits of free electives. Free electives give students the opportunity of choosing with the help of their academic advisor, courses of any faculty. Several courses with INCI codes that are considered free electives and cannot be validated as technical electives can be considered as free electives. Students should consult with their academic advisor what courses from the department qualify as free or technical electives, ex. INCI 4995 Engineering Practice for COOP Students and INCI 4057 Civil Engineering Practice. Students of a particular program can only take allowed elective courses from another department, with the condition of being approved by both departments. Free electives are recommended to be taken at the end of the curriculum, in a way that specialized courses can be also taken.

 

FREE ELECTIVES OF THE SURVEYING AND TOPOGRAPHY PROGRAM RECOMMENDED TO THE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROGRAM

INCI 4061 – Legal Aspects I

INCI 4078 – Topographic Drawing

INCI 4062 –Legal Aspects II

INCI 4088 – Cartography

 

Students from the Surveying and Topography Program cannot take as free or technical elective the following courses:

INCI 4057 – Civil Engineering Practice

Unauthorized Free Electives

Following is a list of the courses that are not considered free electives. Other courses may not be included in the list of unauthorized free electives. This should be consulted with the Office of Academic Affairs or with the Academic Advisor.

Courses – MATE 3020, MATE 3030, MATE 3086, MATE 3015, MATE3049, MATE 3171, MATE 3172, MATE 3143, MATE 3144, MATE 3183, MATE 3184, MATE 3185, MATE 3048, ESTA 3001, ESTA 3002, MATE 4061, MATE 4062, GEOL 3025, ESMA 3001, ESMA 3002, INQU 4010, CIQA3001, CIQA3002, QUIM 3041, QUIM 3042, FISI 3011, FISI 3012, FISI 3151, FISI 3152, FISI 3153, FISI 3154, INGE 3089, INGE 4035

Courses not accepted – Comp 3010, COMP 3057, ESMA 3015, ESMA 4001, ESMA 4002, ESPA 3201, ESPA 3202, HUMA 3101, HUMA 3102, INCI 4005, INGE 3035, MATE 3000, MATE 3001, MATE 3002, MATE 3021, MATE 3022