Six reasons to study built environment and civil engineering at the University of Brighton
As a civil engineer, you will plan, construct and maintain the structures all around us, whether these are transport links, residential buildings or communications infrastructure. You might design structures that can withstand earthquakes, work out how to defend land against flooding and coastal erosion, or plan out the water supply for a town.
Your studies will cover materials, mechanics, geology, the environment, soils and more. At the University of Brighton you'll be among experts in each of these fields, learning both the theory and how to use your knowledge in the real world. Working to ensure sustainability and environmental protection in your practice, you will take civil engineering into the future.
Undergraduate courses
Civil engineering courses at the University of Brighton are designed with your career in mind, and the MEng, BEng and MSc Civil Engineering courses are all accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers.
You will learn through a mixture of lectures by academics and engineers, hands-on practicals in laboratories, case studies, group work and fieldwork, such as regular visits to construction sites, or the week's trip to Devon for your second-year engineering geology module. You will use state-of-the-art facilities and a full range of field sampling, land surveying and construction testing equipment.
As well as core subjects such as Engineering Surveying and Hydraulics, you can build your own programme with options like Computer Modelling or Environmental Health Engineering. You will also take part in Design Weeks, working with other students to create your own project just as you would in industry. In your final year, your independent research will be informed by cutting-edge staff research, and you might even contribute to a current research project.
To boost your CV still further, try out your skills for real and make invaluable contacts, we can help you find a year's paid placement with an employer such as Halcrow, Edmund Nuttall, Southern Water, local authorities or the Environment Agency.
Peter Osman (BEng Civil Engineering) spent a year with Halcrow. 'Not only does it give you the edge when applying for other jobs but it provides a link between what has been leant in lectures to the real world. Having had one of my designs constructed, you also feel a huge sense of achievement and the benefit of seeing a project through its different stages of design and construction.'
You will spend an extra year on this programme, preparing you for a career at the highest level. Integrating civil engineering, business management and interdisciplinary engineering studies, it is accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Institute of Highway Incorporated Engineers.
Many of the modules are at masters level and you will graduate having satisfied all the academic requirements for becoming a chartered engineer.
As well as learning about the technology, you will develop your leadership and teamwork skills with an environmental perspective. Accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Institute of Highway Incorporated Engineers the course will equip you to introduce innovative designs and techniques into the industry.
Civil with Environmental Engineering BEng
You will graduate from this course as a professional engineer with specialist knowledge on environmental protection. You will work alongside the civil engineers, developing sustainable engineering solutions and directing your final-year project at environmental issues.
Postgraduate courses
There is a vigorous research community in the school, with recent thesis titles including:
- A numerical study of breaking waves and breaking criteria
- Engineering properties of chalk in relation to coastal cliff slope instability
- An efficient finite element technique for free surface flow
- Towards optimisation of a double-sided punched metal nail plate connector.
There is also a taught MSc in Civil Engineering. This course will appeal if you have a first degree in civil engineering, or industry experience. You will study the core disciplines of structural and geotechnical engineering, looking at topics ranging from seismic hazard analysis to permeability measurement. You also choose areas in which to specialise, such as applied geology or sustainable construction. The course is approved as part of the requirements for Corporate Professional Review and becoming a Chartered Civil Engineer.
See also the cross-school MSc in Water and Environmental Management.
Further information
The courses in detail:
- Civil Engineering MEng
- Civil Engineering BEng(Hons)
- Civil with Environmental Engineering BEng(Hons)
- Civil Engineering MSc
- Water and Environmental Management MSc
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