The bachelor's degree curriculum is shown below. The complete Cooper Union catalog with course descriptions, academic standards, etc, is available online and maintained by the Registrar's office.
Opportunity is available to graduates for careers in civil engineering design as related to structures, geotechnical applications, construction management, environmental engineering, and water resources engineering. Accordingly, the curriculum places strong emphasis on laboratory experience acquired through innovative experimental projects that are conceived and conducted by the students under close faculty supervision. To meet this need, the department maintains a separate laboratory in each of four major civil engineering specialties: environmental, materials and structures, geotechnical, and water resources.
| Courses | Credits | ||
| FIRST YEAR | |||
| FALL | MA 110 | Introduction to Linear Algebra | 2 |
| MA 111 | Calculus I | 4 | |
| CH 110 | General Chemistry | 3 | |
| EID 101 | Engineering Design and Problem Solving | 3 | |
| CS 102 | Introduction to Computer Science | 3 | |
| HSS 1 | Literary Forms and Expressions | 3 | |
| Total Credits: 18 | |||
| SPRING | MA 113 | Calculus II | 4 |
| PH 112 | Physics I: Mechanics | 4 | |
| CH 111 | General Chemistry Laboratory | 1.5 | |
| CH 160 | Physical Principles of Chemistry | 3 | |
| HSS 2 | Texts and Contexts: Old Worlds and New | 3 | |
| Total Credits: 15.5 | |||
| SECOND YEAR | |||
| FALL | MA 223 | Vector Calculus | 2 |
| MA 224 | Probability | 2 | |
| PH 213 | Physics II: Electromagnetic Phenomena | 4 | |
| PH 291 | Introductory Physics Laboratory | 1.5 | |
| ESC 100 | Engineering Mechanics | 3 | |
| ESC 110 | Materials Science | 3 | |
| HSS 3 | The Making of Modern Society | 3 | |
| Total Credits: 18.5 | |||
| SPRING | EE 120 | Principles of Electrical Engineering | 3 |
| MA 240 | Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations | 3 | |
| PH 214 | Physics III: Optics and Modern Physics | 3 | |
| ESC 101 | Solid Mechanics | 3 | |
| HSS 4 | The Modern Context: Figures and Topics | 3 | |
| Engineering/Science Elective | 3 | ||
| Total Credits: 18 | |||
| THIRD YEAR | |||
| FALL | CE 121 | Structural Engineering | 4.5 |
| CE 141 | Environmental Systems Engineering | 4.5 | |
| ESC 130 | Engineering Thermodynamics | 3 | |
| ESC 140 | Fluid Mechanics and Flow Systems | 3 | |
| Humanities/Social Science Elective | 3 | ||
| Total Credits: 18 | |||
| SPRING | CE 122 | Structural Engineering II | 3 |
| CE 131 | Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering | 4.5 | |
| CE 142 | Water Resources Engineering | 4.5 | |
| Engineering/Science Elective | 3 | ||
| Humanities/Social Science Elective | 3 | ||
| Total Credits: 18 | |||
| FOURTH YEAR | |||
| FALL | CE 341 | Design of Steel and Concrete Structures | 3 |
| CE 351 | Urban Transportation Planning | 3 | |
| CE 363 | Civil Engineering Design I | 3 | |
| Engineering/Science Elective | 3 | ||
| Humanities/Social Science Elective | 3 | ||
| Total Credits: 15 | |||
| SPRING | CE 361 | Civil Engineering Experimental Projects | 2 |
| CE 364 | Civil Engineering Design II | 3 | |
| Engineering/Science Elective | 6 | ||
| Humanities/Social Science Elective | 3 | ||
| Total Credits: 14 | |||
| Requirements for Bachelor's Degree: 135 | |||
Graduate Program
Completion of the Master of Engineering degree program in civil engineering is important for entry into the profession in any one of the specialized fields cited. The civil engineering department offers some two dozen graduate-level courses in the cited areas. Major areas of concentration are structural engineering and environmental engineering. Graduate minors may include computer engineering, civil engineering management or other interdisciplinary areas of engineering.
The Major:
A coherent concentration of graduate-level courses in the department, which must include courses required by the department (12 credits minimum)
The Minor:
A concentration in an interdisciplinary area of engineering other than the chosen major (12 credits minimum)
Thesis Project (6 credits)
Total Credits: 30