Engineering in the Classroom: Sample BS in Civil Engineering Plan of Study

Posted by DaniTheEngineer on

With many folks getting ready to graduate,  I thought I would take the time to show the classes I took to graduate with my Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Note: Drexel is currently a 5-year program with each year broken into quarters for this degree as it also includes a minimum of 18 months of engineering intern experience through their Co-op Program. I also pursued a Minor in Engineering Management and was in the Honors Program, so many of my electives were filled with courses aligned with one of these two goals.

Prior to Year 1:

  • HIST 201: My high school did not have many AP Classes, but fortunately it did have AP US History. I took the AP Exam for this course and got a high enough score on it that it was counted towards my elective credits.
  • MATE 100: Materials for Emerging Tech – This was a two-day introductory course that allowed me to move in a few days early and get a introduction to materials in engineering with a few lectures and hands-on labs.

Year 1 (First Year)

  • First Quarter (16.5 Credits)
    • CHEM 101: General Chemistry I (Honors level of the class to graduate with Honors from the Drexel Honors Program)
    • CS 121: Computation Lab I
    • ENGR 100: Beginning CAD for Design
    • ENGR 101: Engineering Design Lab I
    • HNRS 200: Introduction to Honors Program (Taken to graduate with Honors from the Drexel Honors Program)
    • UNIV E101: The Drexel Experience I
  • Second Quarter (19 Credits)
    • CHEM 102: General Chemistry II
    • MATH 122: Calculus II
    • CS 122: Computation Lab II
    • ENGL 102: Persuasive Writing and Reading
    • ENGR 102: Engineering Design Lab II
    • PHYS 101: Fundamentals of Physics I
    • UNIV E101: The Drexel Experience
    • CO-OP 101: Career Management / Professional Development – First co-op experience, introduction to professional practice and workplace expectations.
  • Third Quarter (19 Credits)
    • BIO 141: Essential Biology
    • MATH 200: Multivariate Calculus II
    • CS 123: Computation Lab III
    • ENGL 103: Analytical Writing and Reading
    • ENGR 103: Engineering Design Lab III
    • PHYS 102: Fundamentals of Physics II
    • UNIV E101: The Drexel Experience
  • Fourth Quarter
    • Last summer break!
    • Some students apply for the STAR Program and if selected, complete it during this quarter. I did in fact apply and was accepted to this program, so let me know if you want me to make a future blog post on the topic!

Year 2 (Sophomore)

  • First Quarter and Second Quarter (4 Credits Each)
    • 6 months of Co-op Experience: worked in the Design Unit of a local public engineering organization.
    • Because you can also take up to 4 credits while on co-op, I took the following courses while balancing my full-time co-op:
      • ECON 201: Principles of Microeconomics (taken during first quarter and taken for my Minor in Engineering Management)
      • ECON 202: Principles of Macroeconomics (taken during second quarter and taken for my Minor in Engineering Management)
  • Third Quarter (19 Credits)
    • CAEE 201: Intro to Infrastructure Engineering
    • ENGR 201: Evaluation and Presentation of Experimental Data I
    • ENGR 220: Fundamentals of Materials
    • ENGR 231: Linear Engineering Systems
    • PHYS 102: Fundamentals of Physics II (Withdrew from the class the first time around)
  • Fourth Quarter (18 Credits)
    • CAEE 210: Measurements in CAEE Engineering I
    • CIVE 240: Engineering Economic Analysis (Also counted for my Minor in Engineering Management)
    • ENGR 202: Evaluation and Presentation of Experimental Data II
    • ENGR 210: Fundamentals of Thermodynamics
    • ENGR 232: Dynamic Engineering Systems  
    • MEM 202: Statics

Year 3 (Pre-Junior)

  • First Quarter and Second Quarter (3 Credits Each)
    • 6 months of Co-op Experience: worked in the Transportation Division for a local private consulting engineering company
    • Like prior, I took the following courses while also balancing my 2nd co-op:
      • PHYS 280: Fundamentals of Physics Lecture III  (taken during first quarter)
      • PROJ 301: Introduction to Project Management (taken during second quarter and taken for my Minor in Engineering Management)
  • Third Quarter: (17 Credits)
    • CIVE 320: Introduction to Fluid Flow
    • COM 150: Mass Media and Society (Taken to graduate with Honors from the Drexel Honors Program)
    • ENGR 361: Statistical Analysis of Engineering Systems
    • MEM 230: Mechanics of Materials I
    • PHIL 315:  Engineering Ethics
    • PHYS 282: Fundamentals of Physics Lab III  
  • Fourth Quarter: (19 Credits)
    • BLAW 201: Business Law I (Taken for my Minor in Engineering Management)
    • CAEE 211: Measurements in CAEE Engineering II
    • CIVE 250: Construction Materials
    • CIVE 330: Hydraulics
    • GRAD COURSE – 1 graduate-level course for my accelerated BS/MS degree program

Year 4 (Junior)

Note: This year I had to switch my co-op from Fall/Winter to Spring/Summer due to my enrollment in the BS/MS program as many graduate-level classes are not provided during the Summer Quarter)

  • First Quarter: (20 Credits)
    • CIVE 302: Structural Analysis I
    • CIVE 310: Soil Mechanics I
    • CIVE 430: Hydrology
    • EGMT 462: Introduction to Engineering Management (Taken for my Minor in Engineering Management)
    • GRAD COURSE
    • GRAD COURSE
  • Second Quarter (19 Credits)
    • CIVE 303: Structural Design I
    • CIVE 375: Structural Material Behavior
    • CIVE 410: Foundation Engineering
    • HNRS T480:  Great Works – The Girl with All the Gifts (Taken to graduate with Honors from the Drexel Honors Program)
    • GRAD COURSE
    • GRAD COURSE
    • GRAD COURSE
  • Third and Fourth Quarter: (4 Credits Each)
    • 6 months of Co-op Experience: worked in the Highway Group for a large international consulting engineering company with an office in Philadelphia.
    • CIVE 477: Senior Seminar I (taken during third quarter)
    • HNRS 302: Pulp Fiction (taken during third quarter and to graduate with Honors from the Drexel Honors Program)
    • CIVE 478: Senior Seminar II (taken during fourth quarter)
    • ESTM 201: DragonsTeach – Introductory course where I got to create a STEM plan of study for a local school (taken during fourth quarter)

Year 5 (Senior)

  • First Quarter: (17 Credits)
    • CAE 491: Senior Design Project I
    • ENVE 300: Introduction to Environmental Engineering
    • CIVE 400: Structural Analysis II *
    • GRAD COURSE
    • GRAD COURSE
    • GRAD COURSE
  • Second Quarter: (16 Credits)
    • CAE 492: Senior Design Project II
    • CIVE 401: Structural Design II  *
    • GRAD COURSE
    • GRAD COURSE
    • GRAD COURSE
  • Third Quarter: (16 Credits)
    • CAE 493: Senior Design Project III
    • CIVE 402: Structural Design III *
    • GRAD COURSE
    • GRAD COURSE
    • GRAD COURSE
    • GRAD COURSE

* Classes above with a * were for my concentration. I chose the Structural Engineering Focus, but Drexel also had the following options when I was a student there: Geotechnical Engineering Focus, Transportation Engineering Focus, Water Resources Focus, and Environmental Engineering Focus.

Because I graduated with both my Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Master of Science in Civil Engineering, you can see that instead of general or professional elective classes, I have graduate-level courses. Note, I did also need to maintain a GPA of at least 3.2 and have taken coursework sufficient to demonstrate a readiness to take graduate coursework to be accepted to the BS/MS program. I did leave those just listed as “GRAD COURSE” throughout, so please let me know if you would like a breakdown of those courses I took to earn my M.S. in Civil Engineering. 

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