Civil and environmental engineers change the world
Solve critical challenges of the 21st century
Civil and environmental engineers have an important goal: to solve problems and critical challenges of the 21st century. From transportation to water quality to earthquake resilience, civil and environmental engineers play a crucial role in enabling livable, sustainable cities, healthy environments and strong economies. Civil and environmental engineers design, build, operate and maintain urban environments to improve people’s lives.
In-demand careers
With aging infrastructure and rising water needs, as well as pressing global-scale environmental issues, the demand for civil and environmental engineers is expected to grow quickly in coming years. Below are a few statistics that forecast considerable job growth.
- 11% job growth for civil engineers by 2026, faster than the average for all occupations.*
- 8% job growth for environmental engineers by 2026, more than the average for all occupations*
* Bureau of Labor Statistics
To connect students with industry, the CEE department hosts an annual career fair.
Salary statistics
Engineers have one of the highest average entry-level salaries and consistently high median pay compared to other majors. Both civil and environmental engineers earn around $84,000 per year median pay, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Learn more
Intro courses
Students in CEE 102 design and test trusses.
Join us for introductory courses to learn more about civil and environmental engineering. In seminar format, the credit/no credit courses are designed to assist freshmen and sophomores with deciding which engineering field they are most interested in pursuing.
- ENGR 101 Engineering Exploration: Introduces freshmen to all engineering fields.
- CEE 102 Civil and Environmental Engineering and Careers—Companies and Agencies: This seminar course provides an overview of companies and agencies that employ civil and environmental engineers. View photos from the design project (truss testing) in winter 2019.
- CEE 103 Engineering for Natural and Human Caused Disasters: This course describes natural and human caused disasters and the role that civil and environmental engineers play in preventing or mitigating critical problems.
Events
- Check us out at the annual Engineering Discovery Days event, held every spring. Hands-on demonstrations and activities showcase the exciting work of engineers.
Career choices
| What do civil engineers do? |
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Civil engineers take on the challenges presented by our aging national infrastructure, while developing new approaches to address the needs of urban systems and communities around the globe. Their work plays a crucial role in enabling livable, sustainable cities and strong economies.
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| What do environmental engineers do? |
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Environmental engineers work to both safeguard and improve the quality of the environment. By utilizing a combination of scientific and engineering principles, they help protect the world and its people from environmental impacts caused by natural and human activities.
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Student life
Student clubs
Outside of the classroom, students hone their skills through a variety of clubs and organizations for future engineers. CEE students participate in more than 15 student-led activities and organizations including Concrete Canoe Team, Steel Bridge Team and Engineers Without Borders.
Study abroad
UW CEE is unique in the number of study abroad opportunities led by department faculty. Many students study abroad in other countries, enabling them to gain an international and historical engineering perspective.
- Engineering Rome: Students explore engineering through the ages at one of the richest sites in the world, learning about aqueducts, fountains, subway systems, the Colosseum and more.
- Engineering Jordan: To learn about water engineering in an arid land, students travel to Jordan where they visit drinking water treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants.
- India Study Abroad: Students spend a quarter in India learning to solve global problems facing humanity, such as food insecurity and access to clean energy and water.
- More Options: Engineering students study abroad in numerous other subjects.