Before understanding Civil Engineering, we should know what Engineering is?
Engineering is the practical application of science that helps to develop a world of better quality for humanity’s better life.
We can also define it as the solution to practical problems by using scientific principles and mathematical formulations. Learn more about Engineering
Civil Engineering
It is the oldest branch of Engineering which deals with planning, analyzing, building, estimating and maintaining various Civil works like Roads, Buildings, Structures, Bridges and many more.
Which plays a versatile role in the development of a nation.
Civil Engineering is a vast profession, including many sub-disciplines like Mechanics and Analysis of Structures, Materials Science, Geography, Soil Mechanic, Hydrology, Environmental Science, Project Management, Transportation etc.
Few questions might come to your mind like,
Why is it called civil Engineering?
As it is related to Civil works like buildings, roads, bridges, canals, irrigation systems, hydrology etc for setting up a better civilization
Who was the 1st Civil Engineer?
John Smeaton, Who constructed the Eddy stone lighthouse.
Some Example of Civil Engineering marvels
- Taj Mahal India
- Millau viaduct France
- Burj Khalifa Dubai
- Palm Island Dubai
- Three Gorges Dam China
- The Golden Gate Bridge
- The Eiffel Tower
- Hoover Dam
Learn more : Previous year Gate papers of Civil Engineering with detailed solution
Learn more : Gate 2022 Civil Aptitude questions with solution-forenoon
Scope of Civil Engineering
Civil Engineering has a wide scope in the modern era, Whether it’s the real estate sector or the infrastructure sector. Because, It plays vital role in day to day life improvement .
The demand for Civil Engineers is increasing day by day in all fields, whether in Govt. job or in the Private sectors.
Things that come under Civil Engineering
Planning, Designing, Estimating, Executing, Managing and Surveying in the various construction sectors like Bridges, Roads, Tunnels, High-rise Buildings Map, City planning etc.
So let’s understand these things in details.
Planning
Before Planning, note that we do the survey (i.e, collect all important information required for planning). A plan is an image of anything that you understand about the thoughts and actions associated with the project.
Technically , we can say that Planning is the process in which plans are made to help in finding expenditure and checking inefficiencies in the execution of the project and monitoring and executing the tasks in the right order.
which saves us from additional expenses and also from delays of the project.
Note: The adoption of sequence plays a very important role in executing various activities of a task.
Role of a Civil Engineer
Here the designation given is “Planner“.
Requires a lot of onsite experience to get this post.
Design
It’s that process in which our task gets a green signal from higher authority, Analyzes the structure and design the various parts of it.
Which include architecture, design and material selection is being done.
In this section, Detailed drawings and specifications are prepared.
Role of a Civil Engineer
Here the designated post is “Designer“
Estimation
It is the process in which the quantity of various items is calculated, which helps in calculating the expected expenditure to be incurred in a project.
It is of two types
- Rough/Abstract/Preliminary Estimate
It is done to get Administrative approval.
- Detailed/final Estimate
It is done to get the technical approval of the project
Role of a civil Engineer
Here the designated post is as “Billing Engineer” and “Quantity Surveyor”
Execution
It is that part of Engineering where we bring our plans into action. It is considered on the critical parts of engineering where we built our structure using drawings.
Role of a Civil Engineer
Here designation is as “Trainee Engineer/Site Engineer, Junior Engineer, Sr Engineer.”
Managing
To carry out each project’s activity in a very accurate and simple way, management plays a critical role. It includes when to procure materials , which sequence to be followed and managing all resources for project etc.
Role of a Civil Engineer
The post allotted is of “Manager“
Surveying
The main purpose of surveys to carry out leveling and find relative positions of various significant points on a site.
Role of a Civil Engineer
The designation given is of “Surveyor .”
Why should one choose Civil Engineering as a career option?
The answer is very clear as it can be experienced in our day to day life, So it’s quite easy to relate to the things surrounding us.
One should also choose Civil Engineering as a career because of the opportunities available in the market like:
- Start your own business
- Work as a structure or design Engineer
- Work as an Architect
- Work as an Interior designing
- Work as Site Engineer/ Planning Engineer/ Billing Engineer /Quality Engineer
- Work as a Highway/road site and design Engineer
- Work as As a Surveyor
- Work as a Geo technical Engineer
- Also gets good opportunities in the Hydro power, Oil natural gas and thermal power Sector
- Work as an Environmental Engineer
- Can also work in the field of Irrigation and Public Health Department
- Work as a Scientist/Researcher
- many more
There are many opportunities in the government sector as well.
What are the qualities of a good Civil Engineer?
A good Engineer must have technical as well as practical knowledge of Civil Engineering. The qualities of a Civil Engineer that are require upon his role.
Site Engineer : Must be capable of reading drawings, quality control and a bit of estimation Knowledge is enough for daily consumption report making and labour management.
Designer : Must be well known for all the basic civil Engineering concepts along with all the design codes.
Planning : A planning Engineer is required to have well conceptual practical estimation and management knowledge.
Surveyor : Must be well known to all the equipment used and the methods adopted to do the survey.
Billing & Quantity Surveying : It is required to have good site experience and good knowledge of estimation and costing.
Quality Engineering : Must have a knowledge of the types of material, their testing and quality control.
List of Civil Engineering subjects we study in our Diploma, Degree and M tech
There are many subjects which we study in our Civil Engineering courses. The only difference in the diploma, degree and m.tech subjects is in the coverage of these subjects.
In Diploma, the coverage of the subjects is of practical type while in B-tech theory and practicals of subjects.
In M-tech, the in depth coverage of subject is done along with theoretical as well as practical knowledge.
Subjects get confined and a particular subject becomes the scope of the study. i.e here , the learner chooses the specific field as per his/her choice.
Types of subject is it totally depend on University in which you are studying or going to do. But core subjects of civil engineering will remain same in all universities, may be some slightly changes in syllabus.
List of civil Engineering Polytechnic/Diploma subjects
Many institutes offer diploma and the subjects which are taught are the same, but the inclusion of these subjects in the semester may differ.
It may be possible that one subject which is taught in the second semester in any institution may be taught in the 3rd semester in some other institution. So kindly follow your institute syllabus.
First semester Civil Engineering Diploma subjects
- Applied Mathematics
- Applied Chemistry
- Applied Physics
- Engineering Drawing
- Some labs/practicals
Second semester Civil Engineering Diploma subjects
- Applied Mechanics
- Computer Application for Engineering
- Professional Communication
- Modern construction material
- Some labs/Practicals
Third semester Civil Engineering Diploma subjects
- Surveying-I
- Civil Engineering Drawing I
- Material testing lab-I
- Surveying practice-I
- Computer Application Practical
- Estimation and costing-I
- Engineering Mathematics
Fourth Semester Civil engineering Diploma subjects
- Structural Engineering-I
- Surveying-II
- Soil Mechanics-I
- Strength of materials
- CAD in Civil Engineering lab
- Surveying labs
- Soil Mechanics labs
5th semester Civil Engineering Diploma subjects
- Structural Engineering-II
- Environmental Engineering and pollution control
- Soil Mechanics-II
- Civil Engineering Drawing II
- Reinforced concrete structures
- Building material
- labs
6th semester Civil Engineering Diploma subjects
- Construction management with MIS
- Fluid mechanics
- Town planning
- Earthquake Engineering
- Advanced construction Technology
- Steel Structures
- Hydraulics and pluming labs
Learn more : Gate syllabus for Civil Engineering
Learn more : GATE 2022 All branches Aptitude Questions with detailed Solution
List of subjects in B.tech Civil Engineering
Again it may be possible that the syllabus may vary slightly in different two institutions, but it’s more or less the same. So kindly see your university syllabus for accurate detail.
1st semester B-tech subjects in Civil Engineering
- Engineering Mathematics-I
- Engineering physics
- Engineering Chemistry
- Communication practice
- Basic Mechanical Engineering
- Computer Programming and C++ language
Second semester B-tech subjects in Civil Engineering
- Engineering Mathematics-II
- Basic Electrical and Electronics Engineering
- Engineering Drawings
- Engineering Mechanics
- Disaster Management and Environmental Science
3rd semester B-tech subjects in Civil Engineering
- Engineering Mathematics III
- Strength of materials/mechanics of materials
- Fluid mechanics
- Engineering Economics
- Surveying-I
- Building Materials
4th semester B-tech subjects in Civil Engineering
- Numerical methods in Engineering
- Fluid Mechanics
- Survey-II
- Structural Analysis-I
- Geo technical Engineering/Soil mechanics
- Human values and professional ethics
5th semester B-tech subjects in Civil Engineering
- Principles of Management and critical thinking
- Structural analysis-II
- Design of concrete structures
- Geo technical Engineering-II
- Hydrology and Groundwater
- Transportation Engineering-I
6th semester B-tech subjects in Civil Engineering
- Total Quality Management
- Irrigation Engineering
- Transportation Engineering-II
- Water supply and system Engineering
- Bridge Engineering
- Estimation and costing
7th semester B-tech subjects in Civil Engineering
- Project planning and construction
- waste and sewage treatment
- Design of steel structures
- Design of hydraulic Structures
- Open channel flow
- Prestressed concrete
- Structural Drawings
8th semester B-tech subjects in Civil Engineering
- Remote sensing and GIS
- Advanced structural design
- water resource and system Engineering
- Earthquake resistant design
- Civil Engineering software laboratory
Additional optional subjects
- Rock Mechanics
- Repair and rehabilitation of Structures
- Energy assessment and auditing
- Optimization method for Engineering system
How many subjects in b tech Civil Engineering?
Total subjects in the b tech Civil Engineering syllabus may vary from 45 to 50, Out of which core subjects are 30 to 35 including optional.
Major subjects on which you must focus during B TECH in Civil Engineering
- Building materials
- Design of reinforced concrete structures
- Design of steel structures
- Geo technical Engineering
- Transportation Engineering
- Estimation and costing and project management
- Fluid mechanics
- Environmental Engineering
- Strength of materials
- Structural analysis
These subjects must be covered in depth for basic knowledge and to get a good grip in solving problems.
Strength of materials (SOM)
In this subject, we learn about the properties of materials and their behaviour under different loading conditions like bending, shear and twisting stresses and strains developed.
Why does a Civil Engineer study the strength of materials?
The material used in construction must
- have enough strength
- is durable
- have these properties
we must have an idea about the properties and the behaviour of the material.
Therefore we study this subject so that we can judge the behaviour of the material.
Then can impart or use a material having required properties.
Structural analysis (SA)
Structure analysis is a method by which we find the behaviour of a structure under various loading conditions.
Due to loading, generally four types of forces are induced in the structure
- Axial (compression/tension)
- Shear
- Bending (compression/tension)
- Twisting
We also study the influence of the line diagrams and methods to analyze the determinate and indeterminate structures
What is the difference between Civil and Structural Engineering?
Structural Engineering is the core branch of Civil Engineering itself.
Why should one choose structural engineering as a career option?
It is the most demanding and highly paid job role in the market.
And also, It’s the most prestigious amongst all other branches of Civil Engineering.
So if someone is dreaming of designing structures like Burj Khalifa, must go for Structural Engineering.
Fluid Mechanics (FM)
- That branch of Engineering which deals with the mechanics of fluids, i.e study the behaviour of fluids at rest and motion.
- Also helps in analyzing the appliances used to store or transport the fluid .
- Helps in calculating the various forces acting on the turbines by the fluids.
Geo technical Engineering / Soil Mechanics
As we know, the soil is the main building stone of any structure as all the constructions are done over the soil.
Geo technical Engineering is a branch of civil engineering that deals with the behaviour of soil, its various properties and its response to various loading.
It has two sub subjects
- Soil mehcanics
- Foundation engineering
Surveying
In this subject, we discuss
- Principle of surveying errors and their adjustment
- Maps-scale
- coordinate system
- Distance and angle measurement
- Leveling
- Traversing and triangulation Survey
- Total station
- Horizontal and vertical curves
- Photo-grammetry and remote sensing
- GIS
Design of reinforced concrete structures (RCC)
Here, we study how to design the reinforced concrete structures that are beams, slabs, footing,water tank etc
Design of steel structures (DSS)
This subject cover design of steel structures like truss, industrial roof, steel bridges, warehouse etc
Building Materials
In this subject, we study the various materials , their properties , behaviour and use in construction of any project.
Project planning and construction equipment
The main focus of this subject is to plan and control the project.
we do scheduling, monitoring and managing various activities of the project. Ultimately here our focus on overall project management.
Transportation Engineering
In this subject, we study transportation modes, their mediums,design and various factors governing them.
Example : Highway, Railway airport etc
Hydrology
Hydrology cover the various topic like Hydrologic cycle, precipitation, evaporation, evapo transpiration, watershed, infiltration, unit hydro graphs, hydro graph analysis, reservoir capacity flood estimation and routing, surface run off ground water hydrology
Irrigation
In this subject, we study types of irrigation systems and methods, crop water requirements, structures used for irrigation purpose,
Example : Gravity Dams and Spillways, Lined and unlined canals, Design of weirs and cross drainage structures.
Environmental Engineering
It includes the basics of water quality standards, unit processes and operations involved in its measurement, Water requirement, water distribution system,sewerage system design and treatment.
It also includes the study of air and noise pollution, municipal solid waste disposal.
Bridge Engineering
This subject includes the design of bridges, their codal provisions and different methods used.
Estimation and costing
Estimation and costing are a technique to determine the various quantities and the relative expenditure to be incurred in the project.
Example : Codal provision of measurement of quantities, their deductions rates and various contract and tenders etc
Applied Mechanics
Here we study the system of forces, free body diagrams, equilibrium equations, internal forces in structures, friction and their applications, centre of the mass and centre of gravity etc.
Engineering Drawing
These are the information drawings that explain the engineering feature of a structure that is needed to be executed at the construction site.
Earthquake resistant design
Earthquake is one of the disastrous natural occurring phenomena that has taken many lives and affected the economy very vigorously.
So in this subject, we study earthquakes, their origin and various types of waves associated with them and design of earthquake resistant structures
Engineering mathematics
It is necessary for calculation and other stuff, here topics include like algebra, matrices, calculus, differential equations, complex number, integration probability and numerical methods
Learn more : Gate 2022 Civil Aptitude questions with solution-forenoon
List of M.tech courses in Civil Engineering
Civil Engineering M .Tech program can be done in the following specializations
- Transportation systems Engineering
- Geo technical Engineering
- Water resources Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Ocean Engineering
- Remote Engineering
- Construction Technology and management
Subjects in transportation system Engineering
- Applied statistics
- Geo graphical information systems in Civil Engineering
- Analysis of Transportation systems
- Behavioural Travel modelling
- Optimization in Civil Engineering
- Pavement materials
- Advanced Highway design and analysis
- Traffic management and design
- Transportation project evaluation and decision making
- Airport planning and design
- Fundamentals of urban science and engineering
Subjects list in Geo technical Engineering
- Soil structures interaction
- Rock mechanics
- Foundation Engineering
- Environmental Geo mechanics
- Geo technical centrifuge modelling
- Soil Dynamics and machine foundations
- finite element methods in Geo technical Engineering
- Foundation of offshore Structures
- Reinforced Earth and Geo textiles
- Ground Improvement
- Marine Geo technical Engineering
- Advanced Geo technical Earth quake Engineering
- Risk assessment and management in Geo technical Engineering
- Geo technical constitutive models
- Plasticity theory and applications in Geo mechanics
Subjects list in water resources Engineering
- Applied statistics
- Numerical Techniques in Hydraulic Engineering
- Hydraulic Structures
- River Mechanics and control structures
- Finite Element Application to flow problems
- Environmental Impact Analysis of Water Resources systems
- Irrigation and conveyance network
- Hydro informatics
- Environmental Fluid mechanics
- Watershed management
- Hydrological Hazard Mitigation management
- Urban water and Environmental management
- Eco-hydro climatology
- Probabilistic methods in Hydrology
- Numerical methods
- Coastal and ocean Environment
- Mechanics of water waves
- Remote sensing and GIS for water resources management
- Geographical information systems in Civil Engineering
- Digital image processing of remotely senses data
- remote sensing technology
Subjects list in Structural Engineering
- Pre stressed Concrete
- Construction Management
- Design of offshore Structures
- Numerical Methods
- Applied Statistics
- Introduction to Earthquake Engineering
- Advanced Structural Mechanics
- Structural Optimization
- Plates and Shells
- Structural Stability
- Finite Element Method
- Plastic Analysis
- Analysis of offshore Structures
- Nonlinear Analysis
- Elastic waves in Solids
- Soil Structures interaction
- Green building Design
- Foundation Engineering
- Soil Dynamics and Machine foundations
- Bridge Engineering
- Structural Reliability and Risk Analysis
- Advanced Mechanics of Reinforced Concrete
- Advanced Geo technical earth quake Engineering
- Advanced Concrete Technology
- Construction Contracts
- Non destructive testing of materials
- Construction materials
- Condition Assessment and rehabilitation of Structures
- Optimization in Civil Engineering
Subjects list in Ocean Engineering
- Design of offshore Structures
- Numerical Methods
- Applied Statistics
- Numerical Techniques in Hydraulic Engineering
- Advanced concrete technology
- Structural Dynamics
- Finite elements Methods
- Reliability based Civil Engineering Design
- Analysis of offshore structures
- Soil structure interaction
- Foundation Engineering
- Hydraulic Structures
- Offshore Construction
- Remote Sensing Technology
- Data Processing in Remote Sensing
- Mechanics of Fluid flow
- Hydro informatics
- Environmental Fluid Mechanics
- Hazard Mitigation Management
- Ocean Renewable Energy
Subjects list in Remote Sensing Engineering
- Remote Sensing and GIS for water resources management
- Remote Sensing in Geo technical Engineering
- Optimization in Civil Engineering
- Numerical Techniques in Hydraulic Engineering
- Physical and Stochastic Hydrology
- Eco hydro climatology
- Photogrammetric Engineering
- Digital methods in Terrain Data Analysis
- Remote Sensing and GIS Applications to mineral Hydrocarbon Exploration
- Microwave Remote sensing
- Digital Photogrammetry and cartography
- Remote Sensing of Vegetation
Subjects list in Construction Technology and management
- Construction equipment and personnel management
- Construction economics and finance
- Construction materials
- Quality and safety in construction
- Formwork for concrete structures
- Condition Assessment and rehabilitation of structures
- Optimization in Civil Engineering
- Non Destructive testing of materials
- Fundamentals of urban science and engineering
- Research methods for urban science
- Management techniques for urban systems
- Green building design
- Coastal Port and harbour engineering
- Offshore Construction
- Applied statistics
- Transportation project Evaluation and Decision Making
- Numerical Methods
- Urban Environmental Infrastructures
- Sustainability Assessment of urban systems
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the subjects in the first year of Civil Engineering Btech?
In the first and second semester, all branches have same subjects which included like
Physics, chemistry Mathematics, Basic mechanical Engineering, Basic electrical and electronic engineering, programming and communication skill. with some practical labs.
Which type of Civil Engineering is best?
It depends on personal interest. But the maturity of students chooses Structural Engineering.
Because, it is a highly paid and demanding job in the era of Civil Engineering.
What does a Civil Engineer do?
There are son many things that a Civil Engineer does like work execution, site and work management,Billing, Quantity surveying, Analysis, designing and preparation of drawings, planning and quality control.
What is structural engineering in civil engineering?
It includes analysis of structures, their design and making them more durable by providing strength and stability using appropriate material.
Which is the most difficult subject in Civil Engineering ?
It depends upon person to person and their understanding and imagination level. Generally, Structural analysis is considered the most difficult subject of Civil Engineering.
Also, Environmental engineering is difficult as it requires basic chemistry knowledge to understand. But all the subjects can be made easy if you keep relating the subjects and topics with one another.
what types of math is needed for Civil Engineering ?
Basic mathematics like integration, differentiation, calculus, probability and matrix analysis is used in Civil engineering And for dynamics part Fourier series is used to solve problems.
Which subjects are needed to become a civil engineer?
The requirement of main subjects depends upon the job role. like
Structural Engineer or Designer : Structural analysis, Reinforced concrete structures, Steel structures, Soil mechanics and foundation engineering and software knowledge are required.
Billing and Quantity surveyor : Estimation and costing
Site Engineer : Basic knowledge of all the subjects.
Planning Engineer : Must have knowledge of all the subjects specially Estimation and costing and project management.
Surveyor : Surveying
Quality Engineer : Construction materials and quality control along with test codes knowledge is required.
Which country has the highest demand for Civil Engineers?
It changes with times, now we can say
- Dubai
- Saudi Arabia
- Switzerland
- New Zealand
Can civil Engineer work as a Structural Engineer?
Yes, a civil engineer can work as a structural engineer.
The only thing that is needed is in depth knowledge of structural analysis and engineering software’s used.
Can civil Engineers become architects?
No a civil engineer can’t be an architect.
Architect deals with the planning and designing of structures i.e giving them proper shape and looks
In contrast, a civil engineer focuses on analysis, design, execution, management and planning of the structure.
Also, architecture is only limited to House, skyscrapers (i.e high rise buildings) and industries. In comparison , Civil Engineering covers a wide area like buildings roads, bridges, tunnels, water supply systems, hydropower and thermal power projects etc.
Can I be an engineer if i am bad at maths?
Yes you can, because if only elementary knowledge is available to you. you can easily do many civil works like site engineer, quantity surveyor etc.
But may face difficulty in passing university exams because Mathematics is the mandatory part of a course.
How to study civil Engineering subjects?
To study engineering subjects, a Sequence must be followed by the students.
Example : Before studying Structural analysis, one should study Engineering mechanics first and then strength of materials. After that comes structural analysis.
This is so because subjects are interlinked with each other.
Getting practical knowledge is as important as theoretical knowledge.
Students must focus on the labs and look for Engineering applications of concepts in day to day life or via internet platforms like Google or Youtube.
Practice makes the man perfect a famous quote. Students must follow this.
Always try to grab and select numerical problems that cover the whole topic because it will help you cover the full topic in a single glimpse and very quickly.
Try to solve university final exam questions/Gate and ESE problems side by side after completing the topic or subject.
Don’t forget to mark the tricky and conceptual questions.
Revision is one of the most important parts of your study as you will spend 3 or 4 years of Engineering.
During course, you will be going through many concepts. So to keep a deep record of all these concepts in your mind, you must keep revising all these concepts.
Try to attempt all your marked and master questions again and again.
In the end, you must have a dream of your specific field to work with it. So pay attention to the topics related to that area.
Is Civil Engineering a difficult major ?
It might be difficult for someone depending upon his/her understanding and imagination level.
Otherwise many people observed it, as am easy branch.
Is civil Engineering a stressful job ?
Depending upon your job role, it can be stressful or not.
As all the tasks are time-bond means duration is fixed, you have to finish that. It might be possible that someone feels like hectic job within that duration.
Is Civil Engineering harder than architecture?
Yes, Civil Engineering is harder than architecture.
Because the area of Civil Engineering is much wider than Architecture.
Which Engineering specialization is in demand?
Building Construction and Transportation is most demanding now a days.
What skills do Civil Engineers need?
Must have good conceptual knowledge and good skill required in Software like AutoCAD, MS Excel, Microsoft Project or Primavera & MX- Pro, Staad-PRO or Etabs .