Civil and Environmental Engineering Degree

What is Civil and Environmental Engineering?

Civil engineering is one of the oldest engineering fields in history. Our modern society depends on the expertise of civil and environmental engineers to design, build, and maintain critical infrastructure, from roads to bridges and even water treatment systems.

As a civil engineering major at South Dakota Mines, you will learn by doing, gaining hands-on experience with technology and software used by professional engineers.

What does a civil and environmental engineer do?

Civil and environmental engineers design, build, and maintain infrastructure that works in harmony with our natural world. This includes the roads, bridges, and railways we use to travel, the buildings where we go to work, go to school and live, the water treatment plants and distribution systems that supply the water we use, and much more.

Courses for this Degree

• Geomatics
• Fluid Mechanics
• Construction Engineering and Management
• Environmental Engineering
• Applied Numerical Methods
• Engineering and Construction Materials
• Hydraulic Systems Design
• Geotechnical Engineering
• Structural Theory
• Engineering Hydrology

Course Curriculum

Catalog Links: Civil Engineering

Internships and Co-ops

As a South Dakota Mines civil and environmental engineering major, you’ll have a chance to intern with companies like:

• Burns & McDonnell
• Nucor
• Houston Engineering Inc.
• Black & Veatch
• Kiewit
• Colorado Department of Transportation
• Inros Lackner in Germany
• Halliburton
• Interstate Engineering
• Braun Intertec
• Coughlin Porter Lundeen
• Oldcastle Riverbend Materials
• BX Civil & Construction

Overall, 77% of Mines students land internships earning an average salary of $20.00/hr.

Career Outlook

As a South Dakota Mines civil and environmental engineering graduate, you can expect to earn an average starting salary of $63,699.

You will go on to work for companies like Kiewit, Mortenson, and the US Department of Interior. One of our civil engineering graduates - John W. Henderson - became Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Installations, Environment and Energy. The job placement rate for 2022 South Dakota Mines civil and environmental engineering graduates was 100%.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Research

As a civil and environmental engineering student at South Dakota Mines, you will have the opportunity to engage in research even as an undergrad.

The Mines Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is actively engaged in research aimed at enhancing society by developing new materials, preserving and protecting the environment, creating sustainable solutions, increasing our understanding of engineering systems and their design, and examining the best approaches for training a new engineering workforce.

CEE at Mines' research is focused on the following strategic areas:
• Energy and the environment
• Materials and manufacturing
• STEM education

Program Offerings

South Dakota Mines offers:
• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, BS
• Accelerated master of science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, MS (earn your bachelor’s and master’s in as little as five years)
• Master of science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, MS
• Doctor of philosophy degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, PhD
• Minors: Environmental Engineering, Global Engineering and Science, MS, and Sustainable Engineering
• Certificate: Construction Engineering and Management; and Global Engineering and Science Certificate

*The BS in Civil Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.