Civil Eng

Types of Degrees Civil Eng Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many civil engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	14,335
Master’s Degree	4,960
Doctor’s Degree	1,240
Associate Degree	89
Graduate Certificate	81
Basic Certificate	23

What Civil Eng Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to civil eng and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Civil Eng Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.

Skills for Civil Eng Majors

A major in civil eng prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Abilities for Civil Eng Majors

Civil Eng majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Civil Eng Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with civil eng:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Biochemical Engineers	6.4%	$96,980
Civil Engineers	10.6%	$86,640
Energy Engineers	6.4%	$96,980
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Environmental Engineers	8.4%	$87,620
Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers	8.2%	$92,250
Petroleum Engineers	15.1%	$137,170
Transportation Engineers	10.6%	$86,640
Water/Wastewater Engineers	8.4%	$87,620

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Eng?

Civil Engineering runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #35 out of all the undergraduate majors we track. In 2021, about 15,193 graduates completed their bachelor’s degree in this field. This major tends to be male dominated. About 72% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of civil eng majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,334
Black or African American	659
Hispanic or Latino	2,605
White	8,006
International Students	891
Other Races/Ethnicities	840

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Civil Eng, too. About 6.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Civil Eng

Some careers associated with civil eng require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for civil eng careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.2%
Some College Courses	0.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	61.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	6.7%
Master’s Degree	18.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.8%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.5%
Doctoral Degree	6.7%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.1%

Online Civil Eng Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	23	0
Bachelor’s Degree	55	16
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	246	23
Post-Master’s	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	149	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Civil Eng

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to civil eng.

Major	Number of Grads
Mechanical Engineering	43,522
Electrical Engineering	27,809
Computer Engineering	18,973
Biomedical Engineering	14,006
General Engineering	12,241
Chemical Engineering	11,830
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering	9,220
Industrial Engineering	8,722
Systems Engineering	4,148
Materials Engineering	3,397
Other Engineering	3,221
Environmental Engineering	3,012
Electrical and Computer Engineering.	1,988
Operations Research	1,907
Robotics Engineering	1,759
Engineering Science	1,338
Agricultural Engineering	1,328
Construction Engineering	1,284
Architectural Engineering	1,090
Engineering Physics	1,047
Manufacturing Engineering	942
Petroleum Engineering	941
Nuclear Engineering	885
Biological Engineering	411
Marine Engineering	390
Geoscience Engineering	315
Mining Engineering	300
Textile Engineering	292
Ocean Engineering	290
Polymer & Plastics Engineering	290
Engineering Mechanics	209
Metallurgical Engineering	195
Energy Systems Engineering	187
Biochemical Engineering	141
Surveying Engineering	123
Ceramic Engineering	60
Forest Engineering	57
Paper Science & Engineering	48
Electromechanical Engineering	47
Engineering Chemistry	27

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Master Sgt. Roger Parsons under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.