SUU’s New Civil Engineering Major
Published: February 24, 2022 | Author: Kaylee Condie | Read Time: 3 minutes
Beginning in the fall semester 2022, Southern Utah University’s Department of Engineering and Technology offers a brand new major in civil engineering, adding to an already robust curriculum in the area’s only accredited higher education engineering program.
“The new degree will be a Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering. Getting a civil engineering degree will make our students more competitive in entering the profession,” states Matthew Roberts, department chair of engineering and technology.
Professors and students agree that the benefit of having a specialized degree when entering the workplace will offer more job opportunities for graduates. The new degree will look cleaner and more impressive on a student's resume, and the classes will become more focused on a civil engineer’s outlook.
“It’ll be much better since it will mean that you won’t have to take a lot of classes that are required for the current program and will focus more on what we want to learn. It will bring us more students, having a major rather than just an emphasis,” says Sarah Jeanne, sophomore at SUU, president of the civil engineering club.
And, she is right. With a new major comes more opportunities for students and the civil engineering club at SUU. Jeanne created the club as a way to meet mentors and find more resources for those in the civil engineering field. They’ve been able to find out about local companies, find mentors, and apply for internships, but they want to do more.
“Now we’re hoping to do competitions, spaghetti competitions, movie nights, newsletters, and Fundamentals of Engineering (F.E.) exam prep. There’s a lot of benefits in the club. Right now there are only 15 members, next year we’re hoping for more,” explains Masoud Malekzadeh, assistant professor of engineering.
In order to reach their goals, the program must first seek accreditation through ABET, so that they can make sure the program meets industry expectations and is up to the high standards we pride ourselves on here at SUU. The process for accreditation must include the creation and implementation of the program, the first class of program graduates, the evaluators from ABET inspect the program, and if satisfactory, the accreditation then is awarded for future graduates and retroactively to all previous graduates.
With all of the hoops that need jumping through, it can be easy to question why it needs to be done. Why go through all of this trouble? The answer is staring at us when we question why we do anything - so that we can move forward. We all want to meet our goals, no matter what obstacles get in our way. We crave the satisfaction of a job well done. How can we find that satisfaction if what we want is out of reach?
Here at SUU, we strive to further our education and to find that satisfaction for ourselves. A new degree in civil engineering is just one example. To learn more about Civil Engineering, why it’s important, it’s many uses, and other ways to help the program, visit the SUU Civil Engineering Club website or contact Professor Roberts for any other questions.