The Civil Engineering program at Minnesota State University, Mankato is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012 - telephone: (410)347-7700.
Minnesota State University, Mankato has heavily invested in its engineering programs over the last decade. This investment has enhanced the quality of engineering programs offered here. In fact, US News & World Report magazine ranks our engineering programs among the best in the country. We are proud of our position but we are not resting. We continue making improvements in all aspects of engineering education at Minnesota State University, Mankato. These efforts are reflected in our well-known state-of-the-art labs, small class sizes, individual faculty-student interaction, 100% passing rate in Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, 100% job placement, and success stories of our graduates. The program also offers numerous scholarship opportunities, internship opportunities, and real world design project experience.
Civil engineers apply mathematics, physical sciences, and fundamentals of engineering mechanics to plan, design, and supervise the construction of roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, water supply and treatment systems. They are also involved in projects to improve the environment by designing solutions to air pollution, waste water treatments, and soil contamination remediation. Major specialties within civil engineering are: structures, geotechnical engineering, water resources, transportation, environmental engineering, and construction.
Civil engineering graduates typically work in consulting firms, city and county public works or highway departments, state department of transportation, construction, and concrete and steel product industries. Many civil engineering graduates manage facilities for large corporations such as Hormel Food and utility companies such as Xcel Energy. Some civil engineering graduates have their careers in other fields such as aerospace, medicine, and law. Others may work in research and development, and teaching. Most civil engineers hold supervisory positions such as project engineers. Many civil engineers hold administrative positions, from city engineers to commissioner of state department of transportation.
Civil engineers held about 232,000 jobs in 2000. A little over half were employed by firms providing engineering consulting services, primarily developing designs for new construction projects. Another one-third of the jobs were in federal, state, and local government agencies. The construction industry, public utilities, transportation, and manufacturing industries accounted for most of the remaining employment. About 12,000 civil engineers were self-employed, many as consultants.
Employment of civil engineers is expected to increase about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2010. Spurred by general population growth and an expanding economy, more civil engineers will be needed to design and construct higher capacity transportation, water supply, pollution control systems, large buildings, building complexes, and to repair or replace existing roads, bridges, and other public structures.
Median annual earnings of civil engineers were $58,420 in 2001. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of civil engineers in 2000 were: (from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics)
| Federal government | $63,530 |
| Heavy construction, except highway | $62,010 |
| Local government, except education and hospitals | $56,830 |
| Engineering and architectural services | $54,550 |
| State government, except education and hospitals | $54,630 |
According to a 2001 salary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, bachelor's degree graduates in civil engineering received starting salary averaging about $40,616 a year; master's degree graduates in civil engineering, $44,080; and Ph.D. graduates in civil engineering, $62,280.
