CEDARVILLE — Cedarville University will have a new civil engineering major starting with the 2018-2019 school year.
Cedarville trustees approved the new program in January, and the Ohio Department of Higher Education and the Higher Learning Commission have also authorized the new degree.
Civil engineering will be the fifth major in Cedarville’s School of Engineering and Computer Science. Currently, students can pursue computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.
“Civil engineering will provide Cedarville students the opportunity to impact the world through missions,” said Thomas White, president. “Building bridges, developing safe roads, providing clean and consistent water can open doors to the gospel through loving others as ourselves. I am excited to see the eternal impact our civil engineering faculty and students will have on the world.”
Graduates will earn a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (B.S.C.E.) degree that includes Cedarville’s general education component and the Bible minor. The curriculum includes a core of engineering courses in the first two years, then civil engineering specific coursework starting in year three.
“Our faculty sensed the need for a civil engineering program when we started to do missions work in Africa and South America,” said Robert Chasnov, dean of the school of engineering and computer science. “Developing nations need help with their water systems and infrastructure development, which is civil engineering work. This degree continues Cedarville’s commitment to academic excellence and gospel impact.”
The school of engineering and computer science’s faculty benchmarked the program curriculum against other outstanding civil engineering programs to ensure that course descriptions, syllabi and the general frame of the major will equip graduates for professional success in their vocation.
The additional degree offering will also attract new students to the engineering school, which is already Cedarville’s second largest academic unit based on student enrollment
“Cedarville’s engineering programs are highly competitive, as shown by the increase in our school’s enrollment this year, but the number of universities with a civil engineering major as well as a Christian focus is very small,” Chasnov said. “For those that offer civil engineering, most offer a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, but our program will offer a B.S.C.E., the same degree students could get at major public universities.”
