Department Profile

Reflecting on Your Department's Climate and Culture

Reflecting on Your
Department's Climate and Culture


CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Vision: To be one of the nation’s leaders in Civil Engineering, a highly engaged, diverse and globally-recognized Department, with exceptional educational, research, and innovation opportunities which will improve our region and the world’s infrastructure, and make it more efficient, sustainable and resilient.

Mission: The Civil Engineering Program prepares graduates for local, regional or world-wide employment in the engineering profession and/or continuing education in graduate school. The program affords students opportunities to meet and interact with practicing engineers, businesses and government agencies; to participate in professional engineering organizations and in research. The faculty endeavor to be accessible, maintain state of the art instruction and facilities, and provide liberal access to laboratories and academic support.

DESIGN TOMORROW TODAY

Majors: Structural Engineering, Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, and Construction Engineering.

Graduate Programs: Masters graduate program with multiple concentrations: Environmental and Water Resources, Energy and Resilient Infrastructure, Construction/Transporation, and Structural/Geotechnical engineering

Students:

  • Number of Students: About 720 undergraduate students and 40 graduate students
  • Characteristics: smart, brilliant, energetic, honest, respectful, diligent, and diverse

Faculty:

  • Number of faculty: 16 faculty members (11 tenured and tenure-track faculty members and 5 non-tenure track)
  • Ranks: Professors 1 Associate Prof. 2 Assistant Prof. 8 Lecturers 5

Campus Program Offering:

  • 100% of program/courses are available at the Edinburg campus (face-to-face, online, or hybrid)
  • 40% of program/courses are currently available at the Brownsville campus (face-to-face, online, or hybrid)
  • 100% of program/course in the first 2 years of study will be available at the Brownville campus by Fall of 2021

Stats & Highlights:

  • 13% average annual growth rate of UG student enrollment
  • 27% female student enrollment in last 5 years
  • More than 92% of our graduate students opt to conduct research culminating in thesis projects and a peer reviewed journal articles.
  • 100% of fulltime graduate students receive financial support including PGRA scholarship or department Graduate Assistantship
  • Remarkable growth rate of graduate program enrollment 41 by only four semesters starting Fall 2018
  • More than 16 alumni achieved Professional Engineering (PE) license.
  • 7 active grants from funding agencies such as NSF, Department of Defense/Energy, Texas General Land office, Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Commission of Environmental Quality
  • 3 active student organizations: ASCE, AISC, and SHPE
  • About 35% of UG students graduate with internship experience and/or research experience with faculty member
  • Cohort 2015 Retention Rate indicates 22.9% “left with no degree”, which is lower than the College average
Success Stories/Bragging:
  • Fastest growing department in student enrollment at UTRGV
  • High rate of female student enrollment. It is greater than the national average, 21.8%.
  • Readily accessible, multi lingual faculty and staff
  • Maintaining strong connection with our graduates and alumini through on and offline local professional events
  • Free review sessions offering for Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam to our graduates to help their passing FE and/or PE exam in summer semester
  • Successfully hosted 2019 ASCE Texas Student Symposium
  • 1 st Place, Mystery Design Competition 2019 ASCE Texas/Mexico Student Symposium
  • Sprit of Competition Award, 2012 ASCE Concrete Canoe Texas-Mexico regional competition
  • Finalist of 2014 Structural Engineering Institute Student Structural Design Competition
  • 2nd Place, 2014 Geothermal Energy Student Competition, Efficiency & Renewable Energy, US Department of Energy Energy
  • Dr. Thuy Vu, Recipient of the 2018-2019 Student Mentoring Excellence Award
  • Dr. Chu-Lin Cheng was recognized at 2019 UTRGV Faculty Awards & Recognitions for Year of 2018 Major Faculty Achievements
  • Dr. Abdoul Oubeidillah was appointed as Africa Sciences and Technology Advisory Board member of the African Union on Disaster Risk Reduction in Africa in 2019.
  • Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Raheem, winner of ASCE Innovation Contest 2018
  • Successful ABET accreditation since Fall 2010
  • History of graduates receiving excellent jobs, including Federal, State, County geovernmental agencies, corporations, and international recognized graduate programs
  • Professional job-shadowing and student-mentoring (C.E.MENTor Program) for undergraduate students.
Traditions:
  • End-of-the year department luncheon with students/faculty, potlucks at faculty meeting
  • Academic advising by faculty in every semester to provide curricular information and degree plan
  • Hosting Civil Engineering Department Forum in February to receive feedbacks from outside practitioners and our alumni
  • Hosting Civil Engineering Department Convocation in October to share department news and important academic information to our students
  • Faculty/staffs birthday celebration
  • Student unsung hero award to recognize students’ contribution to department and student organizations
  • Annual participation on ASCE Student Chapter competitions, e.g., Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge
  • E-week events, e.g., Career Development, student research competitions participations
  • End-of-the semester Medal Ceremony event participation for celebrating graduates
  • Offering series of review sessions for Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam every summer by faculty members
  • Mantra/Slogan: “Designing Tomorrow Today”
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