Civil engineering comprises the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and natural built environments.
SubdisciplineScopeMajor specialties
Environmental engineering
The application of engineering to the improvement and protection of the environment.
- Ecological engineering, the design, monitoring and construction of ecosystems
- Fire protection engineering, the application of engineering to protect people and environments from fire and smoke
- Sanitary engineering, the application of engineering methods to improve sanitation of human communities
- Wastewater engineering, Wastewater engineering is a type of engineering that comes from civil engineering and environmental engineering. A wastewater engineer determines the best way to transport or collect rainwater for human populations. Wastewater engineering also deals with the transportation and cleaning of blackwater, greywater, and irrigation water. Wastewater treatment and water reclamation are areas of concern in this field. Wastewater engineers map out topographical and geographical features of Earth to determine the best means of collection. They use sonar scanning in wells to determine volumes of water that can be used for human consumption. Using these types of data they are able to provide a means of collecting water. After collecting the water, it is their job to transport it to where it can be made available for use.
- Municipal or urban engineering, civil engineering applied to municipal issues such as water and waste management, transportation networks, subdivisions, communications, hydrology, hydraulics, etc.
Geotechnical engineering
Concerned with the behavior of earth materials at the site of a civil engineering project.
Structural engineering
The engineering of structures that support or resist structural loads.
Mining engineering
An engineering discipline that involves the science, technology, and practice of extracting and processing minerals from a naturally occurring environment. Mining engineering is closely related to many other disciplines like mineral processing and metallurgy, geotechnical engineering, and surveying. A mining engineer manages all phases of mining operations – from exploration and discovery of the mineral resource, through feasibility studies, mine design, development of plans, production and operations, to mine closure.
With the process of mineral extraction some amount of waste material and other byproducts are generated which are the primary source of pollution in the vicinity of mines. Mining activities by their nature cause a disturbance of the natural environment in and around which the minerals are located. Mining engineers must therefore be concerned not only with the production and processing of mineral commodities, but also with the mitigation of damage to the environment both during and after mining as a result of the change in the mining area.
Transport engineering
The use of engineering to ensure safe and efficient transportation of people and goods.
- Traffic engineering, a branch of transportation engineering focusing on the infrastructure necessary for transportation
- Highway engineering, a branch of engineering that deals with major roadways and transportation systems involving automobiles. Highway engineering usually involves the construction and design of highways.
- Railway systems engineering
Water resources engineering
Prediction, planning, development and management of water resources.
- Hydraulic engineering, concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water; intimately related to the design of pipelines, water supply network, drainage facilities (including bridges, dams, levees, channels, culverts, storm sewers), and canals.
- River engineering, is the process of planned human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit—to manage the water resources, to protect against flooding, or to make passage along or across rivers easier.
- Coastal engineering, the study of the processes ongoing at the shoreline and construction within the coastal zone, often directed at combating erosion of coasts or providing navigational access.
- Groundwater engineering, involves the analysis, monitoring and often modeling of groundwater source to better understand how much remains and if the water can be used for e.g. recharging reservoirs and irrigation.