Civil engineers face increasingly complex challenges in their work, but the education and licensure requirements for new graduates entering the profession are not keeping up, says the American Society of Civil Engineers. To help colleges and state licensing boards ensure that new civil engineers are ready for the tasks they will face, the organization, known as ASCE, released a report today outlining the skills, attitudes, and knowledge that it says future graduates should be expected to attain.
The report, “Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century, Second Edition,” expands on a similarly named 2004 “Body of Knowledge” report and is part of the organization’s larger campaign to raise civil-engineering education and licensure requirements.
“It is entirely possible that the fourth-grade teacher who inspires a young student to become a civil engineer is required to have a higher level of education than the engineer will when he or she begins designing the roads, bridges, and water systems that support our global society,” David G. Mongan, the society’s president, said in a written statement. “I find that troubling, given the increasing complexity of the technology and techniques with which engineers must work.”
The new report lists 24 desired learning outcomes for college civil-engineering programs, and advocates a broader engineering curriculum that allows for greater technical specialization, practical pre-professional experience, exposure to the humanities and social sciences, and the development of communication and leadership skills.
ASCE was one of the first professional engineering societies to embrace the recommendation in the National Academy of Engineering’s 2005 report “Educating the Engineer of 2020” that the master’s degree be the minimum requirement for professional practice. The society has lobbied state legislatures to increase civil-engineering licensure requirements from a bachelor’s to a master’s degree or the equivalent of 30 additional academic credits in postbaccalaureate study or work as an engineering intern. —Paula Wasley
