Civil & Environmental Engineering

THE SONNY ASTANI DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Civil and Environmental engineers address many of the vital needs of our modern society. They improve quality of life, promote economic growth, and protect people from hazards of natural and human origins.

Civil and Environmental Engineers create, construct, and manage the infrastructure systems we use in our everyday lives: transportation, water, power distribution, waste disposal, environment, and residential, industrial, and commercial structures. Civil and Environmental Engineers support the global economy, secure the health and security of diverse communities, and operate our nations infrastructure – highways, bridges, wharf and harbor structures, industrial facilities – and address the challenges of ground water and air pollution as well as industrial and hazardous waste management. They monitor the quality of the air, water, and land, and enhance the protection of our environment.

Hear From our Faculty

Check out our recent faculty roundtable discussion that was held with four of our Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Faculty members – Professor Amy Rechenmacher, Professor Jiachen Zhang, and Professor Thomas Petersen. This roundtable will discuss what the major is, the courses each faculty teach, research they conduct and the discipline of join us to discuss the courses they teach, the research they conduct, and the discipline of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USC Viterbi.

Meet Other Faculty

CEE On The Podcast

CEE Student Blog

Learn more about the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at USC through our student blog. These posts were written by USC Viterbi CEE students during their time at USC to help you better understand the discipline and their life.

Civil and Environmental

My Summer Internship at Kimley-Horn!

Hi guys! I hope everyone is having a splendid year. It is officially spooky season, so I am very excited…

Sejal Sharma

My Summer Internship At Turner Construction

This summer, I returned for my second year interning with Turner Construction—this time in Portland, Oregon, my hometown. My journey…

Alexandra Geschwill

Environmental Engineering at USC: Sophie’s Story

This is a guest blog entry written by Sophie Antevy and edited by Sejal Sharma. If you want to read…

Sejal Sharma

Environmental Engineering Spotlight: Selin Demircan

This is a guest blog entry about Selin Demircan written by Satwika Vemuri. I was introduced to Selin through my…

Satwika Vemuri

ENE Spotlight: Pursuing Solutions for a Sustainable Future at USC Viterbi

USC Viterbi School of Engineering has a broad range of engineering programs that students can choose from. I spoke with…

Talise Baker-Matsuoka

Environmental Engineering at USC: Aarav’s Story

This is a guest blog entry written by Aarav Dholakia and edited by Sejal Sharma. If you want to read…

Sejal Sharma

Environmental Engineering Spotlight – Sam Gold

This is a Guest Blog from Sam Gold a Sophomore, Environmental Engineering major (ENE). Favorite class: ENE 215: Energy Systems…

Alexandra Geschwill

Curriculum and Emphases

A degree in Civil or Environmental Engineering prepares students to work in a variety of fields involving things that move. There are multiple degree options in the department – check them out here!

Civil Engineering

The Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering provides a broad base of core civil engineering courses.. Students explore structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, construction, transportation, environmental engineering, and water resources.

Course Plan

Civil Engineering

(Building Science)

Building Science is a joint architecture and engineering program. Students will learn all aspects of building technology from site selection to building construction, in addition to gaining a holistic perspective of building design from architectural design to structural design, and from the artistic to the functional.

Course Plan

Civil Engineering

(Construction Engineering & Management)

The Construction Engineering and Management emphasis provides students with additional courses in design and construction. Students can further hone their understanding of structural design, sustainable construction, methods and equipment, and other elements of construction.

Course Plan

Civil Engineering

(Environmental)

The environmental emphasis includes study in both environmental and civil engineering topics. Students will learn engineering approaches required to provide safe drinking water, maintain air quality, and protect the environment.

Course Plan

Civil Engineering

(Structural)

The structural engineering emphasis focuses on the design of safe and efficient structural systems. Students will be prepared to design structures such as bridges, buildings, and offshore structures that can resist a variety of forces such as earthquakes and wind loadings.

Course Plan

Civil Engineering

(Water Resources)

The Water Resources Engineering emphasis focuses on approaches required to provide safe drinking water, treat and properly dispose of wastes, control water pollution, and remediate sites contaminated due to spills or improper disposal.

Course Plan

Environmental Engineering

A Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering covers engineering approaches required to provide safe drinking water, maintain air quality, control water pollution, and remediate sites contaminated due to spills or improper disposal of hazardous substances.

Course Plan

Have a question about Curriculum?

Research

We have a balance of programs – theoretical, computational, and experimental – which exemplify the Viterbi School’s approach to intensive and collaborative research.

The Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering takes part in state of the art research and has many hands on opportunities for students. Recently completed are brand new, state of the art labs for the environmental engineering department. Students also have access to the civil engineering lab, which contains a water channel, shake table, tools for tensile testing, and more.

Research highlights in the department include: sustainable development, water quality, access, and distribution, disaster and extreme event responses, complex systems, and more!

Recent Projects

Check out some recent developments from our Civil & Environmental Engineering Department.

Faculty

Faculty will be teaching all of your classes and leading research projects as well. Your opportunities to build relationships with your faculty will begin immediately in your first year, both in the classroom and the lab. Check out a few highlighted professors with whom you may work in the future:

Dr. Kelly Sanders

Sanders Sustainable Systems Group

Her research focuses on the interdependent relationship of energy and water, coined the energy-water nexus. Dr. Sanders has degrees in 3 different engineering disciplines and when she's not winning awards for her research, she's advancing green initiatives on campus!

Dr. Lucio Soibelman

Innovation in Integrated Informatics

His group focuses on user-centered built environments, and the design of novel algorithms to improve environment efficiency and user satisfaction. Basically, they're making houses adjust the temperature and lights to your needs automatically!

Dr. Amy Childress

ReWater Center

The solutions Dr. Childress and her research team seek will balance water and sanitation as well as the NAE Gran Challenge of providing access to clean water.

Dr. David Gerber

iLab

iLab research focuses on the acquisition, modeling and analysis of the data needed for user-centered built environments and the design of novel algorithms and visualization techniques to improve built environment efficiency, while increasing satisfaction.

Don't stop here.

CEE Dept. Website

Careers

Your engineering undergraduate degree will prepare you for many career and academic opportunities.

Your future with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering can see you pursue a number of future career paths at companies serving a variety of industries.

Whether you have always known “what you want to do when you grow up” or are hoping to find out, we are here to help you plan for your future beyond USC. We provide dedicated career services starting in your first year to help you find internships, co-ops, and full-time positions post graduation.

Become a structural engineer and build sustainable buildings

Develop environmental public policy

Develop land and mitigate risks of natural and manmade disasters

Create waste removal systems and treatment processes

Manage civil infrastructure

Design transportation systems

Design and build roads, bridges, dams, tunnels, and airports

Success After Graduation

Student Life

We want students who like to work hard – both in and out of the classroom. Our students know that going to college is more than attending class and completing assignments. College is about making connections and joining a community of dedicated students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Our students want to work and play with people as interesting as they are, and we have a number of ways for you to do the same.

Your life can be designed how you like it. Join a design team like Concrete Canoe. Continue your passion for volunteering with Engineers Without Borders. Keep making art with Corpus Callosum. On this page, we have a few student organizations we think you might be interested in, but there are so many more you can get involved in!

American Society of Civil Engineers

Professional Organization

ASCE seeks to enrich the lives of CEE students through social events, community service, industry interaction, and engineering competitions, students. It's comprised of multiple design teams including: Steel Bridge, Concrete Canoe, Geotechnical, and Environmental.

Engineers Without Borders

Service Organization

Students and professional mentors work together to deliver critical infrastructure projects to rural communities in developing countries. For each project, EWB collaborates with the local community members to design and implement sustainable engineering projects. They go as close as San Diego and as far as Guatemala!

Construction Management Association of America

Professional Organization

CMAA gives students greater interaction with the Construction Management (CM) industry including individuals that are recent alumni and seasoned professionals, as well as CM firms and related companies.

Imagine yourself on campus.

Learn more about life at USC as an engineering student at Viterbi Voices:

Viterbi Voices

Alumni

At the Viterbi School of Engineering, our students can do it all. From start-ups to research, everything is available to them to bring their dreams to life and succeed post graduation. See what our alumni have to say about the Viterbi program.

Vidya Iyer

B.S. Environmental Engineering ’25

“The major, environmental engineering, was a huge aspect of this. USC has an incredible environmental engineering program with highly-acclaimed professors, incredible classes, and tons of resources for its students. A lot of other engineering schools offer only civil engineering or civil engineering with an environmental focus; USC is one of the few schools which have its own environmental engineering major”

Stephanie Instillarte Gonzalez

B.S. Civil
Engr. ‘17, M.S. Green Technologies ‘18

Following the completion of her Master’s program, Stephanie started working as a Building Information Modeling (BIM) Engineer with Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company. She uses 3D models to coordinate building systems prior to construction. In her work she identifies constructability concerns and prevents potential unforeseen field issues, adding savings and project efficiency. She has completed work at the CSU San Bernardino Student Union expansion and is currently beginning the construction at NBCUniversal Headquarters.

Jennifer Villacis

B.S. Civil Engr., M.S. Structural Engr. ‘19

After completing a Master’s through the Progressive Degree Program, Jennifer started work as a Graduate Structural Engineer at Arup located in Downtown Los Angeles. Since her start in Spring 2020, Jennifer has worked on projects in design and construction phases in both the commercial and government sectors. In the coming years, she is excited to help shape LA’s sustainable future through her continued work in the built environment!

Eli Kotelov

B.S. Environmental Engr.,
M.S. Mechanical Engr. (Energy Conversion) ’20

Eli earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees through Viterbi’s Progressive Degree Program. He is now working with Invenergy LLC as part of their Asset Management team. He is working on projects that are seeking to optimize the use of renewable energy from existing power plants.

Emelia Park

B.S. Civil Engr. ‘19

After graduation, Emelia has been working at KPFF
Consulting Engineers in Downtown LA in their civil engineering division. As a project engineer, she works with architects and other engineers on site development, utility design, and stormwater management for projects across southern California. She has worked on projects that include the Korean American National Museum, Palo Alto Inn, MonteCedro Retirement Community, and more.

More Engineering Disciplines

This area of the Viterbi School is just one of the many areas of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Beyond this area of study, we have ten academic disciplines spread across eight departments to make up more than thirty majors and areas of emphasis. Take some time to explore all of your interests before you apply by clicking on any area below.