Civil engineering no longer admitting new students

Beginning this fall, the School of Engineering & Applied Science no longer will admit students for the bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and will not seek re-accreditation for the degree program when it expires in September 2013.

The decision was made by the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Structural Engineering.

The degree is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the board for postsecondary degree programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology.

WUSTL has 61 undergraduate civil engineering students among the 1,003 undergraduate students in the engineering school. Current civil engineering undergraduates will be able to graduate with an accredited degree, as long as they graduate by summer 2013. Beginning immediately, no new students will be admitted into the major.

WUSTL will continue to offer structural engineering degrees at the master’s and doctoral levels, and it also will continue to offer a minor in structures for undergraduate students. In addition, WUSTL will continue to offer an ABET-accredited bachelor of science degree in civil engineering through the University of Missouri-St. Louis/Washington University Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program.

The decision of the department was based on a desire to focus its intellectual efforts and resources and to build on existing strengths in areas such as biotechnology, energy and materials engineering.