Civil Engineering

Civil engineering programmes teach the analysis and design of the built environment — structures, foundations, transportation, water supply, drainage and coastal works — together with the public responsibility that comes with putting a seal on the drawings.

The degrees this program covers

A Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, with master’s and doctoral degrees above it; at several Florida institutions the same department also awards an environmental engineering degree. ⚠ This is the discipline where the PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER licence matters most: public works and most structural design must be sealed by a licensed engineer, so the degree needs to come from a programme accredited by ABET’s ENGINEERING commission. A civil engineering TECHNOLOGY degree leads to technician, surveying and inspection work and carries a longer experience requirement before licensure — which bites harder here than in any other discipline, because in civil practice the licence is close to mandatory rather than optional.

Careers this program leads to

Each one sets out the courses along the way, the licence or certification at the end, and the sources behind it.

Civil Engineer

Civil engineers design, build and maintain the built environment — bridges, buildings, roads, water and wastewater systems, ports, drainage and coastal works. ⚠ It is the engineering discipline where a Professional Engineer licence matters most: much of the work legally requires one, because civil engineers sign off on things that fail publicly.

Construction Manager

Construction managers plan, price, schedule and deliver building projects — coordinating trades, controlling cost, enforcing code and safety, and answering for the programme. ⚠ A median of $114,990 with 9% growth, on a route with no licence gate at entry — compare architecture at $99,280 after an accredited degree, 3,740 supervised hours and a six-division exam. ⚠⚠⚠ And the finding that matters most in Florida: a construction degree is worth THREE YEARS of site experience toward a contractor licence under s. 489.111. This page covers three related roles, and two routes that look alike and end in different places.

Environmental Engineer

Environmental engineers design the systems that keep water, air and land usable — drinking water and wastewater treatment, stormwater, air-pollution control, landfills and the clean-up of contaminated sites. ⚠ It is the engineering discipline most bound up with regulation: the calculation decides what is possible and the permit decides what is allowed.

Careers that name this program, but not as a route

Architect and Landscape Architect

⚠ Named for the mathematics comparison that changes who applies: civil engineering needs the calculus sequence, architecture at UF asks for precalculus.

Civil Engineering Technician

⚠ Offered more widely than the technology degree (nine institutions), with a shorter licence timetable. In this discipline that comparison deserves real thought rather than a glance.

Environmental Scientist and Specialist

⚠ Named for the Florida-specific reason: stormwater, coastal resilience and water resources are civil engineering projects that environmental scientists are staffed onto constantly, and the five water management districts employ both.

Urban and Regional Planner

⚠ The planner's colleague on transportation and infrastructure, not a route into planning itself.

Programs similar to this one

Neighbouring fields that share much of the same coursework, and often the same employers. ⚠ Read these before you commit to a major — which doors a neighbouring degree keeps open is the part no catalog tells you, and it is far cheaper to change now than later.

Environmental Engineering 7 Florida schools

⚠ Usually the same department and often the same first two years. Water and wastewater, stormwater and remediation sit on the environmental side; if that is the part of civil that interests you, check whether your institution awards the separate degree or an emphasis inside civil.

Ocean Engineering 2 Florida schools

Coastal structures, ports, beach nourishment and storm surge — which in Florida is a large share of the civil work there is. ⚠ Only one public institution awards the ocean bachelor’s, so the normal route is a civil degree followed by coastal specialisation.

Engineering Technology 76 Florida schools

⚠ The adjacent route, and the one to understand clearly here: civil engineering TECHNOLOGY leads to surveying, inspection and construction work rather than to sealed design. Because the PE licence is close to mandatory in civil practice, the longer experience requirement it carries bites harder in this discipline than in any other.

Civil Engineering Technology 8 Florida schools

⚠ The four-year degree, at nine institutions — more than award the technology programme. Where a technician degree is not available near you, this is worth comparing directly rather than assuming it is out of reach.

Construction Management 30 Florida schools

⚠ The design side of the same projects, and the comparison worth making before committing. Civil engineering is more mathematical, leads toward the PE licence, and designs what gets built; construction management delivers it. ⚠⚠ A civil engineering degree also satisfies Florida's contractor-licence education route under s. 489.111, so it keeps both doors open — at the cost of a harder degree.

Urban and Regional Planning 5 Florida schools

⚠ The planner's closest colleague on transportation, stormwater and infrastructure. Transportation planning (URP6711) and transportation engineering (TTE4004) meet at the metropolitan planning organisation.

Architecture and Landscape Architecture 15 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The comparison that changes who applies: architecture at UF asks transfer applicants for PRECALCULUS and ALGEBRA-BASED physics; civil engineering asks for the calculus sequence and calculus-based physics. ⚠ Students who rule themselves out of building design because of mathematics are usually thinking of the engineering requirement, not the architecture one.

Environmental Science and Studies 19 Florida schools

⚠ Named for the Florida-specific reason: stormwater, coastal resilience and water resources are civil engineering work that environmental scientists are staffed onto constantly, and the water management districts employ both. ⚠⚠ Knowing which side of that line you are on decides who signs the report.

Florida public institutions offering this program

9 institutions awarded a credential in this field in 2023, at these levels: Bachelor's, Certificate (12 weeks-1 year), Doctorate (research/scholarship), Master's, Postbaccalaureate certificate. A school appears here if it awards anything in the field, however limited its offering — a technical college teaching only practical nursing has a nursing program. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

Bachelor's · Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's

Florida Atlantic University

Bachelor's · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year) · Master's · Postbaccalaureate certificate

Florida Gulf Coast University

Bachelor's

Florida International University

Bachelor's · Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's

Florida State University

Bachelor's · Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's

University of Central Florida

Bachelor's · Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's · Postbaccalaureate certificate

University of Florida

Bachelor's · Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's · Postbaccalaureate certificate

University of North Florida

Bachelor's · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year) · Master's

University of South Florida

Bachelor's · Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's

Source: federal IPEDS completions data for 2023, first majors only — the most recent year published. ⚠ It records what was awarded, which is strong evidence of what is offered, but a program launched since 2023 will not appear here. Check the institution’s own catalog before applying.

Updated 21 September 2026. ⚠ Program pages describe a field of study, not one school’s degree — always read the catalog of the institution you are applying to.