Course summary
This is a two-year, day-release course for students who are employed within the Civil Engineering industry and whose employers are willing to support them throughout their studies. The emphasis of the course is on the development of the high levels of professional design and managerial skills required by students in order to solve a wide range of complex design and management problems. The course is delivered through a mixture of lectures, tutorials, workshops, discussions and presentations and students will be expected to develop their professional communication skills across a wide range of applications, some of which will be outside of their immediate, current sphere of professional practice.
The modules you will cover are:
-
Structural Analysis and Design
-
Materials Technology
-
Engineering Geology and Hydraulics
-
Contract Law and Administration
-
Dissertation
Attendance will be over two semesters in each year and assessment will be through assignments and exams.
In the first year you will study the modules in Structural Analysis and Design, Materials Technology and Engineering Geology and Hydraulics; and in the second year you will study Contract Law and Administration and produce a Dissertation.
At the end of year one you will have gained a BSc Degree in Civil Engineering and will have satisfied the academic requirements for Incorporated Engineer (IEng) level of membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Institute of Highway Incorporated Engineers and the Institution of Highways and Transportation.
At the end of year two you will have gained a BSc Honours Degree in Civil Engineering and this will be necessary to enable you to proceed to the higher levels of membership of the aforementioned professional institutions.
Throughout this course, you will be expected to develop and apply high level academic skills to the solution of a wide range of engineering problems. This course places considerable importance on the links between the academic world of study and the industrial world of professional practice and you will be expected to show progression and development in both of these.
Entry requirements
This programme is a progression course for students who have successfully completed their studies at Intermediate level. Consequently, students will have already attained a Foundation Degree in Civil Engineering (or other appropriate subject) or a Higher National Certificate (HNC) or Diploma (HND) in Civil Engineering together with sufficient additional credits to reach 120 credits at Certificate level and 120 credits at Intermediate level.
Course aims
To enable students to achieve a nationally recognised qualification appropriate to the requirements of employers; to enable students to gain subject skills and knowledge appropriate to their chosen profession; to provide students with a range of key transferable skills appropriate to the workplace and for further study; and to enable students to gain an academic qualification in support of their progress towards membership of an appropriate professional institute.
Learning outcomes
These course aims are broken down into sets of related skills, which are known as learning outcomes.
A. Knowledge and Understanding
By the end of the course you should be able to:
Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the essential facts, concepts, theories and principles of Civil Engineering in relation to a wide range of engineering situations; demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the relationship between the different aspects of the Civil Engineering profession, their relationship to the wider issues of the built environment professions and their underlying principles; and demonstrate a critical understanding of the social, environmental, ethical, economic and commercial implications of the work of the Civil Engineering industry.
B. Mental or cognitive skills
By the end of the course you should be able to:
Apply appropriate quantitative science and engineering tools to the analysis of problems; demonstrate creative and innovative ability in the synthesis of solutions and in formulating designs; and Comprehend the broader context of Civil Engineering problems and be able to provide solutions to problems at an appropriate level of detail.
C. Subject Specific and Practical Skills
By the end of the course you should be able to:
Understand and apply the underpinning scientific and mathematical skills essential to support the study of engineering structures, materials, geology and hydraulics and the design of appropriate and economic solutions; analyse Civil Engineering problems using appropriate combinations of theoretical understanding, computer software and laboratory experimentation in the study of engineering materials, structures, hydraulics and natural geology; produce designs which are economically viable, involve an appropriate level of engineering complexity and use an advantageous combination of established and innovative practice; analyse, understand, interpret and evaluate Civil Engineering problems and their solutions in the contexts of economic, social and environmental appropriateness; and apply your developing knowledge and understanding of Civil Engineering practice in their chosen branch of the Civil Engineering profession
Module framework
You will take the following modules, all of which are mandatory:
Year 1
Structural Analysis and Design (20 credits)
Engineering Geology and Hydraulics (20 credits)
Materials Technology (20 credits)
Year 2
Contract Law and Administration (20 credits)
Dissertation (40 credits)
Teaching, learning and assessment
In keeping with the requirements of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM), teaching and learning methods will be varied and aimed at encouraging students to develop their engineering knowledge and understanding in a range of group and individual projects, classroom sessions, workshop experiments and computer based study. Students will be expected to taker part in a range of set tasks and tasks which are more open ended in nature and which place a greater emphasis on the need for students to develop their own research and study skills. Throughout the programme, students will be expected to develop and demonstrate a high level of written and oral communication skills and these will play a significant part in grading students’ work. Assessment will be through a combination of projects reports, assignments and examinations.
Timetable
The teaching is divided into two semesters, Semester One runs from September to January and Semester Two from February to June. Students will be attending on a day-release basis (afternoon and evenings) for twelve taught weeks each semester plus an additional two weeks per semester for assessment as required. Students will gain 60 credits in each of the two years of the programme and this will typically require 450 hours of study per year. Students will be provided with timetables when they join the course.
Course delivery
The programme will be delivered at the Suffolk New College campus in Rope Walk in the Education Quarter of Ipswich, adjacent to the UCS Ipswich campus.
Work experience
Students do not have to be in employment in the Civil Engineering industry to study on this programme but industrial experience is essential if students are to fully develop as professional people. Consequently, students are encouraged to gain appropriate work experience to support their studies and to gain the professional experience that they will need in order to fully develop their professional skills expertise.
Tutorial and study support
Suffolk New College and University Campus Suffolk have an agreed tutorial policy. Each module incorporates subject tutorial time, which may be of an individual or group nature and each student will have a personal tutor.
Opportunities on completion of the course
Upon completion, students will have satisfied the academic requirements for IEng level membership of their chosen professional body within the JBM. They will then need to satisfy the professional practice elements of the membership process.