Course details

Summary

Civil engineers design, construct, project manage, and commission a wide range of facilities and infrastructure such as buildings, bridges, towers, dams, roads and railways, pipe networks and treatment plants. These facilities provide people with a reliable, safe, sustainable and modern environment to live in.

Electric power depends on civil engineers for the design and construction of dams, canals and transmission towers. Many towns and cities are protected against flooding or the effects of fire and earthquakes by infrastructure designed and constructed by civil engineers.

Civil engineers have responsibility for managing people, equipment, resources, time and money. Communication skills are vital, as all professional engineers need to effectively disseminate complex information to people of diverse backgrounds, by providing detailed engineering reports, presentations and taking part in public hearings and inquiries.

This is a broad field, and students may take courses to focus on a more specific area of civil engineering during their professional years of study to suit their interests.

The UC Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a research-only degree carried out under expert supervision and using world-class facilities.

A PhD involves extensive, sustained and original research and study in your chosen subject, with the results being presented in a thesis that will contribute to intellectual knowledge of the field. It is a mark of intellectual ability, self-discipline and commitment. A PhD prepares you for a number of careers, including as an academic.

The minimum period of enrolment for a full-time candidate is two years and the maximum period four years; most PhD students take between three and three-and-a-half years.

Career opportunities

There are excellent career opportunities for civil engineers, with a strong demand for graduates in New Zealand and around the world in a diverse range of fields.

Most new graduates are employed by consultants (who design and manage), contractors (who build and maintain) or central, regional and local government (who develop and manage the infrastructure of countries, cities and communities).

Many civil engineers become experts in a specialised area of civil engineering such as structural, water, geotechnical, transportation, fire or environmental fields.

Some UC civil engineering graduates go on to run their own companies, enter into partnerships, or become researchers for government agencies or business.

Entry criteria

Enrolment in a PhD requires completion of a research-focused honours or master's degree at first-class or second-class division 1 level (or equivalent qualifications). Applicants with qualifications from outside New Zealand must have been granted admission to the University.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 575 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum B+ grade; CAE or CPE score of 176 with a minimum of 169 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 64 and no PTE communicative skills score below 58.