Civil Engineering is the technology of planning for, and safely designing, constructing, maintaining, and rehabilitating community infrastructure. Civil engineers design and construct many facilities that are critical to our society.

Civil Engineering addresses the interaction of people with the built and natural environment.  Engineers use established theories, techniques, and emerging technologies to understand and solve complex problems.

Civil Engineering is comprised of the following specialty areas:

Co-Op students in Civil Engineering have worked with a wide range of employers including Aecon Group, Toronto Hydro Corporation, McNally Construction, the Government of Ontario, Sobotec, and many more!

All programs have limited enrolment, therefore the average required for acceptance changes every year and is dependent on the number of applicants.

All students in McMaster’s Engineering Program complete a common Level 1 year before selecting their fields.

Please refer to the Undergraduate Calendar for requirements to complete a degree in Civil Engineering.

Multi-term courses (such as CIVENG 4X06) run from September – April. Students must be enrolled in both Part A (Fall) and Part B (Winter) to fully enrol/complete the course.

When you enrol in Part A in the Fall term, Mosaic will automatically enrol you in Part B for the Winter term.

A course is worth the number of units identified in the final digit of the course code. For example, CIVENG 2A03 is worth 3 units and CIVENG 4N04 is worth 4 units.

CIVENG 4X06 is worth 6 units and runs from September – April, with a weight of 3 units per term.

The Department of Civil Engineering endeavours to provide conflict-free options for students however, there are times when a conflict is unavoidable.

If you are following the Undergraduate Calendar and cannot avoid a conflict with required courses, please contact the Undergraduate Administrative Assistant in the Department of Civil Engineering at cr_ugciv@mcmaster.ca

Students who are out of Calendar may not be able to circumvent conflicts with courses from different levels. We often suggest that lower level courses are completed prior to continuing with the program.

To continue enrolling in two courses that conflict, please submit a Course Conflict Form to the Civil Engineering Office. Be sure to indicate the specific sections that are in conflict and include in your submission:
– A copy of your transcript (you can print off your unofficial transcript from Mosaic)
– A letter stating the reason for your request
– Your academic plan (how you plan to be successful in both courses, as well as your future course plans)

You can request to waive the prerequisite for a course with an Engineering Permission Form.

Be sure to fill out the top portion and the ‘Prerequisite Waiver’ box and submit to the Civil Engineering Office. Include with your form submission:
– A copy of your transcript (you can print off your unofficial transcript from Mosaic)
– A letter stating the reason for your request
– Your academic plan (how you plan to be successful, as well as your future course plans)

Please note that approval of any request form is at the discretion of the instructor.

Due to the number of Technical Electives that are offered in the Department of Civil Engineering, we are unable to schedule all electives conflict free.

That said, we do our very best to request that popular courses (based on the Technical Electives form submissions – due at the end of March in the previous Academic Year) and courses within specialty areas are scheduled without conflict. Unfortunately, there will be cases where courses conflict with one another. We suggest selecting different courses to fulfill the requirements of the course.

If you still wish to register in both courses in conflict, you can submit a Course Conflict request form (as outlined above).

Students may request to review their graded Final Examination up to one year after writing.

Students may be granted permission only once and after completing the Exam Review Request Form. Please be sure to fill out the form in its entirety and submit to the Civil Engineering Office.

Upon approval of the request, students will be contacted with an appointment date/time to review their exam in the Civil Engineering Office.

The McMaster Engineering Society has teamed up with the Student Success Centre to offer tutoring to students in Engineering.

To find out more about Tutoring services or becoming a Tutor with the MES, visit the society’s academic resources site.

Please submit your Technical Elective Form online by April 1^st, 2020.

Please note that this form DOES NOT automatically register you in any courses. It helps us gauge interest and try to ensure the most popular courses are conflict free, but you must still officially enrol through Mosaic when registration opens in the summer.

Please refer to the How to Apply web page.

For all undergraduate-related inquiries, email cr_ugciv@mcmaster.ca.
For graduate-related questions, email civil@mcmaster.ca.

You can also ask questions using the Ask a Question tab on this page.

McMaster University takes the academic success and the emotional health and well-being of students seriously, and we recognize that both feel at risk during these uncertain times. Please be assured that instructors have carefully considered the revised course plans for the Winter 2020 courses so that they are clear, equitable, and align with our shared academic expectations. The revisions were not created to disadvantage any students, but to provide the best possible learning outcome in these less than ideal circumstances.

The courses taken in the 2019 Fall Term were not subject to the circumstances that we now face and therefore, the grades will remain as they are. No modifications will be made.

Please refer to the Grade Change Options for Undergraduate Courses web page.