I'M LOST: Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering

Hello guys,

I have an high school diploma and I'm decided to get a bachelor degree in Civil Engineering. I've also 15 years of experience in this field.
I'm based in Italy and I'm looking for a RELIABLE, GOOD and ACCREDITED school which offer this degree on distance learning. Preferably in UK or America.
Please help me because I'm lost.
Thanks

Rudy

 

The University of North Dakota offers a B.S. in Civil Engineering.

Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering | Online & Distance Education

 

You can earn a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering Technology (not exactly the same thing as Civil Engineering) at Old Dominion University

Distance Learning

but as you are discovering, there are very few such programs offered. Beyond that I suggest you check out the University of Southern Queensland and Monash University. Both are well regarded universities in Australia and my notes indicate they also have civil engineering degrees through distance learning.

 

The standard for engineering BS programs in the US is ABET accreditation. However, ABET requires a lot of supervised "hands-on" laboratory work, which is difficult to deliver by distance learning. So there are very few "RELIABLE, GOOD and ACCREDITED" engineering BS programs by distance learning from US schools.

To my knowledge, the only option for a "real" ABET-accredited civil engineering BS in the US by distance learning is the University of North Dakota program listed in Post #2. However, you should be aware of the following drawbacks:

- Current tuition for non-residents is $852 per credit. The program requires 135 credits, so the tuition cost for a European would be $115,020 (unless you can transfer credits from Italy, which may be difficult)

- You have to travel to Grand Forks, North Dakota during the summers to fulfill the laboratory requirements. So you can expect large additional costs for travel and lodging.

Realistically, the UND program could easily cost you more than 100,000 euros. Does that fit your education budget?

The reality is that UND DL engineering programs are not really practical, unless you live in North Dakota or a neighboring state. In this case, the tuition is discounted and the travel costs are not as burdensome.

 

Civil engineering is a tightly regulated field in many countries (in the US, it is much more heavily regulated than other branches of engineering). Don't know about Italy specifically. However, I would carefully check Italian licensing laws and regulations regarding the practice of civil engineering, to see what the exact requirements are, before pursuing a civil engineering degree from some other country. A foreign civil engineering degree may meet Italian licensing requirements -- or it may not.

 

In my opinion civil engineering is an excellent career choice (I often recommend either civil or chemical engineering to young people looking for an engineering career). Jobs in this field are difficult to outsource overseas.

In civil engineering the ultimate level is professional engineer (PE) in the USA, Chartered Engineer (CE) in the UK, and I understand there are similar credentials throughout Europe. Such a credential allows you to sign off on projects or to do consulting. So pick a degree that will help satisfy these credential requirements.

That said there are a many engineers working under PEs or CEs that have lesser academic credentials such as an associates degree or a technology degree. Creating drawings using CAD is one such area - good CAD jockies are indipensable and earn very good salaries (at least in the USA).

The UK ICE site tells you more about becoming a CE along with other credentials
Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Council Registration

 

I agree. Unfortunately, however, civil engineering may not be a good choice if you want to get a BS degree by distance learning or other non-traditional means. The US options are very limited, as noted above, and they may be limited in the UK too. The leading provider of non-traditional degrees in the UK is the Open University, and it doesn't look like they offer civil engineering degrees at the bachelor's level.

In general, distance learning has become an established option for specialized master's degrees in engineering -- but not for introductory bachelor's degrees.

It might be more practical to study supporting technology, such as CAD, by distance learning.

 

Another supporting technology is Geology - Birkbeck (UK) offers a DL degree Environmental Geology (BSc with Distance Learning option) - 2011/2012 entry - Birkbeck, University of London

 

The University of South Africa offers a 3 years National Diploma in Civil Engineering:

my Registration 2011

with the Diploma, one can subscribe to a 1 year Baccalaureus Technologiae in Engineering.

How does it sounds?

 

According to the South Africa Institute of Civil Engineers (SAICE), the normal educational qualification for a licensed "Professional Engineer" is the BSc in Engineering.

However, the University of South Africa distance learning programs do not include the BSc in Engineering. Instead, they include a 3-year "National Diploma" plus an additional year for the BTech (as per Post #9 above). The Diploma + BTech is the normal educational qualification qualification for a "Professional Engineering Technologist" -- which is not the same thing as a "Professional Engineer".

If you would like a career as an "engineering technologist" in the civil engineering field, then the University of South Africa distance programs could work. However, a "technologist" is not the same thing as an "engineer". It's more of a supporting role, as per Posts #6 and #7 above.

So in South Africa, the National Diploma + BTech route is not regarded as equivalent to the traditional Engineering BSc degree, and is not a normal route to licensure as a "Professional Engineer". Other countries probably would not accept it as such either.

 

Greetings,

While the cost of UND’s engineering degree courses vary wildly based upon ones place of residence (from offensively expensive to obscenely expensive, and price isn’t their only failing), the cost of their engineering degrees are not quite so bad as CalDog’s math would suggest. A large chunk of the courses required for a UND engineering degree are not officially engineering courses. Such courses are available by distance from UND at pricey but not punitive rates ($235/Credit Hour when checked today, 1/4/2011; see The University of North Dakota - Online & Distance Education).

It may also be possible to transfer credit into a UND (engineering) degree program; if I ever knew what the rules were, I have long since forgotten them.

Good luck!

Cordially,
Richard Kanarek

P.S. Perhaps I’m wrong, but it strikes me as being implicit in Rudyboy’s post that he is an American in Italy, not an Italian. It’s nice to read, but reading between the lines is often useful, too. ;-)