Durham University - Civil Engineering

I can't seem to find any stone wall answers for this, is the civil engineering course at Durham (General engineering specialising in civil) seen as a bit airy fairy?

I know it's a bloody good university and it would still get a great job, but is it seen as inferior to other courses which are just civil engineering solely?

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Reply 1

alexyfoot

1

Dude, there are better unis for engineering. Just use the search option and you'll find them. The fact that Durham is good for history for example doesn't make their engineering department any better. the fact that no one mentions them when one asks for the top for civil says it all I think :smile:

Just search the forum.

Reply 2

Snobpence17

OP

alexyfoot

Dude, there are better unis for engineering. Just use the search option and you'll find them. The fact that Durham is good for history for example doesn't make their engineering department any better. the fact that no one mentions them when one asks for the top for civil says it all I think :smile:

Just search the forum.

Thanks for your reply, yeah it doesn't seem very civil worthy from what I've researched

Reply 3

Ed King

Snobpence17

I can't seem to find any stone wall answers for this, is the civil engineering course at Durham (General engineering specialising in civil) seen as a bit airy fairy?

I know it's a bloody good university and it would still get a great job, but is it seen as inferior to other courses which are just civil engineering solely?

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Hi,

As you may know, the first two years of the Durham course are general across the civil, mechanical, electrical and electronic fields. In your third year you can choose to do civil engineering.

Even though you will probably be taught more civil-specific content at universities that offer civil engineering as a course, do not underestimate the importance of having a broad knowledge in the other main fields. For example, having knowledge of power transmission (taught in an electromechanics course in the second year) will be useful to you in a civil engineering career because you will be better equipped to understand the electrical considerations of structures and the problems caused by electrical machinery, in both an electrical and civil sense. There are many other examples I could use, like how understanding heat-flow (taught in a second year fluid dynamics course) would help you design a structure with better resistance to thermal stresses.

I'm living proof that a broad engineering background is advantageous. If I had chosen to do an electronic engineering degree, I wouldn't know about all the things I've mentioned and would find it much more difficult to understand new topics that aren't related to electronics.

In answer to your question about whether the civil stream choice is "airy-fairy" at Durham university, I can confirm that it certainly isn't. The course would not be accredited by the ICE (Institute of Civil Engineers) if it did not provide a suitable syllabus, both practical and theoretical, that would allow you to become a fully and highly qualified civil engineer.

As a final point, not all people know what type of engineering they really want to do when they first go to university. Choosing a civil engineering degree puts a bound on you very early on. I, for instance, came to Durham all that time ago with a vision of doing aeronautical engineering and ended up hating anything to do with stress analysis and instead loving all things electronic.

It's certainly a big decision for you to make but I hope I've helped explain the advantages of doing a general engineering degree, whether it is at Durham or not.

Reply 4

thefish_uk

14

My course is similar in structure to Durham's. I started wanting to be a mechanical engineer and am now all civil and structural (having to deal with a fourth dimension, ie. time, began to piss me off). You may even get to university, have your first taste of say soil mechanics, which I doubt you have done before, and want to escape Civil as quickly as possible!

Reply 5

alice1987

hi,
I am currently a fourth year at Durham doing civil engineering. I'd just like to assure people on here that doing a general course for 2 years before specialising in no way reduces your job chances. I have carried out internships at some of the major engineering consultancy firms and have now got a job with a top four accountancy firm starting in sept. Out of my friends staying within engineering I know people with jobs at Atkins, Arup, Mott Mac, Faber Maunsell, Network Rail etc lined up when many places are not accepting graduates this year.

When applying to universities I did look at purely doing civil and decided that the reputation of Durham as a university and the variety within the course was good for me. You must not forget that when people employ graduates saying you go to one of the top 10 universities counts for a lot. At the end of the day Durham is a lovely city with a unique college system, graduates are valued very highly in any industry and doing a general engineering degree that is accredited by the ICE does look good. In my experience in industry people assume you've worked harder in order to do the work that must be done to get an accredited degree as well as two years of general engineering. I didn't look at London but I chose Durham over civil engineering degrees at Nottingham, Loughborough, Warwick and Birmingham (all of which some might say are "better" than Durham for engineering) and after four years and many internships /job applications do not regret it. Also remember that at research level Durham is listed highly.

Reply 6

bluenoxid

13

alice1987

hi,
I am currently a fourth year at Durham doing civil engineering. I'd just like to assure people on here that doing a general course for 2 years before specialising in no way reduces your job chances. I have carried out internships at some of the major engineering consultancy firms and have now got a job with a top four accountancy firm starting in sept. Out of my friends staying within engineering I know people with jobs at Atkins, Arup, Mott Mac, Faber Maunsell, Network Rail etc lined up when many places are not accepting graduates this year.

When applying to universities I did look at purely doing civil and decided that the reputation of Durham as a university and the variety within the course was good for me. You must not forget that when people employ graduates saying you go to one of the top 10 universities counts for a lot. At the end of the day Durham is a lovely city with a unique college system, graduates are valued very highly in any industry and doing a general engineering degree that is accredited by the ICE does look good. In my experience in industry people assume you've worked harder in order to do the work that must be done to get an accredited degree as well as two years of general engineering. I didn't look at London but I chose Durham over civil engineering degrees at Nottingham, Loughborough, Warwick and Birmingham (all of which some might say are "better" than Durham for engineering) and after four years and many internships /job applications do not regret it. Also remember that at research level Durham is listed highly.

But don't forget that Newcastle is better :biggrin:

Reply 7

alice1987

yup i know him not in my stream anymore though he does electronics these days

Durham University - Civil Engineering

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