Building Global Infrastructure →
From the roads that connect communities to the systems that deliver clean water and support resilient cities, civil engineers design the foundation of modern life. At Clemson, you are invited to be part of that impact, learning to advance public safety, strengthen communities, and protect our environment through innovative and sustainable solutions.
As one of the most in-demand engineering fields, especially across the rapidly growing Southeastern United States, civil engineering offers a future filled with opportunity and purpose. At Clemson, that future begins with a dynamic academic experience that blends rigorous coursework with hands-on learning, leadership development, and global engagement. You will be empowered to shape your own path while gaining the skills and perspective needed to solve complex challenges anywhere in the world, or beyond.
Whether designing resilient cities, improving critical infrastructure, or contributing to the future of space exploration, Clemson civil engineers graduate ready to lead, innovate, and make a lasting impact wherever their careers take them.
Undergraduate Program Graduate ProgramsDeveloping Space Technology
Our students are not only preparing to build infrastructure on Earth; they are helping extend engineering innovation beyond it.
Clemson civil engineering undergraduates have taken on NASA design challenges, developing tools for upcoming Artemis missions that will return astronauts to the Moon. Their work includes designing adaptable carriers for lunar exploration equipment and developing technologies for use on the lunar surface. At the graduate level, students are advancing research on exploratory robotics, such as origami-inspired systems designed to navigate extreme and hard-to-reach environments on the Moon and Mars, expanding how we gather data in space.
CE Research Career Center“Every day brings a new challenge where one day I’m looking at signal processing, the other I’m diving into coding,” Bell said. “I do a lot of hands-on work as well. The variability of my work never gets old.”
John BellNASA Aerospace EngineerCivil Engineering Ph.D. '22
Emphasis Areas
The Civil Engineering curriculum includes Emphasis Areas to allow students flexibility in selecting courses and planning their future careers. Students have the potential to work both domestically and abroad working in multiple sub-disciplines.
- Construction Engineering and Management
- Construction Materials
- Environmental Engineering
- Geotechnical Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Transportation Systems
- Water Resources Engineering
Making Connections
The Glenn Department of Civil Engineering is focused on preparing you to be responsive to the rapidly evolving, complex challenges of highly interconnected, interdependent infrastructure systems and to meet the changing societal needs of the 21st century. Here, you’ll be part of a forward-thinking environment driven by a shared vision: to equip the next generation of civil engineers with the skills, perspective, and purpose to shape a better future.
“This will be the first civil engineering program that we know of with this kind of design experience woven throughout the entire curriculum. Everything that we have done in our program has been done off of a strong backing of engineering education research, and we've had a phenomenal response from our students.”
Jennifer OgleProfessorCivil Engineering
NSF Program: RED
As part of the NSF program, Revolutionizing Engineering and Computer Science Departments (RED), undergraduates majoring in civil engineering will begin working sooner on "keystone" projects that allow them to tackle real-world challenges. They start a project-based course sequence in sophomore year and continually refine professional and technical skills until graduation. Students could, for example, work on on-site development plans, test innovative bio-inspired materials, or help solve flooding problems.
Schedule a Tour
The College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences invites prospective undergraduate students to visit campus to learn about the programs and facilities. The tours are led by students currently enrolled in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences. To register or learn more about our tours, visit the College's Tour Page. The Civil Engineering option is under the Academic Information on the tour request form.
For graduate program tours, please email the program contact. Allow 1-2 weeks' notice before visiting so that you may be able to meet faculty, current students, and attend some classes.
Undergrad Tour Graduate Tour