Civil Engineering teaches you about the effective planning, design and construction of the built environment. This includes the working and living spaces people depend on, as well as critical infrastructure such as motorways, bridges, and water supply networks. The many and varied elective courses available within Civil Engineering encourage you to find a path that resonates with your own interests.
This specialisation gives you the chance to see how you can shape the world we live in. For example in topics with an environmental focus, you will learn how to design, develop and evaluate structures, equipment and systems to provide practical solutions to problems caused by increasing consumption and waste.

Some of the topics you can study within Civil Engineering include:
• Environmental Engineering
• Transportation Engineering
• Water Engineering
• Construction Management
• Structural Engineering
• Geotechnical Engineering

We strongly value advanced research; this is reflected in the range of facilities and specialised expertise we offer, all potentially tailored to suit individual interests.

Some areas of in-depth study include:
- Advanced structural dynamics
- Earthquake engineering
- Excavation engineering
- Experimental and computational geotechnical engineering
- Fire engineering
- Highway and pavement engineering
- Infrastructure asset management
- Rock mechanics
- Seismic structural design
We are also involved in many real-world projects, with some students contributing to projects around the country, including: the Christchurch rebuild, improving transportation systems in Auckland and the rest of the country, building dams and reservoirs, and responding to natural disasters. They’re also part of the decision-making process in local and regional councils.