More Than Five Decades of Academic Excellence
Founded in 1965, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is one of the original departments of the College of Engineering at UC Davis.
The program first was accredited by ABET (then the Engineering Council for Professional Development) in 1977, and has maintained accreditation since that year. Today, the Civil Engineering Program at UC Davis is the largest Civil Engineering undergraduate program in the University of California system, with a total enrollment of more than 500 students.
The graduate program in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Davis was established when the College of Engineering was founded in 1962. It admitted its first group of 18 graduate students in 1962 in two disciplinary areas: Water Resources and Structural Engineering. Today, it is one of 11 departments or graduate groups within the College offering both the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, and enrolls more than 185 graduate students. Of the latter, approximately 109 have the Ph.D. degree as their degree objective, with the remaining students pursuing the M.S. degree. The CEE Graduate Group has always maintained its administrative home in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
During its nearly 55-year history, the department has continued to grow, with a current budget allocation of approximately $5.7 million and annual research expenditures exceeding $20 million. This growth is a testament to our students, faculty and research, and we look forward to many more decades of academic excellence and public service.
Read departmental memories and advice for students from some of our esteemed emeriti faculty.