Civil Engineering occupies a prominent position as one of the major fields in the engineering profession. Civil engineers are concerned with all aspects of the conception, planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the infrastructure and facilities that are essential to modern life.  Civil engineering projects are typically characterized by extreme size, complexity, durability, and cost.  Examples include bridges, buildings, transportation facilities, tunnels, coastal facilities, dams, foundations, and waterways. B.S., M.S., M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees are offered in Civil Engineering.

Lehigh has internationally recognized graduate research and education programs in Structural Engineering.  Graduates have the knowledge and analytical problem-solving capabilities needed to lead and innovate within multi-disciplinary teams in technologically complex environments for the civil infrastructure. We conduct a fundamental yet innovative program of education and research that focuses on significant advances that cut across all large-scale infrastructure systems of our society.Major advances will include:  new structural materials and systems; new earthquake resistant structures that improve the performance of existing steel and precast concrete systems;  infrastructure hazard mitigation processes and technology to provide reliable mitigation technology from multi hazards including fire and blast loads; intelligent infrastructure systems that assess time-dependent performance; and simulation, measurement and evaluation of in-service structures. M.S.  and Ph.D. degrees are offered in Structural Engineering

Environmental Engineering is an interdisciplinary branch of the engineering profession that has emerged from societal needs to educate engineers in the causes, control, and prevention of environmental pollution while maintaining industrial and economic growth.  Traditionally, environmental engineers were involved in designing and constructing drinking water treatment plants, sewage treatment facilities and water distribution networks.  More recently, the environmental engineering profession has greatly expanded and the activities include:  detection and modeling fate and transport of contaminants in both natural and engineering environments; applying technology-based solutions for restoring environmental quality; developing and/or modifying industrial processes for ecological preservation and enhanced sustainability.  B.S., M.S., M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees are offered in Environmental Engineering, and the B.S. degree will be considered for accreditation at the next college review in 2007.

The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering is affiliated with a number of programs and initiatives at Lehigh University, including the Lehigh Environmental Initiative; the Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) Research Center; and the Real-Time Multi-Directional Testing Facility (RTMD) for Earthquake Engineering Simulation.