All students in the Civil Engineering program are required to complete 15 credits of technical electives in order to meet graduation requirements.
Technical electives are broken up into List A (engineering courses) and List B (business, economics, or professional development courses).
Departmental approval is not required when choosing from courses in List A or List B. Otherwise, you may seek approval for up to two alternative elective courses from the Fourth-year Advisor.
If a course is full, please complete and submit a Course Registration Form. You should check courses regularly to see if space opens up over the summer registration period.
Standard Package of Elective Courses
Students may select their 15 credits of technical electives as follows:
List A – Engineering Courses
Students must choose four or five 3 credit courses from the following list. Students may opt to take one 3-credit technical elective from list B below.
List A courses sorted by subdiscipline:
| Environmental Fluid Mechanics | CIVL 416, CIVL 417 |
| Environmental Systems Engineering | CIVL 406, CIVL 407, CHBE 485 |
| Geo-Environmental Engineering | CIVL 408, EOSC 329, EOSC 429 |
| Geotechnical Engineering | CIVL 410, CIVL 411, CIVL 413, IGEN 450, EOSC 433 |
| Hydrotechnical Engineering | CIVL 415, CIVL 416, CIVL 417, CIVL 418 |
| Materials Engineering | CIVL 420 |
| Project & Construction Management | CIVL 425, CIVL 426, CIVL 478 |
| Structural Engineering | CIVL 432, CIVL 433, CIVL 435, CIVL 436, CIVL 437, CIVL 439 |
| Transportation Engineering | CIVL 440, CIVL 441 |
Notes:
- For information on IGEN 450, 451, 452, please see www.igen.ubc.ca/pipelineeng
- Please ensure that you have met the prerequisite requirements before registering in the above courses
List B – Business, Economics, or Professional Discipline
Students may choose one 3 credit course from the list below or any 300- or 400-level non-engineering course in science, business or a related professional discipline with the approval of the Fourth-year Advisor.
This list represents pre-approved courses:
Notes:
- Please ensure that you have met the prerequisite requirements before registering in the above courses
- COMR courses are equivalent to COMM courses; thus COMR courses can be taken in lieu of a COMM course with the same number
Alternative Elective Courses
Students may seek approval for up to two alternative elective courses from the Fourth Year Advisor. To obtain approval, please email the Fourth Year Advisor the course number(s), title(s), description(s), and provide a short rationale for your request. Be sure to include the relevant forms (CIVL 492 or a Graduate Course). Once approved, you will be registered directly by the Department.
Courses not listed in the Standard Package of Courses
- Standard elective courses in List A above may only be replaced by alternative 400-level engineering courses (i.e. those that are predominantly engineering science or engineering design).
- Standard elective courses in List B above may be replaced by either a 400-level engineering course or a 300- or 400-level non-engineering course that is related to science, business, or a professional development.
- Any courses selected may not overlap with core courses or other elective courses that are taken.
Graduate Courses
If you would like to take a graduate course as a technical elective course you must meet the following requirements:
- Must have completed at least 57 credits (i.e. 75%) of 300 / 400 level courses requirements, and must have a minimum overall average of 76% in completed 300 / 400 level courses.
- Must have completed all prerequisites for the course taken.
- Must secure the approval of the instructor, the Department Graduate Advisor and EAS using the form available here.
- Must secure the approval of the 4th Year Advisor, conveyed by e-mail to undergradsupport@civil.ubc.ca and copied to the student, in order for the replacement course to be entered into Degree Navigator.
Using a graduate course as a technical elective prevents you from using the same course as a subsequent transfer credit to a graduate program.
Directed Studies Course
If you would like to take CIVL 492, Directed Studies, as a technical elective you must secure the agreement of an instructor to establish and deliver such a custom course. You should then request the instructor to complete the corresponding form, available here, seek the approval of the 4th Year Advisor, and submit the form to undergradsupport@civil.ubc.ca. No more than 6 credits of technical electives may be taken through CIVL 492.
More than 15 credits of Elective Courses
A student who wishes to take more than the 15 credits of technical elective courses should contact undergradsupport@civil.ubc.ca. Without prior approval, you will be de-registered from any extra electives above 15 credits of technical electives.
In case of any discrepancies between this page and the UBC Academic Calendar, the Calendar is to be considered correct.