Computing in Civil Engineering Curriculum: Needs and Issues

Rapid advances in computer software and hardware have provided engineers with a powerful means of processing, storing, retrieving, and displaying data. This has made computer science a growing and essential part of nearly every engineering discipline. The effective use of computers in engineering processes and applications is recognized by many as the key to increased individual, company, and national productivity. This paper presents the results of a survey that was conducted by the ASCE Task Committee on Computing Education to assess computing needs in the civil engineering profession and to assess the current undergraduate computing curriculum in civil engineering education. The survey results presented in this paper can be used as a guide by educators who wish to enhance the computing aspects of their engineering curricula and by engineering firms that are evaluating the educational profile of new graduates. The goal is to enable students to possess, in addition to their engineering skills, both the ability to evaluate and use production software and the ability to organize and supervise the development of software.