Schools offering engineering degrees within UNSW Canberra aim to provide outstanding engineering education to the future leaders of the Australian Defence Force and to pursue excellence through contributions to the engineering profession, industry and the community.

The BE program is four years in duration, and the degree may be awarded as a pass or an honours degree. The engineering programs at UNSW Canberra have been granted full accreditation by Engineers Australia.

All Engineering degrees lead to a Bachelor of Engineering degree, with the type of engineering specified.

Civil Engineering takes its name from the division of engineering in the Middle Ages between military and civilian works. The profession of Civil Engineering was recognised by the formation of the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK) in 1825. In the 19th Century, the broadening scope of engineering led to the division of civilian engineering into civil, mechanical and electrical, with further specialisations (aeronautical, chemical, industrial, materials, electronic etc) having developed in the 20th Century.

After contracting its sphere of interest over a long period of time, Civil Engineering is now broadening its scope with the recognition of the wider implications of its effects on modern society. Attention is given both to the interaction between civil engineering and other disciplines and to the effect of Civil Engineering works on the environment. Present day civil engineering has maintained strong commonality with military engineering - the design and construction of facilities such as roads, bridges, airfields, buildings, water supply and waste treatment facilities, structures of all types, and the associated planning and management of projects.

A Civil Engineer in the ADF may be employed in the Royal Australian Engineers Corps of the Australian Army or as an Airfield Engineering Officer in the RAAF. The degree will provide graduates with professional engineering design, construction and management skills on a broad spectrum of engineering tasks required by the Australian Defence Force. Graduates will also develop enhanced planning and decision making skills and technical expertise to provide guidance to superiors and direction to subordinates, as required of Service officers.

Except for Electrical Engineering and those in the Chief of Defence Force Students Program first-year engineering and technology students enrol in a common program taking foundation science and engineering courses. In second and increasingly in third and fourth years the programs diverge into their specialities although there are some courses that span across programs in all years. A key element in all years is the design stream which emphasises complex problem solving. Other streams such as, structures, materials, hydraulics, environmental engineering, geotechnics and project management often incorporate project based learning informed by academic research and industrial practice. Electives and a final year thesis or integrated design enable students to pursue particular interests both within and outside the specialist discipline.

At the end of the program students are expected to meet the graduate attributes of the University and stage 1 Competencies of Engineers Australia, ready to practice in their chosen profession and with the ingenuity and resourcefulness to meet rapid technological change.

The Bachelor of Engineering programs require a prescribed program structure as determined by the engineering program chosen. Descriptions of the courses which comprise the program are given in the Course Catalogue section of this Handbook.

First Year Program

and 2 x General Education courses. Students must select one General Education course from each of the following groups:

Group 1:
 ZGEN2222 Introduction to Strategic Studies, OR ZGEN2801 Strategy, Management and Leadership;

AND

Group 2:
 ZGEN2240 Introduction to Military Ethics, OR ZGEN2215 Law, Force and Legitimacy


Fourth Year program

and

or

and 2 Technical Elective Courses from the list below.


Technical Elective Courses

Upper level courses from other programs may be taken with the approval of the SEIT Undergraduate Coordinator.

1. Faculty Regulations for Undergraduate Students

A student must comply with the Faculty Regulations for Undergraduate Students. In the event of a conflict, the rules for the Bachelor of Engineering take precedence over the Faculty Regulations for Undergraduate Students.

2. Degree Requirements

2.1 The degree of Bachelor of Engineering shall be conferred as a pass degree or as an honours degree. Honours may be awarded in the following categories:

Honours Class I
Honours Class II, Division I
Honours Class II, Division II

2.2 To qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering, a candidate shall normally be enrolled for a minimum of eight sessions and gain a minimum of 192 UOC (normally 24 UOC in each full-time semester).

2.3 A candidate completing a Standard Program shall complete courses, in the years prescribed, for all engineering students and those pertaining to one particular branch of engineering as set out in the relevant schedule.

2.4 A candidate completing a Non-Standard Program shall, subject to the requirements of Rule 2.5 (below), timetabling requirements and the approval of the appropriate Heads of School, be permitted to enrol in any one year in courses selected from more than one year of the relevant schedule.

2.5 Before a candidate’s enrolment will be accepted for any course, the candidate must have completed the relevant pre-requisite courses shown in the Course Catalogue, except where the Course Authority for the appropriate course approves otherwise.

3. Practical Experience Requirements

Before graduation a candidate shall complete 60 days of approved practical engineering experience which must be done in blocks of at least 20 working days each, each block being in the service of a single employer. Such practical experience may incorporate the following Service training:

Service Training and Practical Experience Requirements

Service training conducted during the degree program is recognised as partially satisfying practical experience requirements in the following ways:

Naval Midshipmen, 30 days for experience gained at a defence establishment between second and third years. (Time at sea prior to arrival at UNSW Canberra is not eligible for consideration.)

Army Cadets, 30 days for the year spent at Royal Military College between third and fourth years.

Air Force Cadets, 30 days for experience gained at a defence establishment between second and third years.

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website:  https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html

These regulations apply to all undergraduate degrees and are to be used in conjunction with Academic Rules and Program Information. All rules in this Handbook apply to each student who enters an undergraduate program in 2014. The rules remain applicable until the student exits their program, either by discontinuation or graduation. Students who entered a program in another year should consult the rules and regulations for that year.

Please refer to Faculty Regulations information