Shaping life, today and tomorrow
Civil engineering is behind many aspects of everyday life we take for granted. It incorporates the intricate 'behind the scenes' planning and design, and the construction, maintenance and all-important recycling of community facilities and infrastructures all over the world. It's why our high-rise buildings, roads, bridges, railways, power stations, airports, dams and harbours are safe, efficient and easy to use.
An adapting profession
But civil engineering isn't just about construction and infrastructure. It plays an increasingly complex and indispensable role in tackling society's big issues - among them, climate change, environmental sustainability, water mangement and renewable and sustainable design. Civil engineers shape not just how we live today, but also how we'll live tomorrow. Their planning and decision-making must take on board a huge range of factors and influences.
Find out more about civil engineering undergraduate, postgraduate and research programs at the University of Sydney.
Project management is a highly regarded discipline that has rapidly evolved from its foundations in civil engineering to become a specialised skill set applicable across many professions. A project manager plans, coordinates, budgets and evaluates large-scale projects, and manages the risks and the people involved in them. They help organisations provide new or enhanced services and infrastructure, and implements new systems and processes to achieve positive change.
Project Management studies at the University of Sydney take a 'complex systems' approach - using multidisciplinary theories and methods to assess projects methodically, and from every angle. Students develop a range of essential skills that apply to a wide range of sectors and industries. The bachelors program is an ideal complement to our undergraduate engineering programs.
Find out more about project management undergraduate, postgraduate and research programs at the University of Sydney.
The Centre for Advanced Structural Engineering has one of largest structural engineering laboratories in the southern hemisphere. The centre's established strengths lie in how metal structures behave in certain conditions, and its research output helps ensure buildings and other structures are stable and safe.
The Centre for Geotechnical Research studies the behaviour and design of foundation systems, including soil and rock mechanics, and contaminant flow.
The centre also devotes facilities and staff to researching wind engineering, coastal engineering, ocean technology and sustainable ocean resources.
The Centre for Wind, Water and Waves aims to improve the understanding and knowledge transfer of qualitative and quantitative aspects related to environmental resources in order to benefit national and international communities.
The Centre for Complex Systems develops holistic approaches to coordinating and managing large-scale complex systems. It uses methods and analytical techniques from mathematical sociology, social anthropology, and computer science to explore coordination problems in a dynamic, distributed and complex setting.
To find research opportunities in these areas, and to read about our supervisors' areas of interest and expertise, visit our Research Supervisor Connect portal.