Civil Engineering Concentration

Engineering for People, Designing for Communities

At A Glance

## Description
## Description

Program Type

Concentration of the engineering major (BS)

Accreditation

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)

Recognition

U.S. News and World Report “Best Undergraduate” engineering program

On this page:

civil engineering students outside on the quad

You see their handiwork in highways, bridges and buildings, water purification systems and in environmental impact studies, to name a few. Civil engineers plan, design and construct solutions that address the basic needs of everyday human existence.

Often defined as a “people-serving” profession, civil engineering involves working with public facilities and infrastructure. Areas of specialization cover a wide spectrum of industry, including the transportation sector, construction and civil planning, and structural, environmental, geotechnical and water resources.

Ready to embark on a meaningful career that benefits people and challenges you to develop engineering solutions that have a direct impact on daily life? The civil engineering concentration within our engineering major is for you!

100% of our engineering graduates have a job or are in graduate school within the first six months after graduation.
servant engineering students work in a home

Servant Engineering: Creative Solutions for the Underserved

We take Christ's call to use our God-given gifts and abilities to serve others. To put that into practice, the Servant Engineering program is a core curricular requirement. In it, you will team up with industry professionals to research, design and deliver engineering solutions to address humanitarian needs.

All our third-year students work on interdisciplinary teams, creating solutions to significant technical challenges through a human-centered design approach.

Among our recent projects:

  • Clean cook-stove technologies for meeting the basic needs of refugees, impoverished people and communities in the developing world
  • Augmentative communication and physical therapy devices for patients and staff at the Providence Center for Medically Fragile Children in Portland
  • Design of a bridge at a ranch for fatherless youth in Yamhill, Oregon
  • An auto-resistive enhancement to an exercise bicycle for use in focused physical therapy
  • Rugged wheelchair designs for individuals suffering with cerebral palsy in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya
  • Creation of a prosthetic device to assist one of our own – an engineering student born with symbrachydactyly, a condition characterized by limb abnormalities
  • Design of “The Bouncinator 3000,” a custom-made device that gives a young girl with physical disabilities newfound freedom

Mentorship Opportunities

Students in the engineering program have the opportunity to engage in industry mentorship through the Ignite program. As an Ignite member, you are matched with Christians in the industry. You’ll meet monthly to discover opportunities, develop connections, address career gaps, and ask questions. 

Watch video: Engineering College Tour | Meet the Major
Watch video: This Project Tested Our Engineering Majors Limits | George Fox University
Watch video: Meet the Vitibot: A Game-Changing Vineyard Robot #Shorts | George Fox University

Program Distinctives Why Study Civil Engineering at George Fox?

Courses / Curriculum What Will I Study?

Students in the Maker Hub

Our spaces/Where Will I Learn?

Maker Space: Where Innovative Ideas Come to Life

The facility includes:

  • A 24-station computing lab
  • Eight meeting rooms with 48-inch monitors
  • A wood shop with a large computer numerical control (CNC) router
  • A metal shop with a CNC milling machine
  • And so much more 

These spaces surround an open configurable collaboration space known as "the Hub," a 6,000-square-foot area used by students representing a wide range of majors. The computer labs have the processors and computer systems needed to accommodate the demands of our major.

Career Outlook What’s After George Fox

Engineering graduates typically receive the highest starting salary of any discipline. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of civil engineers is projected to grow 6% between 2023 and 2033.

  • Structural Engineer, US Army Corps of Engineers
  • Naval Architect, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
  • Engineering Specialist, Oregon Department of Transportation
  • Civil Designer, KPFF Consulting Engineers
  • Civil/Structural Engineer, Anvil Corporation
  • Project Engineer, Andersen Construction
  • Facilities Analyst, Marion County Oregon
  • Engineer, Parametrix
  • Civil Designer, Westlake Consultants
  • Engineer, RH2 Engineering
  • Structural Designer, Structural Solutions
  • Contech Engineered Solutions, Hillsboro, Oregon
  • Andersen Construction, Portland, Oregon
  • Bowers And Kubota, Waipahu, Hawaii
  • Cruz Construction Company, Anchorage, Alaska
  • City of Newberg, Newberg, Oregon
  • Engineering Ministries International, Oxford, UK
  • Yamhill County Public Works, McMinnville, Oregon
  • Clean Water Services, Hillsboro, Oregon
  • Linn County Road Department, Albany, Oregon
  • Engineering Ministries International, Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • Oregon Department of Transportation, Portland, Oregon
Student in graduation cap and gown

The Bouncinator 3000

Take a look at the Bouncinator 3000. Developed specifically to help Genevieve with mobility, the bouncinator was created over the course of an entire academic year by a team of five George Fox students in the university’s Servant Engineering program. 

Read more

Portrait of Zachery Koppert

Zachery Koppert

George Fox has academically prepared me and other engineers beyond the expectations of the industry. I feel very blessed to have received such a firm understanding of the basics so that I could enter the industry ready to grow even more.

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