Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Dr. Robinah N. Kulabako

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, formerly the Department of Civil Engineering was established in 1970 alongside Electrical and Mechanical Engineering with a specific mandate of educating civil engineers in the country to the highest international professional standards.

The Department’s Mission Statement is: “To provide quality education in Civil Engineering by supporting academic distinction and excellence in teaching, innovative research and technological services in the region.”

The major objective of the Department is to exploit the exciting nature of the Civil Engineering profession to address the most basic needs of society. This has been attained through:

  1. Giving students relevant skills and knowledge;
  2. Increasing awareness of latest advances in Science and Technology (S&T);
  3. Educating students on appropriate technology for national development; and inculcating professional ethics into them.

Focus is on harnessing the creativity of civil engineering in conception, data collection, planning, designing, constructing, evaluating performance and maintaining physical systems that sustain human enterprise. Students are prepared for professional practice in the major areas of Civil Engineering namely: Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Highway Engineering, Water Resources Engineering (Hydraulics, Hydrology, Hydro-informatics and River Engineering), Structural Dynamics and Engineering, Construction Management, Public Health and Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering as well as Civil Engineering Surveying. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering boasts of highly qualified human resources that train the students to the highest academic standards comparable to those of highly ranked Universities in Africa and the world.

Since its inception, the Department has administered a four-year undergraduate curriculum providing a broad foundation in the above areas, leading to the award of a degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. The courses taught are clustered under mathematics, information & communications technology, technical drawing, technical and support courses, vocational training and design project (group and individual). The curriculum emphasizes provision of a firm theoretical and practical basis in specialty fields. It is envisaged that this leads to producing responsible and well-rounded civil engineers. There is also a two-year diploma programme in Civil Engineering Surveying, which trains students to professionally collect field data relevant to the Engineer’s design proposal. This programme prepares the student in the recognition and collection of field data relevant to civil engineering projects, such as power lines, micro-wave linkage, dams, weirs and reservoirs, drinking water supply, sewage disposal, storm water drainage, irrigation, architectural and factory sites, roads, railways and airports, tunnels and structural deformations and their mutual cohabitation. It takes the student through the project stages of concept, feasibility, preliminary and detailed design, construction, monitoring, maintenance and rehabilitation. It is envisaged that this leads to producing practical and professionally minded Civil Engineering Surveyors. The department offers a two year Masters of Science in Engineering in the following major specialization areas: Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Water Resources Engineering (Hydraulics, Hydrology, Hydro-informatics and River Engineering), Structural Dynamics and Engineering, Public Health and Environmental Engineering, as well as Geotechnical Engineering. A three-year PhD programme is also offered in a wide range of fields mentioned above.

Department Staff

Programmes offered at the Department

Undergraduate ProgrammesGraduate Programmes
Bachelor of Science in Civil EngineeringMaster of Science in Civil Engineering

Others: Global Sanitation Graduate School