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Department ofCivil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering

About Us

Overview

For more than 100 years, the Department of Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering at Santa Clara University has prepared students for an engineering career in planning, designing, building, and maintaining the facilities essential to our civilization. Facilities such as: bridges, dams, highways, transit systems, airports, tunnels, irrigation systems, water supply, and industrial and commercial buildings. It is one of the most enriching careers open to men and women—rewarding in personal fulfillment, in enduring service to human-kind, and in financial benefits.

Students enrolled in our program have an opportunity to pursue an emphasis in one of the following subdisciplines: environmental engineering, structural engineering, construction engineering, geotechnical engineering, transportation engineering, and water resources engineering.

Our Vision

The Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Department at Santa Clara University strives to educate civil engineers who have the breadth and depth required to plan, design, and construct sustainable, resilient civil infrastructure necessary to support society's complex needs.

Grounded in the Jesuit approach to educating the whole person, we combine rigorous technical instruction with project-based and hands-on learning to produce ethical engineers who can independently develop and implement major civil engineering projects. As accomplished scholars and practitioners, our faculty members are dedicated to teaching and providing opportunities for advanced study. Our students' abilities to communicate and function on multi-disciplinary teams are nurtured through collaboration with faculty, practitioners, and peers. Our graduates will strive to be lifelong learners who serve their communities, and contribute their wisdom, time and talent to enrich our program.

The development and application of engineering knowledge and modern technologies in our program is enhanced by our teaching and laboratory spaces. Our teaching and laboratory spaces provoke curiosity and enable discovery, collaboration, innovation and convergence within and across recent disciplines.  These spaces support our educational programs and scholarly endeavors while fostering a sense of community in which student actitivites are supported, accomplishments are celebrated, and practitioners are engaged.

Our Mission

The Mission of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering is to educate our students and prepare them for careers in which they can contribute positively to the design, construction, maintenance and advancement of civil infrastructure systems critical to the quality of life in a changing world.

We do this by providing students with the skills and tools necessary to understand the physical world, to apply this understanding to current and future needs of society, and to responsibly and ethically address the impacts that engineered systems can have on a community and its environment. As part of this process, the Department's faculty and students will advance the state of knowledge of the discipline through research, industrial collaboration, publication, and relevant service to the profession and community.

Contact Us

Chair: Aria Amirbahman
Vice Chair: Tonya Nilsson
Department Manager: Kendra Gonzalez

Department of Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053

Sobrato Discovery, Bldg. 402

(408) 554-4061