BEng Civil Engineering

Today, nearly all civil engineering structures require drawings or “Blueprints” to specify their detailed design.  They can be generated either by hand in pencil or on computer with colourful printout. The purpose, however, is the same: to provide a visual and geometrically accurate description of the intended design structure and to guide its construction. Showing and presenting these engineering design, calculation and result to professional and non-professional audiences effectively is a fundamental skill and requirement for a civil engineering graduate.  As a first step, the unit is to teach students how to use drawing, modelling, calculation and organisational tools (by use of software) to format it prior to presentation. The module consists of three parts as shown in the syllabus.

This course is designed to develop an understanding and practical skill of engineering sketching, Building Information Modelling (BIM), Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) and design calculation in the field of civil engineering. The aims  are

• To enable students to develop an architectural and structural model and to provide them with an opportunity to learn about design sketching by hand;
• To develop students’ ability to produce BIM and dimensioned CAD in 2D and 3D using Autodesk Revit;
• To help students to learn an engineering editable programming such as Matlab, with emphasis on an ability to solve practical mathematics-related engineering problems using the commercial software.

To stimulate students’ interest and desire of the need for continuing professional development.

 Part 1  Sketching - Dr M Simmons (2 weeks, 2 lecture hrs +2 hrs workshop )

• Site note taking and freehand sketching (structural connection details)
• Construction of freehand isometric views
• Sketch and drawing presentation, layout, text, dimensions, notes and labels 

Students will develop their hand sketching skill by undertaking 2 tutorials and 1 exercise.

Part 2  BIM and CAD – Dr Mojgan Hadi Mosleh (5 weeks, 5 lecture hrs +7.5 hrs tutorial)

This part will be delivered by 5 - one-hour lecture sessions following by at least one and a half hours tutorial and demonstration each in computer cluster, including

• Setting up a modelling and drawing project
• Placing structural elements
• Creating plans, sections (2D) and 3D views
• Inserting dimensions and annotations

Students should be able to use Revit to create 3D views and sheets by doing two pieces of coursework: ‘Design of steel frame structures’ and ‘Personalized House’.

Part 3 Matlab—Dr Jack Wu (5 weeks, 5 lecture hrs +7.5 hrs tutorial)

Similar to the delivery of BIM and CAD, 5 – one-hour lecture sessions following by one to one and a half hours tutorial and demonstration each in computer cluster are planned. The main contents are

• Matlab Basic
• Variable and Array (Vector and Matrix) operation
• Plotting and Polynomials
• Loops and conditional structures
• Function and Programming

The students should have acquired fundamental skill to run the software Matlab primarily and be able to program /edit /solve simple numerical calculation problems in civil engineering after the completion of a number of exercises, coursework and tutorials.

Sketching - 20%

BIM and CAD - 40%

Computation and VBA - 40%

Computation - Feedback is within two weeks or earlier

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2027 will be £10,050 per annum. Tuition fees for international students will be £37,500 per annum.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

There is acompulsory field course for Civil Engineering students which incurs a subsidised fee* (approx. £100) that contributes to travel, accommodation, and subsistence. You are expected to bring your own wet weather clothing and footwear.

The exact cost and dates of the trip are confirmed at the start of your second year.

*In accordance with current university policy, this fee is restricted to be not more than 1% of the annual tuition fee of the course.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

The University of Manchester is committed to attracting and supporting the very best students. We have a focus on nurturing talent and ability and we want to make sure that you have the opportunity to study here, regardless of your financial circumstances.

For further information about scholarships and bursaries, please see our undergraduate fees pages or visitour scholarships and bursaries page.