Skip navigation
Civil Engineering at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

2024 - 20252025 - 2026
Apply

There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

University of Portsmouth has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview Learn to design, construct, operate and maintain infrastructure that supports everything from buildings, transportation, and flood defences to providing safe drinking water and sanitation. Study this accredited Civil Engineering degree in the city that gave the world Isambard Kingdom Brunel and step into a career that could shape the world. Course highlights

  • Study practical diving and underwater engineering and infrastructure, due to our coastal location, and get a recognised PADI diving qualification
  • Visit constructions sites across the city, such as the new Ravelin Sports Centre or the upcoming Southsea Coastal Scheme
  • Explore soil types and rock formations on visits to the Isle of Wight and take a field trip to the National Construction College
  • Enter a global design competition, run by Engineers Without Borders
  • Learn from industry specialists – recent guest speakers have come from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Atkins, Portsmouth Water, Mott MacDonald, Portsmouth City Council, Colas and WSP
Accreditation This course is accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Institute of Highway Engineers. The BEng meets in full the academic requirement for Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and in part the academic requirement for Chartered Engineer (CEng). The MEng meets in full the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng). Careers and opportunities All civil engineering roles are listed in the UK Government’s 'skills shortage list' and you can expect an average salary from £30,000 up to £70,000. In fact, 95% of our BEng graduates and 90% of our MEng course graduates are in work or further study 15 months after they graduate and 100% of those MEng graduates are in highly skilled work – which means the skills you’ll learn on our course are in high demand. 80% of those graduates work as engineering professionals. What’s more, 100% of our graduates find their work meaningful. So start making a difference, and be rewarded well for it. Graduate destinations Our graduates have worked for companies such as:
  • Sir Robert McAlpine – a civil engineering company that’s contributed to the construction of the NHS Nightingale Hospitals and the expansion of the Royal Albert Hall
  • Skanska – a recent project, Haymarket Edinburgh, provides more than 380,000 sq. ft designed to benefit the local residential and business community
  • Multiplex Construction Europe – with offices in Australia, the Middle East, United Kingdom and Canada, this company has completed more than 1,000 projects globally
  • Balfour Beatty – a leading international infrastructure group developing projects from the UK to the United States and Hong Kong
  • Gallagher Group – a UK company delivering civil engineering contracts ranging in value from £100,000 to £15 million
What jobs can you do with a civil engineering degree? Roles you could go into include:
  • materials engineer
  • geotechnical engineer
  • civil engineer
  • construction manager
  • transport planner
  • structural engineer
Our Careers and Employability service can help you find a job that puts your skills to work in the industry. You can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career. "The placement furthered my skills in problem-solving, communication, time management, teamwork and individual initiatives." - Thomas Glenn, Civil Enginering Student

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Construction Management & Practice (20 credits)
  • Engineering Analysis (20 credits)
  • Professional Development 1 (20 credits)
  • Soils & Materials 1 (20 credits)
  • Understanding Structures (20 credits)
  • Water & Environmental Engineering (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in this year include:
  • Behaviour of Structures (20 credits)
  • Design of Structural Elements (20 credits)
  • Numerical Skills & Economics (20 credits)
  • Professional Development 2 (20 credits)
  • Soils and Materials 2 (20 credits)
Optional modules on this year currently include:
  • Building Information Modelling (20 credits)
  • Energy Resources & Infrastructure (20 credits)
  • Fieldwork for Construction (20 credits)
  • Heritage Property (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Project Management Principles (20 credits)
Year 3 Core modules in this year include:
  • Design of Structures (20 credits)
  • MEng Individual Research Project (40 credits)
  • Soils and Materials 3 (20 credits)
  • Transportation Engineering (20 credits)
  • Water Infrastructure (20 credits)
Year 4 Core modules in this year include:
  • Advanced Engineering Science (20 credits)
  • Environmental Management (20 credits)
  • Integrated Design Project (60 credits)
  • Tools, Techniques and Processes of Project Management (20 credits)
Placement year (optional): After your second or third year, you can take a salaried placement year working in the industry, gaining valuable experience, and putting your studies to the test. Previous students have taken placements at large-scale building organisations such as: Fluor, Kier, Portsmouth Water, WSP, AECOM, Mott MacDonald, Ramboll. We’ll help you secure a placement that fits your workplace ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support to get the most out of the year. We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment method

You’ll be assessed through:

  • written exams
  • web assessments
  • essays and reports
  • project presentations
  • a dissertation
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future. The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:
  • Year 1 students: 68% by written exams, 4% by practical exams and 28% by coursework
  • Year 2 students: 63% by written exams, 4% by practical exams and 33% by coursework
  • Year 3 students: 30% by written exams, 8% by practical exams and 62% by coursework
- Year 4 students: 13% by written exams, 43% by practical exams and 44% by coursework

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • The Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation
  • Highway Engineers, Institute of (IHE)
  • Civil Engineers, Institution of
  • Structural Engineers, Institution of

How to apply

31Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
PTE Academic54An overall score of 54 with a minimum of 51 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
90%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
90%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £9250 Year 1
England £9250 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9250 Year 1
Scotland £9250 Year 1
Wales £9250 Year 1
Channel Islands £9250 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9250 Year 1
International £19200 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad: UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,385 EU – £1,385 (including Transition Scholarship)| International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. Fees may also go up in later years, in line with inflation. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/ug-tuition-fees
Civil Engineering at University of Portsmouth - UCAS