NUI Galway Civil Engineering 2.67

Since its foundation in 1849, the National University of Ireland, Galway has served as a center of excellence for teaching and research in Civil Engineering, equipping thousands of graduates with the skills needed to contribute significantly to the profession all over the world. Today, 4-year undergraduate honours B.E. degree programs are offered in (i) Civil Engineering and (ii) Environmental Engineering, in addition to a 4-year B.Sc. degree in Project and Construction Management, There are also a generous range of postgraduate research opportunities on offer. The B.E. degree at NUI Galway is accredited by Engineers Ireland and is internationally recognized by professional institutions under the Washington Accord. A new interdisciplinary B.E. degree in Energy Systems Engineering was launched in 2009, and exposes students to exciting and innovative applications in energy within Civil Engineering and other Engineering disciplines.

There are currently 13 academic, 6 technical and 2 administrative staff members in Civil Engineering serving almost 400-450 undergraduate and in excess of 50 postgraduate research students; up to 20% of these students are female. In 2011, all Engineering units relocated to a new state-of-the-art 14,100 sq.m building costing almost €45m (facebook page). ARUP, who are the structure engineering consultants on this project, produced a video entitled 'Engineers are Cool', which prospective students might like to view.

Research activities span a broad spectrum of Civil Engineering subjects, which include (but are not limited to) concrete, steel and timber structures, wind engineering, environmental engineering, highway engineering, geotechnics, earthquake engineering, building energy management, offshore and coastal engineering, construction management, advanced materials and computational mechanics. This topical and strategic research is funded by industrial partners and several national and international funding agencies, including the European Union (EU). Some of the research is interdisciplinary and is aligned with the University's major research themes; for example, some academic staff work within research institutes such as the Ryan Institute for Environment, Marine and Energy and the Energy Research Centre.