An engineering student pressing a lever on a machine

BEng (Hons) Available in Clearing

Civil Engineering

Specialise in the design and analysis of built environment projects, focusing on infrastructure.

Start date: September 2025
Location: Chelmsford
Duration: 3 years
UCAS course code: H202

Start date: September 2025
Location: Chelmsford
Duration: 4 years with foundation
UCAS course code: H207

Start date: September 2025
Location: Chelmsford
Duration: 4 years with placement
UCAS course code: H203

It's possible to study this course part-time. You'll take the same modules as BSc/BA (Hons) students, but sometimes in a different order or in different years.

As a part-time student you'll typically study for twice as long as full-time students; for example if the BSc/BA (Hons) course takes three years, you can expect to study over six years, though for some courses the part-time length may differ.

1st

in the East of England for undergraduates employed as managers, directors or senior officials.

Source: GOS 2025

With challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity, engineers have an important part to play in designing, planning and future-proofing our built environment - structures like bridges, roads, airports and flood defence.

You’ll learn to carry out site investigations and land surveys, select materials, analyse and design infrastructure and engineering systems and plan the construction process. There’s a strong focus on sustainability and understanding the environmental impact of your work. You’ll also become skilled at using computer-aided design and specialist software.

Outside of the lab, there’s the chance to join lectures given by guest speakers, and take part in two week-long construction projects.

Accredited by the JBM This degree is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators, comprising the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Institution of Structural Engineers, Institute of Highway Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) and the Permanent Way Institution on behalf of the Engineering Council, for the purposes of partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng).

Find out more about studying Civil Engineering at ARU in this short video

Why ARU?

You'll be immersed in an integrated learning environment designed to foster environmentally sustainable approaches
We intertwine in-class engineering theory, in-lab hands-on experience, and on-site practical construction activities throughout our course
Bring the world of work to life through Live Briefs, developed with regional employers to give you exposure to ‘real world’ problem-solving
Our course is developed by a dynamic collaboration of staff, students, and leading regional companies, meaning students on this course have maximum opportunity to gain critical skills for employment

Study at an award-winning university

We were named Times Higher Education University of the Year 2023. We've also been awarded a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework – a reflection of the outstanding education we offer our students.

Careers

You'll gain hands-on experience of drawing interpretation, project management, concrete pouring, steel frame erection and formwork fabrication. I really enjoyed the experience.

Nadanum, BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering graduate

Our course is project-based, working on real built environment projects, meaning you’ll be getting hands-on experience – learning to think and work like an engineer.

As it’s been developed with leading regional companies, you’ll have every opportunity to gain critical skills for employment.

Combine this course with a Further Learning course to register as a Chartered Engineer (CEng).

What can you do with a Civil Engineering degree?

Where have other Civil Engineering graduates worked?

How can ARU help with my employability and career development?

Teaching and modules

I'm passionate about empowering future engineers to shape sustainable infrastructure. Our hands-on programme connects you with industry, tackling real-world challenges from day one.

Binh Le, Course Director

As a student at ARU, you’ll work on practical projects from day one. We start with the feasibility stage of a built environment project: producing topographical surveys, investigating materials, and designing a structure.

You’ll learn mathematics for engineering, 2D drafting techniques and Building Information Modelling (BIM). You’ll also cover construction materials, structural analysis, hydraulic and geotechnical engineering and explore financial and legal considerations.

You’ll use your knowledge of structures, geotechnics and hydraulics to analyse a design project and suggest improvements that could be made from a technical, construction and environmental point of view.

We also visit construction sites, hear from guest speakers, and look at jobs available in engineering, design and construction.

Explore how our students discover the link between their design and the construction process within civil engineering.

What will I study?

Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location. If you have the choice of optional modules, these are indicated with a *.

Year 1

Feasibility and Flood Hydrology Project (30 credits)
Introduction to Engineering (15 credits)
Applied Engineering Mathematics (15 credits)
Structural Mechanics (15 credits)
Building Information Modelling for Civil Engineering (15 credits)
Materials, Design and Construction Project (30 credits)
Into ARU

Year 2

Structure and Construction Project (30 credits)
Sustainable Conceptual Design for Civil Engineering (30 credits)
Ruskin Module (15 credits)
Hydraulics (15 credits)
Advanced Engineering Mathematics (15 credits)
Structural Analysis (15 credits)

Year 3

Civil Engineering Design Project (30 credits)
Geotechnics and Nature-based Solutions Project (30 credits)
Research Methods and Individual Project (30 credits)
Structural Dynamics (15 credits)
Civil Engineering Materials and Manufacture (15 credits)

Module details

To prepare you for university study, you can take a foundation year at the start of this course. Find out more about foundation years.

Year 1

Foundation in Engineering, Computing and Technology

Module details

You can choose to take an optional placement year as part of this course. Placements typically happen in Year 3, and your course will take four years overall. Find out more about placement years.

Placement year

Work placement

Module details

It's possible to study this course part-time. You'll take the same modules as BSc/BA (Hons) students, but sometimes in a different order or in different years.

What happens on a foundation year?

What happens on a placement year?

Who teaches Civil Engineering at ARU?

Read profiles of teaching and research staff on this course.

Dr Shadi Ostovari
Senior Lecturer
Dr Maryam Imani
Associate Professor
Dr Yingang Du
Senior Lecturer, Civil Engineering; Course leader
Dr Cacin Wong
Lecturer
Dr Mariantonietta Morga
Senior Lecturer

Facilities

You’ll use our specialist engineering facilities in Chelmsford, which include labs for geotechnics, hydraulics, structures, engineering materials and concrete testing.

As well as getting hands-on experience in our labs, there’s the chance to join two week-long construction projects, carry out land surveys, use computer-aided design and specialist software, and make site visits.

You could also join our student-led Engineering Society.

Take a guided tour and meet our students.

Beam testing apparatus
Concrete compression machine
Flow channel and flume apparatus
Oedometers experiment and data logging
Shearbox test
Triaxial apparatus
Universal testing machine
Wind tunnel

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Entry requirements

UK students

Important additional notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

Other equivalent qualifications may be accepted for entry to this course; please email [email protected] for further information. Applicants to undergraduate courses can also check our information about undergraduate entry qualifications.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course.

We don't accept AS level qualifications on their own for entry to our undergraduate degree courses. However for some degree courses a small number of tariff points from AS levels are accepted as long as they're combined with tariff points from A levels or other equivalent level 3 qualifications in other subjects.

Important additional notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course.

Important additional notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course.

Important additional notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course.

International students

English language requirements

Contextual offers

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Fees and funding

UK students

£9,535 UK students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

If you're a UK student, you don't need the money to pay for university now.

If you accept an offer to study at university, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your course fees.

Both full-time and part-time students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan. Part-time students should be studying more than a quarter (25% intensity) of a full-time course each year.

You'll start repaying the loan in the April after you graduate.

If you start a course on or after 1 August 2023, you won't repay anything until you earn more than £25,000. This is called repayment Plan 5. At this point, you'll repay 9% on everything you earn over £25,000. After 40 years (from the April after graduation), all remaining debt is wiped.

If you started a course on or before 31 July 2023, you won't repay anything until you earn more than £27,295. This is called repayment Plan 2. At this point, you'll repay 9% on everything you earn over £27,295. After 30 years (from the April after graduation), all remaining debt is wiped.

For example for students who are on repayment Plan 5:

If you earn £25,500, you'll repay £45 a year or £3.75 a month
That's because £25,500 is £500 above the threshold, and 9% of £500 is £45.

What you repay depends on how much you earn after university. The more you earn, the more you pay back.

For more information about student loans, see our undergraduate student finance page.

This information also applies to:

Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals benefiting from citizens’ rights under the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement.

£9,535 UK students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

If you're a UK student, you don't need the money to pay for university now.

If you accept an offer to study at university, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your course fees.

Both full-time and part-time students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan. Part-time students should be studying more than a quarter (25% intensity) of a full-time course each year.

You'll start repaying the loan in the April after you graduate.

For example for students who are on repayment Plan 5:

If you earn £25,500, you'll repay £45 a year or £3.75 a month
That's because £25,500 is £500 above the threshold, and 9% of £500 is £45.

What you repay depends on how much you earn after university. The more you earn, the more you pay back.

For more information about student loans, see our undergraduate student finance page.

This information also applies to:

Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals benefiting from citizens’ rights under the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement.

£9,535 UK students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

If you're a UK student, you don't need the money to pay for university now.

If you accept an offer to study at university, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your course fees.

Both full-time and part-time students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan. Part-time students should be studying more than a quarter (25% intensity) of a full-time course each year.

You'll start repaying the loan in the April after you graduate.

For example for students who are on repayment Plan 5:

If you earn £25,500, you'll repay £45 a year or £3.75 a month
That's because £25,500 is £500 above the threshold, and 9% of £500 is £45.

What you repay depends on how much you earn after university. The more you earn, the more you pay back.

For more information about student loans, see our undergraduate student finance page.

This information also applies to:

Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals benefiting from citizens’ rights under the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement.

£4,767 UK students starting 2025/26 (part-time, per year)

Part-time course fees assume that you’re studying at half the rate of a full-time student (50% intensity, or 60 credits per year). Course fees will be different if you study over a longer period, or for more credits. All fees are for guidance purposes only. Your offer letter will contain full details of credits and fees, or you can contact us if you'd like more information.

If you're a UK student, you don't need the money to pay for university now.

If you accept an offer to study at university, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your course fees.

Both full-time and part-time students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan. Part-time students should be studying more than a quarter (25% intensity) of a full-time course each year.

You'll start repaying the loan in the April after you graduate.

For example for students who are on repayment Plan 5:

If you earn £25,500, you'll repay £45 a year or £3.75 a month
That's because £25,500 is £500 above the threshold, and 9% of £500 is £45.

What you repay depends on how much you earn after university. The more you earn, the more you pay back.

For more information about student loans, see our undergraduate student finance page.

This information also applies to:

Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals benefiting from citizens’ rights under the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement.

£8,750 International students starting 2025/26 (part-time, per year)

You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in two instalments. We will ask for a deposit of £4,000 or a sponsorship letter

Find out about paying your fees.

International students

£17,500 International students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in two instalments. We will ask for a deposit of £4,000 or a sponsorship letter

Find out about paying your fees.

£17,500 International students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in two instalments. We will ask for a deposit of £4,000 or a sponsorship letter

Find out about paying your fees.

£17,500 International students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in two instalments. We will ask for a deposit of £4,000 or a sponsorship letter

Find out about paying your fees.

Placement year fee

Living costs

Bursaries, sponsorship and working

Apply for Civil Engineering

Clearing places available

UK students, apply through Clearing for a September 2025 start

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Apply by phone

UK students, call our Clearing line

01245 686868

UK students

Apply through UCAS for 2026

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International students

Apply direct

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Part-time courses

Apply directly to ARU

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Civil Engineering

BEng (Hons)

With foundation year

With placement

5 years part-time

Careers

Teaching and modules

BEng (Hons)

With foundation year

With placement

5 years part-time

Facilities

Entry requirements

BEng (Hons)

Important additional notes

With foundation year

Important additional notes

With placement

Important additional notes

5 years part-time

Important additional notes

International students

English language requirements

Fees and funding

BEng (Hons)

With foundation year

With placement

5 years part-time

BEng (Hons)

With foundation year

With placement

Apply for Civil Engineering

Clearing places available

Apply by phone

01245 686868

UK students

International students

Part-time courses

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