Civil Engineering is the oldest degree granting engineering program at Cooper Union, with a rich history of over one hundred years. The department maintains small class and laboratory enrollment to provide for personal attention. Approximately 25 students are admitted by the department in the undergraduate program. The department also offers a master's degree.

Civil Engineering graduates are recruited regularly by companies nationwide. Alumni are found in the top management and research leadership of many American corporations; hold key positions in federal, state and city agencies and distinguish themselves on university faculties and administrations nationwide. Through their many and varied professional accomplishments, alumni have earned for the department and the school their reputation for excellence.

The Civil Engineering degree program is designed to allow students to enter the profession immediately after graduation or to pursue graduate study. The integrated master's program offers the opportunity to earn both a bachelor's and a master's degree in five years. An extraordinary number of our Civil Engineering graduates have gone on to earn Ph.D. degrees at the nation's most prestigious graduate schools.

Like Cooper Union's other schools, the Albert Nerken School of Engineering is intimately involved with the New York metropolitan area. The school draws on the region's abundant talent and resources, including the outstanding array of engineers and scientists employed at major corporations, governmental agencies and consulting firms in the New York region. The school also calls on physicians, lawyers and other specialists to give unique insights into contemporary problems and social issues confronting modern engineers.

Students benefit from close contact with faculty and the school's devoted alumni, who delight in sharing their experiences and insights with students and in serving as role models. Many undergraduate students also work on significant research projects with faculty, an unusual feature in most undergraduate programs.

The Civil Engineering program at Cooper Union is constantly evolving to respond to societal challenges. For example, following September 11, 2001, the department developed a new interdisciplinary elective course on urban security which is now one of the most popular electives in the School of Engineering. Similarly, following the recent devastation caused in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, several student projects have researched and devised effective, low-cost plans that include both design and strategic positioning of protection barriers, floodgates and floodwalls to prevent floodwaters from entering coastal cities.