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Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge

The Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge is a body of knowledge, set forth in a proposal by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) entitled Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st century. This proposal seeks to identify and implement improvements to the education and licensure process for civil engineers in the United States of America. The proposal is intended to increase occupational closure by increasing the requirements to become a licensed engineer. Some have identified this joint effort with the Raising the Bar as not necessary.[1]

In the area of faculty development, the Conference recommended requiring technical competence, project management, practical experience, communication skills and leadership ability for program faculty.

[14]

For Communication skills, the recommendations were to invite industry speakers to emphasize the importance of communication skills, students engineering communications portfolio to display their skills.

[14]

For Project Management which the Conference defined as a function performed on a specific project in which an organization has defined responsibilities and can be composed of a variety of tasks in the "... planning, design, construction, and operation and maintenance phases of a constructed facility...", work with interested faculty to get appropriate training as well as for the civil engineering profession to develop additional educational materials as one of the barriers to success on this item was a lack of suitable instruction materials. Specifically, participants suggested tasking ASCE's Engineering Management Division to develop instructional materials for separate engineering management coursework or individual instructional modules for technical competencies.[14]

[14]

In the area of integrated and interdisciplinary curriculum systems or , recommendations in part were to "develop and disseminate a database of case ...(studies)...";[14] encourage ASCE's practitioner members to become more engaged in the educational process; ASCE and NSF should develop and promote teaching models and workshops to foster educator-practitioner partnerships.[14]

Project-Based Learning

As to Practitioner Participation in Education, the conference recommended that practitioners serving on department advisory committees and assist in the development of learning outcomes for instruction programs, practitioners to serve as sources of case study data materials and analysis, promote educator and practitioner-in-residence programs with possible CEU credits, support co-op and internship opportunities.

[14]

With respect to Pre-professional and Professional Degrees, the Conference recommended delineating engineering education from the education curricula.[14]

engineering technology

Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge (CEBoK)[edit]

ASCE recognized in the 1999 Committee's work that a body of specialized knowledge was required for the practice of civil engineering.[16] This body of professional knowledge had four components: a technical and non-technical core knowledge elements, technical knowledge electives, and technical and non-technical learning to support an individual's career objectives.[16] Creating a body of knowledge for the civil engineering profession was as complicated as any mega-project a civil engineer might attempt.[22][2]

Content the BOK[edit]

The body of knowledge defines twenty-four outcomes that make up the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to practice civil engineering. The outcomes are divided into three categories: foundational, technical, and professional, foundation, technical and professional. The body of knowledge uses Bloom's Taxonomy to outline the necessary level of achievement for each of the twenty-four outcomes.

Implementation status[edit]

ASCE has formed the BOK Educational Fulfillment Committee (BOKEdFC) to focus on self-proposed changes that the professional organization believes needs to be made to engineering education. This committee is composed of representatives from universities with four-year civil engineering programs.[24]


NCEES considered the implementation of the BOK at their 2008 annual meeting and decided to establish a task force. The task force is provide an analysis of "(1) the potential educational, professional, regulatory, and economic impact of the master's or equivalent; and (2) any alternative solutions besides the master's or equivalent that could potentially address the challenge of better preparing engineering licensure candidates to enter the profession."[25]


In 2008, Nebraska became the first to consider legislation requiring college-level education beyond the bachelor's degree as a requirement for a professional engineering license.[26] The legislation was not enacted, in part to testimony from engineering associations. The Nebraska section of the American Council of Engineering Companies stated that the new requirement might have made it more difficult for companies located in their state to hire and keep entry-level engineers.[27]

ASCE Task Committee to Plan Conference on Civil Engineering Research Needs, 1988. Civil Engineering in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Challenge for the Profession, ASCE, Reston, VA.

ASCE Body of Knowledge Committee, 2004. Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century, 1st edition, ASCE, Reston, VA.

The Body of Knowledge Committee of the Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice (BOK Committee); (2008), Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st century: Preparing the Civil Engineer for the Future (Second ed.), Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers, ISBN 978-0-7844-0965-7, retrieved June 9, 2008

American Society of Civil Engineers

(April 24, 2007). "Academic Prerequisites for Licensure and Professional Practice, ASCE Policy Statement 465". Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.

American Society of Civil Engineers

. web. ASCE.

"Official site for ASCE- CE Body of Knowledge"

Birnberg, H., 2002. "Forecast 2000/2001 and Beyond," Engineering Times, NSPE, Vol. 22, No. 3, March.

Report of the task committee on the first professional degree to the executive committee of the board of direction, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2001.

Engineering the Future of Civil Engineering

American Society of Engineers.

Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st century, Second Edition

which identifies the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for workers to perform successfully in the field of engineering.

The Engineering Competency Model