University of Canterbury Department of Civil and Natural Resources ...

Message from the Head of Department
Welcome to the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering.
The Department, which has existed as the Department of Civil Engineering since
about 1930, has recently changed its name to the Department of Civil and Natural
Resources Engineering. The new name reflects the fact that we offer two BE
(Hons) programmes, one in Civil Engineering (this has been offered at the
University of Canterbury since 1888) and one in Natural Resources Engineering
(this started in 1967 as Agricultural Engineering, and became the responsibility of
the Department in 2004, when Lincoln University withdrew its support).
The Department has a long history of educating Professional Engineers to a high
standard, with the BE (Civil) degree being the first degree outside the United
Kingdom to be accepted by the UK Institution of Civil Engineers as meeting their
academic requirements for a Professional Engineer.
Both the Civil and Natural Resources programmes have recently been re-accredited
by the NZ Institution of Professional Engineers, and this means that the two degrees
are recognised internationally, so you can (once you have completed either degree)
practise as a Professional Engineer around the world. The degree programmes must
ensure students achieve an appropriate standard in certain topics, otherwise they
will lose accreditation. Hence, all topics in the programmes are important and
relevant to the education of Professional Engineers.
The demand for our graduates is very high and is expected to remain high for the
foreseeable future. Our graduates work in a very wide range of ‘practice areas’,
including Civil, Transport, Structural, Waste/Water, Environmental/Ecological,
Geotechnical and Fire. There are plenty of opportunities, challenges and rewards in
all these areas; none is inherently more challenging, exciting, rewarding or ‘highstatus’
than the others.
Both BE (Hons) programmes are designed to provide you with a good
understanding of a wide range of topic areas; indeed, the most common ‘practice
area’ for our graduates is Civil, which involves a wide range of activities. You will
be able to specialise to a limited extent during the BE (Hons), and you will be able
to choose courses related to the particular practice area that appeals to you. If you
wish to become a real specialist in any area, you will need to undertake
postgraduate study, and the Department already has a number of specialist Masters
programmes (with others under development) and a PhD programme. We look
forward to seeing a substantial proportion of you returning for postgraduate studies.
Finally, I hope your studies go well, but remember that what you learn depends to a
considerable extent upon the effort that you make.
Alan Nicholson
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