University of Cape Town: Department of Civil Engineering

General information

The Department of Civil Engineering currently has an establishment of 14 permanent full-time academic positions, supported by a dedicated complement of 16 technical, administrative and secretarial staff. It offers a four-year BSc (Civil Engineering) degree programme and several taught postgraduate programmes, as well as supervised research studies leading to Masters and Doctoral degrees of the University of Cape Town. The Department currently has an enrolment of about 400 undergraduate students and 60 postgraduates.

Postgraduate teaching and research is conducted within the framework of well-established research groups in the areas of Structural Engineering and Mechanics, Geotechnical Engineering, Concrete Materials and Technology, Hydraulic Engineering, Water Quality and Water Engineering, Urban Engineering and Management, Transport Studies and GIS. Members of staff also interact with research groups in other departments, such as the Centre for Research in Computational and Applied Mechanics (CERECAM). The Department has fruitful collaborative links with several local and overseas universities, and with local industry. Much of the work done by members of staff finds application in industry.

The high quality of the research undertaken by the Department is evidenced by the considerable number of peer-reviewed publications in ISI-accredited international journals produced by members of staff annually, and the international recognition that members of staff enjoy in their areas of research. Members actively participate on the committees of local professional bodies, provide expert advice to industry, and serve on the editorial and advisory boards of various international journals and conferences.