A Comparison of the Civil Engineering Curriculum at the University of Florida and the Catholic University of the North, Chile

摘要

This paper compares the curriculum of the civil engineering undergraduate courses offered by both the University of Florida (UF) and the Catholic University of the North (UCN). The main differences are related to the duration of the programs. The civil engineering undergraduate courses at the UF have a duration of 4 years, whereas at the UCN, more than 7 years are required to complete the undergraduate courses. Even though the content of the courses offered by both universities are similar, the type of classes and the number of courses in each one indicate that students at the UCN receive more that the double of class hours than students at the UF. This situation is strongly influenced by the fact that the UCN, unlike UF, issues the license for working as a professional engineering. On the other hand, the curriculum of the civil engineering undergraduate courses at the UF is significantly more flexible than the UCN curriculum; however several things can be learnt from each other to enrich the civil engineering curriculum in both universities.