3_junior.qmd

# Junior Year
The learning outcomes for this year are for students to: 

  1. Obtain a broad competence in multiple disciplines of civil engineering. 
  1. Prepare for technical and design electives, as well as a Capstone experience. 


## CE Breadth Core {#sec-breadth}
::: {.callout-note}
## Proposed Change
Require students to complete four of six discipline area classes, instead of all six courses. In other words, students
will complete 12 credit hours from the following courses:

  - CCE 304 / CCE 306: Materials (1.5/1.5)
  - CE 321: Structural Analysis (3)
  - CE 331: Hydrology (3)
  - CE 341: Soils (3)
  - CE 351: Environmental Engineering (3)
  - CE 361: Transportation Engineering (3)
:::

Civil engineers must be trained to solve problems in multiple discipline areas.
The [ABET criteria for civil engineering programs](https://www.abet.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022-23-EAC-Criteria.pdf) (p. 24) states:

>  The curriculum must prepare graduates to analyze and solve problems in at least four technical areas appropriate to civil engineering

The [ASCE commentary](https://www.asce.org/-/media/asce-images-and-files/career-and-growth/educators/civil-engineering-program-commentary-eac.pdf) (p. 11) on this criterion 
in part states:

> In response to emerging societal needs, civil engineering programs may need to develop non-standard technical areas. These breadth areas should be supported by constituent and stakeholder feedback, and connected to the Program Educational Objectives.

In our program, we have historically met this requirement with introductory discpline
area classes at the 300-level. The requirement to take all courses is
unnecessarily constraining to both the students and our program, however.

First, students who investigate the civil engineering major because it houses a
discipline they have interest in are often deterred by the abundance of
seemingly irrelevant courses. For example, students interested in urban
transport or environmental mitigation look at our existing program and have the
impression that it is a structural engineering degree with two or three elective
courses relevant to their interests. These students --- often women and minorities --- have 
frequently left or considered leaving our major to study mathematics,
geology, geography, or plant and wildlife science instead of civil engineering. 
We believe that our discipline is poorer for losing their perspective.

Second, as new discipline classes are proposed (e.g., construction engineering,
engineering data science, etc.), they require our faculty to reconsider anew 
where they will fit into our program. This proposed change sets the stage for
sustainable flexibility in our core offerings as the disciplines of civil engineering
evolve.

We anticipate some growing pains and objections to this proposal. These objections are
reasonable, but we hope we can address them in the following ways

  - *How will students know that they don't want to do $X$ if they have never had a class in $X$?*
    We intend that the proposed changes to CCE 102 (@sec-sustainability) will help students see the purpose of each discipline
    in improving the quality of life for God's children on His earth, and that improvements to CCE 270 (@sec-ce270) will give meaningful exposure
    to questions and methods in all discipline areas, before students choose which junior core classes to pursue.
  - *Won't students just take the courses that are easiest / the courses that their friends are taking?* This is a real possibility, but
    we believe that students must be accountable for their own intellectual development.  We believe that the 
    quality of course instruction will improve when the participating students
    have invested their agency in selecting courses.
  - *Can you call yourself a civil engineer if you haven't had a class in $X$?* BYU would
    be far from the first university to not require specific discipline area classes in a 
    civil engineering degree. At least [Georgia Tech](https://catalog.gatech.edu/programs/civil-engineering-standard-bs/), [Texas A&M](https://engineering.tamu.edu/civil/academics/degrees/undergraduate/bachelor-of-science-civil-engineering.html), and [UC Davis](https://catalog.ucdavis.edu/departments-programs-degrees/civil-environmental-engineering/civil-engineering-bs/#requirementstext) 
    have degree programs without specific discipline area course requirements.
  - *Will this have any ABET ramifications?* For civil engineering breadth, we are 
    in good shape by requiring four discipline area classes. There is an additional
    requirement that students "conduct experiments in at least two discipline areas." To
    ensure that this requirement is met for all students, we will need to ask that at least 
    four 300 level classes include an "experiment."
  - *Will our students still pass the FE?* It is possible that depending on the courses students
    select and the specific makeup of their exams, students may encounter more or fewer problems that
    they are directly trained to solve. We anticipate that the FE review course will still be valuable.
  - *Won't many of our students just want a well-rounded, all areas civil engineering degree?* The 
    hope is that this proposal will allow students to choose for themselves what they would like to 
    achieve in their education. Any 300-level courses beyond the four course breadth requirement 
    would count as CCE technical electives, thus a student who wanted to take all discipline
    area classes for additional FE or career preparation could still do so. (see the student story in @fig-john). 

## CCE 331: Hydrology (Introduction to Water Resources)
::: {.callout-note}
## Proposed Change
Convert CE 431: Hydrology into a 300-level junior core class.
:::

Moving fluid mechanics to a sophomore-level mechanics class leaves the water resources group
without a clear discipline area introduction class. We believe that the existing CE 431 course works
better as an introductory discipline area class than as a design elective, and moving it
to the 300 level is appropriate.

## Social Science Elective {#sec-socialsci}

::: {.callout-important}
## University Foundations
The new UNIV 100: BYU Foundations course will replace one GE class of the student's choice
between Arts, Letters, Social Science, and Civilizations 1 or 2. We recommend not specifying
a particular social science elective list for CE students and allow them to choose which GE course they
would like to substitute.
:::

::: {.callout-note}
## Proposed Change
Allow students to select a course for the Social Science University Core that most interests them.
:::

Eliminating CCE 231 will necessitate that our students take a course that meets
the social science requirements for the University Core. This also helps accomodate students who may have 
taken an appropriate GE class before entering the major. While any appropriate course could fill
this box, we might informally recommended a list to students including: 

  - [GEOG 110](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/11202-001)  Landscapes of Disaster: An Introduction to Natural Hazards
  - [EXSC 221](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/12452-000) Science of Wellness 
  - [ANTHR 101](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/00300-007)  Social/Cultural Anthropology 
  - [ECON 110](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/01567-001)  Econ Principles & Problems 
  - [HONRS 226](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/13637-000) Unexpected Connections: Soc Sci-Ltrs 
  - [PSYCH 111](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/04804-015) Psychological Science 
  - [SOC 112](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/05145-008) Current Social Problems 


## Life Science Elective {#sec-lifesci}
::: {.callout-note}
## Proposed Change
Require students to select a biological science University Core course from a list. 
:::
ABET requires classes in “calculus-based physics, college-level chemistry, and
one additional area of basic science.” Historically, this requirement has been
met with PHYSCS 121, CHEM 105, and GEOL 330. But the University Core requires a
course in biological science, which we represent on the present flowchart with
Biology 100. We propose to use this course as the “one additional area of basic
science” required by ABET, thus allowing students to take a second course in
Physics or Chemistry later in the program (see @sec-advancedsci). Courses that could be used to fill
this requirement include: 

  - [BIO 100](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/00099-018) - Principles of Biology 
  - [CELL 120](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/09617-005) - Science of Biology 
  - [HONRS 220](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/12423-001) - Unexpected Connections: Biol-Letters 
  - [MMBIO 121](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/12571-000) - Gen Biology: Health & Disease 
  - [PWS 150](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/09388-001) - Environmental Biology 


## Advanced Math or Science Elective {#sec-advancedsci}
::: {.callout-note}
## Proposed Change
Require an advanced math or science class from a list; GEOL 330 is no longer required for all students. 
:::

Many civil engineering students benefit from GEOL 330, but we believe that some students might
elect to take a different advanced math or science course if given a choice. This list might include:

  - [PHSCS 123](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/04555-007) - Intro to Waves, Optics, and Thermodynamics
  - [PHSCS 137](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/04546-009) - Energy, Climate, and the Environment
  - [PHSCS 220](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/04541-014) - Electricity and Magnetism
  - [CHEM 285](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/11429-000) - Introductory Bio-organic Chemistry
  - [CHEM 351](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/01031-022) - Organic Chemistry 1
  - [GEOL 330](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/02320-011) - Engineering Geology
  - [MATH 290](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/03605-008) - Fundamentals of Mathematics
  - [MATH 355](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/07426-000) - Graph Theory
  - [STAT 230](https://catalog.byu.edu/courses/11839-001) - Statistical Modeling 1

Additional courses from this list would also count for up to one CCE technical elective.