Question 1

What is a civil engineering degree?

Accepted Answer

A civil engineering degree will teach you how to plan, design, construct, manage and maintain infrastructure in the built environment.

You’ll learn about areas such as transportation, water, construction, road design and geotechnical engineering. Your civil engineering course may also give you the opportunity to gain vital industry experience through an internship or placement.

Question 2

What do you learn in a civil engineering degree?

Accepted Answer

Your civil engineering degree will give you all the technical and professional skills needed to start your career as a civil engineer.

You may learn how to:

Design infrastructure such as buildings, bridges, airports, and tunnels.
Ensure structures stand up to environmental conditions and natural disasters.
Plan transport systems that meet the needs of future populations.
Design sustainable water systems and manage flood waters.
Analyse geomaterials in building sites, landfills, and dams.
Apply complex maths and physics to real-world projects.
Increase infrastructure sustainability to adapt to a changing climate.

Question 3

What ATAR do you need for civil engineering?

Accepted Answer

A typical civil engineering ATAR is around 70 to 80, but this depends on your exact course and institution.

You can start some engineering courses through Open Universities Australia without an ATAR score, such as the Diploma of Engineering Infrastructure. We let you get in through what’s called open enrolment subjects. Once you successfully pass those subjects, you can transition into the full qualification.

Chat with our student advisors to learn more about this.

Question 4

Why should I study civil engineering?

Accepted Answer

Civil engineers offer crucial expertise that benefits all of us. It’s a rewarding career path as you’ll see the real-world results of your work designing better infrastructure and systems in our built environment. You may also come up with novel solutions to tackle key problems like climate change and population growth.

Civil engineers are also in very high demand in Australia. It’s currently the discipline of engineering that’s most sought after, so you’ll likely have no trouble landing a job in the industry.

Question 5

Why should I study a civil engineering degree online?

Accepted Answer

Studying a civil engineering degree online gives you control and flexibility. You’ll be able to study where and when you want and make your course work for you.

Question 6

Why should I study online through Open Universities Australia?

Accepted Answer

There are a lot of reasons to study your course online through us.

You can enrol without entry requirements
We have a unique open-door policy that makes it possible for everyone to enrol in university study, no matter their academic history. If you don’t meet the entry requirements for a degree, we’ll help you get in through single undergraduate subjects and transition into a qualification from there.
You have total control over how you study
Upskill without committing to a whole degree upfront. Or enrol in a full degree, but take it a subject at a time. We’ll introduce you to flexible study options you didn’t even know about, so you can fit uni around what matters to you.
You’ll graduate with the same qualification as an on-campus student
Once you enrol through us, you’ll study online with the university that provides your degree. This means that when you complete your qualification, you’ll graduate with the same degree as on-campus students.
We’ll help you navigate the university world
Our friendly student advisors will be your guide every step of the enrolment journey. They'll help you compare universities, choose a course, provide documentation and understand your finance options.

Question 7

Is civil engineering hard?

Accepted Answer

Civil engineering is a complex yet rewarding discipline that relies on an understanding of areas such as maths and physics as well as creative problem-solving abilities. You’ll develop these skills in your civil engineering degree.

Question 8

What jobs can you get with a civil engineering degree?

Accepted Answer

Civil engineer
Civil engineering draftsperson
Project and site engineer
Construction manager
Engineering consultant
Environmental engineer
Soil scientist
Transport engineer
Structural engineer

Question 9

How do I know if I’m eligible to apply for a course?

Accepted Answer

Before starting an enrolment, it’s important to read the entry requirements for your chosen course to ensure that you’re eligible to apply. If you don’t quite meet the requirements, we may be able to help you find a pathway into your course through open-entry subjects, which anyone can study.

Chat with us to find out more.

Question 10

How do I enrol?

Accepted Answer

Here at Open Universities Australia, we make enrolling online as straightforward as possible. To get started, find the course for you by browsing the options on this page. You can also compare different qualifications using our handy comparison tool, or request help from one of our student advisors.

When you’ve made your choice, click ‘Apply now’ on the relevant course page and follow the prompts to begin your enrolment. We’ll ask you to supply some supporting documentation, including proof of your identity, your tax file number, and a unique student identifier (USI) during this process.

Your university will get in touch with you via email to confirm whether or not your application has been successful.

Please note that enquiries and applications for some courses are handled directly by the university. If this is the case, it will be indicated on the course listing page.

For more information about enrolment, read our online self-service enrolling instructions. If you get stuck at any time, contact us and we’ll talk you through it.

Civil engineering courses

Introduction to Civil engineering