UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
The civil engineering graduates from the University of the Philippines represent only about 1% to 2% of all the civil engineering graduates in the country. Thus the Department's products must be characterized as being special and set apart from the run-of-the-mill graduate. The thrust of the Department's undergraduate offerings is consistent with its mission statement. A civil engineering graduate is expected to be a generalists with working knowledge of all aspects of civil engineering with a little deeper background in his chosen field. this additional background is obtained through the mechanism of taking elective subjects -- two civil engineering subjects in his chosen field and one free elective.
Admission to the B.S. Civil Engineering (Code: 4079) program requires qualifying in the U.P. College Admission Test ( UPCAT ). It is a quota program and can accommodate 140 students yearly.
Student EnrollmentThe total (first to fifth year) undergraduate enrollment per semester of the Department of Civil Engineering average about 270 students a year.
The student enrollment data is primarily linked to the history of new freshmen entering the program. Notwithstanding the Department's having doubled its quota from 35 to 70 then to 85, the average number of Civil Engineering freshmen entering the college has remained at about 50 per year. The quota for BSCE was further increased to 135 during the first semester AY 1994-95.
Student QualityThe data on student performance has not been completely analyzed, although it is estimated that 70% to 75% of the new freshmen ultimately finish the program. For those who do not finish, the assessment is that some of these students have no aptitude for engineering but were admitted into the civil engineering program by dint of their having indicated civil engineering as their choice and having obtained a high enough score in the UPCAT to fit into the quota.
GRADUATE PROGRAMSThe applicant to a graduate program of civil engineering must be a holder of a B.S or M.S. degree in Civil Engineering or its celebrated fields from a recognized institution of higher learning. Main requirements include transcript of records and accomplished recommendation forms by two references (professors or experts in the field). Students are accepted to the water resources programs (MSWR and DWR) every 2 years (even years).
In addition to administering the Master of Science in Civil Engineering Degree program, the Department also administers certain programs jointly with the National Engineering Center. Graduate programs are currently available in five fields of civil engineering as follows:
Student Data
In terms of enrollment, the average number of graduate students enrolled per semester is about 85.
The MSCE program accepts new students every semester. The number of new students vary considerably but average about 35 and 20 for the first and second semester, respectively.
One significant aspect derivable from the data is the relatively large percentage ( about one- third) of new students to the total enrollment per semester. It should also be noted that the average number of MSCE graduates per year is only about six (6). Thus, on the average, only about 10 percent of the batch of new students per year finish the program.
With the low graduation rate experienced, a more effective procedure for screening and admitting graduate students is proposed to be studied, devised and implemented.
At the graduate level, it has been noted that although many students are intellectually superior, their undergraduate preparation is such that they can be brought only so far, rather than what could have been possible had they had the preparation UP students have.
Further, it should also be stated that a great majority of the graduate students are employed and classified as part-time students. Frequently, changes in their work load, schedule, or assignment disrupt their academic pursuits.