Completion of the Civil or Environmental Engineering Bachelor of Science programs requires approval to enroll in upper division (300 and 400-level) courses. You may declare Civil Engineering or Environmental Engineering as your major at any time after enrolling at Portland State University, but may not enroll in upper division courses without approval.
Upper division approval takes place once a year in the spring, for a fall term start. We encourage you to request approval to the program when you are nearing the end of your lower division (100-200-level) required coursework. You should submit the Upper Division Approval Request Form by the deadline in the spring term immediately preceding the fall term in which they intend to start upper division coursework. Once approved, students are able to enroll in upper division coursework, which includes electives that allow them to customize their specialty within civil or environmental engineering.
Students majoring in Civil or Environmental Engineering approved to enroll in upper division courses may also participate in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Honors Track, separate from the University Honors College.
If you have any questions about the upper division program, contact your academic advisor.
If you are interested in earning a second bachelor's degree (postbaccalaureate) in Civil or Environmental Engineering, contact mailto:ceedept@pdx.edu.
Requirements for Upper Division Approval
If you meet the requirements listed below and submit the request form by the deadline are guaranteed approval to enroll in upper division coursework. Remaining spots will be offered if there is space available, with priority given based on selective GPA (defined below). Students who do not meet the selective GPA requirement or are missing required credits may be required to complete additional courses before being approved for upper division coursework.
- Admitted to PSU
- Completion (or have a plan to complete with spring and/or summer registrations) of the required lower division courses for Civil Engineering or Environmental Engineering with C or higher. We recommend students complete the following coursework before their junior year: CE 111, CE 112, CE 115
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.33 or higher (overall includes the PSU GPA + Transfer GPA)
- Selective GPA of 3.0 or higher (selective GPA is calculated using only the required courses for the Civil Engineering or Environmental Engineering major)
Review specific details for how selective GPA is calculated in the PSU Bulletin.
Timeline
Early January: Approval Request Form opens.
April 15: Deadline to submit the Upper Division Approval Request Form
Priority admission is given to students who apply by the April 15th deadline. Late applications will be accepted but may take longer to review.
Approval Notification
You will be notified of your approval decision via email in May. Approved students will have guaranteed access to required Civil or Environmental Engineering upper division courses.
If you are approved for upper division coursework but can no longer attend, contact the CEE Department at ceedept@pdx.edu as soon as possible to discuss your options. Those interested in attending in a future year should wait and apply when the application for that year opens.
Upper Division Approval Request Form
When you submit the approval form, you may be asked to submit the materials and information below as part of your request. We recommend preparing these materials in advance of submitting your application.
- Students who earned college credits at another institution: Unofficial Transcripts from all colleges attended. If you have more than one unofficial transcript, you can email it to ceedept@pdx.edu after submitting the approval request form.
- Students who have not completed the following required courses by fall term will need to provide a course plan showing your successful path to completion of required credits by their fall term start.