Civil engineering courses

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.

It depends on what you study. You can choose a single civil engineering subject if you want to upskill in a particular area, like design or materials. A civil engineering degree will give you all the technical and professional skills you need 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.

Yes—many civil engineering courses available through Open Universities Australia are designed to give you more than just theory. Some degrees, like the Bachelor of Engineering Systems (Honours) from Southern Cross University, include built-in industry placements, such as a 60-day work placement where you'll gain valuable real-world experience.

Even if your chosen course doesn’t include a formal placement, you’ll still have opportunities to gain hands-on experience. Your university can support you in finding internships independently, so you can apply what you’ve learned, build confidence, and start developing industry connections before you graduate.

You’ll generally need a certain ATAR or prior work or study experience to apply for entry into a civil engineering degree. A typical civil engineering ATAR is around 70 to 80, but this depends on your exact course and institution.

Some shorter qualifications, such as the Associate Degree in Engineering, have lower entry requirements and can be a great way to ease into the discipline before transitioning into further study. You can also study some single subjects in engineering without any prerequisites, and use these to gain study experience and earn credit for degree entry.

Our student advisors can offer you guidance on this. Chat with them about your circumstances to learn more about your course eligibility.

Certain courses will require you to have work experience before you can enrol because they focus on upskilling current engineers. Read the entry requirements section for your chosen course carefully to see if this applies.

Postgraduate courses generally ask that you have a bachelor degree in engineering or a technology related study area so that you will understand the course material.

Civil engineering can be challenging, but it's also deeply rewarding. It involves understanding areas like maths, physics, and materials science, along with creative problem-solving to design and manage real-world infrastructure.

You don’t need to be an expert before you start—your civil engineering degree will build your knowledge gradually, with support available along the way.

Absolutely. The beauty of studying online is that you can control your own study load and choose how many subjects you complete at once. You can study as little as one subject at a time if you like, allowing you to fit your coursework around the rest of your life.

Yes, some of the online civil engineering courses available through Open Universities Australia are accredited by Engineers Australia. This means these qualifications meet international benchmarks and graduates can go on to become a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) with Engineers Australia, which many employers value highly.

Not all engineering degrees are accredited, especially pathway and upskilling courses. You can still work in civil engineering without an accredited degree, especially in entry-level or support roles. But you may need to complete a competency assessment with Engineers Australia later on if you want professional registration.

You can check a degree’s accreditation status directly with Engineers Australia.

Your course could open the door to a variety of careers, such as:

• Civil engineer

• Civil engineering draftsperson 

• Project and site engineer

• Construction manager

• Engineering consultant

• Environmental engineer

• Soil scientist 

• Transport engineer

• Structural engineer

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.

These related fields also offer exciting career paths in design, construction, and problem-solving: