To qualify for a minor in structural engineering, coastal engineering, water resources, green engineering, or environmental engineering, students are required to take 6 courses, and at least 2 of these courses in the minor must be overload courses. Completion of a minor indicates proficiency beyond that provided by the Stevens engineering curriculum in the basic material of the selected area. The minor program must be in a discipline other than that of a student’s major program of study and beyond the credit requirements for all other programs being pursued by the student.

Recent disasters have highlighted the vulnerability of coastal areas to extreme weather and climate change. In the coming decades, coastal engineers will play an increasingly important role in protecting communities and natural systems from these violent events. The coastal engineering minor is built around an understanding of the unique characteristics of the marine environment and how this affects the design of traditional and coastal infrastructure. The minor is open to all, but is particularly suited to students with civil and environmental backgrounds that wish to obtain advanced training relevant to working in marine/coastal environments.  

The minor prepares students to:

1. Specialize in ocean/coastal engineering-related areas within their own major field

2. Enter graduate programs related to ocean/coastal engineering

3. Solve globally relevant engineering challenges posed by a changing climate

4. Will have a positive impact on their workplace through multidisciplinary collaboration, teamwork and leadership

Student Outcomes

By the time of graduation, students will be able to have:

1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex coastal engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics

2. an ability to apply coastal engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors

3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences

4. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives

5. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret coastal/oceanographic data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions

6. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies