Civil Engineering

Undergraduate

Program

The Department of Civil Engineering opened in 1995. The total enrolment in the 4-year B.Sc. program is currently over 1000. A class size of about 50 students is maintained for effective teaching.

There are thirty-nine (39) full-time faculty members in civil department including five (5) Professors. In addition, fourteenth (14) faculty members are on higher study leave. In addition, there are three (3) part-time faculty members from reputed institutions (academic and professional).

The Department of Civil Engineering has established eight (8) laboratories with sophisticated equipment on the university campus.

The main aim and objective of this department is to offer program covering all important branches and disciplines of Civil Engineering. The department covers a wide range of course curriculum and well-equipped laboratory facilities. The B.Sc. degree offered by the Department of Civil Engineering at AUST has recognized by the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) and has been accredited by Board of Accreditation for Engineering and Technical Education (BAETE), Bangladesh. Since the inception of the Civil Engineering Department, more than thirty-five (35) batches have graduated with Bachelor's Degree. A number of graduates of this department are pursuing higher studies in Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) as well as in different countries of the world. Some of them are working in the reputed consulting and construction firms of the country. Several graduates have already got Ph.D. and M. Sc. degrees from universities of different countries and are working abroad.

The department is actively involved in the activities of the national and international engineering professional bodies. Apart from the academic programs, the department organizes the comprehensive training on computer aided design, drawing and project management through Centre for Extension Service of the university. Moreover, the department is planning to offer materials testing and consulting services by using its laboratories equipped with highly sophisticated and modern equipment and highly qualified and experienced faculty members. The department arranges field visit, study tour, seminars, and programs on extracurricular activities.

Academic Information

Entry Qualification: Minimum requirement for admission to any of the Architecture and Engineering degree programs is a Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), or A-Level or equivalent, in Science with Physics, Chemistry and Math.  Students with high performance in HSC/A-Level or equivalent can apply for admission.

Medium of Instruction: All lectures are delivered in English and as such proficiency in English is a pre-requisite for the candidates to get admission in the degree programs.

Number of Students: The current total enrollment is about 3500 of which 2800 are is in the engineering faculty.

Number of Semesters in a Year: There are two semesters in a year. The duration of each semester is 20 working weeks, which are used as follows:

Short-term courses may be arranged in between the semesters as and when required.

Attendance: In all degree programs the students are required to attend at least 60% of the classes held in each subject in a semester, failing may bar them to sit for the semester Final and Clearance Examinations. 

Examinations, Grading System and GPA Requirements:

1. Performance: The total performance of a student in a given course will be based on:

1. Continuous assessment (assessment of class attendance, class performance, quizzes and/or assignments etc.)
2. Semester Final Examination.
3. Clearance Examination (for clearance of the courses in which the students failed in the Regular Examination, if any)
4. Carryover Examination (for clearance of back log of the course(s) of previous semester(s), if any).
5. Improvement Examination (for improvement of the grade(s) obtained in the Regular Examinations, if any)

2. Assessment and Semester Final Examination: The continuous assessment and the Semester Final Examination will form Regular Examination while the Clearance Examination, Carryover Examination and Improvement Examination will provide additional opportunities to the students.
3. Distribution of marks: The distribution of marks between the continuous assessment and the semester final/Clearance/Carryover/Improvement examination will be as follows:

4. Quizzes/Class Tests: The number of quizzes and/or assignments in a theoretical course of study shall ordinarily be (n + 1), where ‘n’ is the number of credit hours of the course. Evaluation of the performance will be on the basis of the best ‘n’ quizzes and/or assignments.
5. Evaluation in Sessional: The performance of a student in a sessional/practical course will be evaluated on the basis of class attendance, class performance, quiz, assignment, report, practical examination, jury viva voce etc. The distribution of marks in the course will be determined by the teachers concerned.
6. Grade and Grade Point: The letter grades and the corresponding grade-points will be awarded for the theoretical courses in the Regular Examination and for the practical/sessional courses in accordance with the provision shown below:

Apart from the letter grades listed above, the students may be awarded some other letter grades for their different status in a course. The letter grade ‘W’ will be given for the withheld result of a student in a course. Subject to the recommendation of the concerned Head of the Department and the approval of the Vice Chancellor of the University, a student may be awarded the letter grade ‘E’ for exemption or waiver of a course. The letter grade ‘P’ will be awarded for the course(s) the students passed in previous semester(s).

Grade Point Average (GPA) of a student will be computed without the grades mentioned above.

I. GPA Computation: Every course has a certain number of credit hour which describes its weightage. The credit hour of a theoretical course and the credit hour of a practical/sessional course refer to contact hour per week and half of the contact hour per week of the courses respectively. The number of credit hours a student has completed satisfactorily and the weighted average of the grade points he/she has maintained measure the performance of the student. Calculation of Grade Point Average (GPA) can be explained as follows:

Suppose, a student has completed five courses in a semester and obtained the following grades:

Then his/her GPA for the semester will be computed as follows:

II. Marks in Courses and Duration of Examination: The total marks assigned to a theoretical/practical course of study is 100 and the duration of Semester Final/Improvement/Clearance/Carryover Examination of a theoretical course is 3 hours. The total marks allotted to continuous assessment (obtained through class participation, quizzes, and/or assignments, among other things) and the Semester Final/Clearance/Carryover/Improvement Examination are 30 and 70, respectively. A student who remains absent in the Semester Final/ Clearance/ Improvement/ Carryover Examination of a course of study will be given the grade ‘F’ for the course. The total mark and the corresponding grade of the students who are absent in the examinations of a course will be entered in the mark sheet of the course considering the mark of the examinations as zero.

7. Clearance Examination: The Clearance Examination of a course will be held only for the students obtaining the grade ‘F’ (failed in the course) in the Regular Examination of the course. The Clearance/Carryover/Improvement Examination of a semester will be held over a period of 1 to 2 weeks at the end of the Semester Final Examination of the semester. The Clearance Examination of a course will carry 70% of the total marks assigned to the course, the rest of the mark (30%) will be entered from the record of the continuous assessment secured earlier by the student when he/she attended the classes. Whatever is the total mark obtained by the student, the highest attainable grade with the Clearance Examination is ‘C’. So the grading scale for the students appearing in the Clearance Examination will be as follows:

8. Carryover: A student obtaining the grade ‘F’ in a maximum of 2 (two) theoretical courses of a semester will also be promoted to the next higher class with carryover in the failed theoretical course(s) if the cumulative number of the courses including the number of carryover courses of the previous semester(s) of the student concerned does not exceed the highest allowable limit of 4 (four). The students can clear the back log of the carryover course(s) in the Carryover Examinations of the relevant semester. The examination & grading system of the Carryover Examinations will be in the same manner as the Clearance Examination.
9. Limit of Failed Courses: If the number of failed courses of a student in a semester exceeds the highest limit of 2 or if the cumulative number of failed courses including the number of carryover courses of the student exceeds the highest limit of 4, the student will not be promoted to the immediate higher class. In this case, the student must re-register for the course(s) in which he/she failed in the semester and bring down the number of failed courses including the carryover course(s) within the allowable limits of 4 & 2 to be promoted to the next higher semester. If the cumulative number of failed courses including the number of carryover courses of a student enrolled in 4th year 2nd semester of 4-year bachelor degree program or in 5th year 2nd semester of 5-year bachelor degree program exceeds the highest limit of 4 (four), the student will have to re-register for the courses of the semester in which he/she failed. If the number of failed courses of the last semester of the programs exceeds the highest limit of 2 (two), the student will have to re-register for the courses of the semester in which he/she failed. A student can appear at the Carryover Examination of the courses in the relevant subsequent semester if the number of failed courses does not exceed the limit of 4 & 2 as specified above.
10. Formalities of Carryover Examination: For appearing in the Carryover Examinations, the students are required to apply for enrollment within due time in the prescribed application form available in the office of the Controller of Examinations of the University within due time.
11. Rules for Re-Registration: The students who have not been promoted to the next higher semester can re-register in the subsequent semester for the course(s) (both theoretical & practical) in which they failed. The grade(s) secured by the students in the re-registered course(s) will be considered for the result and Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) of the students concerned for that semester. However, the grade(s) obtained by the students in the previous semester will also be recorded in the transcript/grade card and tabulation sheet of previous semester only for chronological sequence. The students are required to apply in the prescribed application form available in the office of the Registrar of the University for re-registration. The application form duly filled in will be submitted within 2 weeks from the commencement of the classes.
12. Grade Improvement: For the purpose of grade improvement, a student obtaining a passing grade lower than ‘B’ in the Regular Examination of a theoretical course can appear at the relevant Improvement Examination of the semester by cancelling the passing grade of the course secured by him/her. The highest attainable grade with the Improvement Examination is ‘B’ and the grade obtained with the Improvement Examination will be considered for the result and G.P.A of a student. But the grade obtained by the student in the Regular Examination will also be recorded in the tabulation sheet/transcript/grade card only for chronological sequence. The letter grades will be awarded with the Improvement Examinations in accordance with the provision given below:

The Improvement Examination of a course will carry 70% of the total mark assigned to the course and like the Semester Final/ Clearance Examinations, the rest of the mark will be entered in the mark sheet of the course from the record of the continuous assessment secured earlier by the student when he/she attended the classes of the semester. For appearing in the Improvement Examination of a course, the students are required to apply for enrollment in the prescribed application form available in the office of the Controller of Examinations at least four (4) days before the examination date of the course.

A student of a 4-year degree program can appear in the Improvement Examination in a maximum of 4 (four) courses while a student of a 5-year degree program can do the same in a maximum of 5 (five) courses in his/her student career at AUST.

Repeating Semester: A student failing in any sessional/practical course will have to repeat the semester. But a student failing in the course Surveying Practical may be promoted to the next higher class, if eligible. A student who remains absent in the classes of the course Surveying Practical due to reason acceptable to the authority of the University, will get another chance to attend the classes & pass the course along with the students of other batch in the next relevant semester. A student of a semester who fails to submit the report/thesis of the course Project/Thesis during the semester will have to enroll for the course in the subsequent semester of his/her submission of the report/thesis.

13. Class Attendance: The students of all bachelor degree programs are required to attend 60% of the classes held in each course of a semester. The students failing to attend the requisite percentage of classes in any course will not be allowed to appear at the Semester Final/ Clearance/Improvement/Carryover Examinations of the course in the semester. However, the authority of the University may condone the shortage of requisite percentage of class attendance on grounds acceptable to the authority.
14. Maximum Time Limit for Completion: All 4-year degree programs at AUST require completion of degree requirements within a maximum period of 7 years and a 5-year degree program requires completion of all degree requirements within a maximum period of 8 years. Failure to complete all degree requirements within the given time frame may disqualify a student from continuation of his/her study at AUST

Financial Benefit for Students from Quota Students of Bachelor degree programs from Freedom Fighter (FF) and Remote and Underdeveloped Area (RA) Quota will have to pay the requisite fees to the University at the time of admission. But the students from FF quota will get refund the fees after verification of their FF certificates by the concerned Committee; and the students from RA Quota will get refund the fees after starting of classes. They will continue to get the benefit of full tuition fee free in the subsequent semesters through written application along with the grade sheet of their previous semesters.

However, students of FF and RA quota must have greater than 80% attendance in both theoretical and practical classes to avail the financial benefits. If a student from Quota fails to get promotion to the next higher semester or class attendance is less than 80%, he/she will not get the benefit of quota from the University.

GPA Requirements for Bachelor Undergraduate Programs

1. The students securing a CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of 2.20 or above on a scale of 4.00 will be considered to be making normal progress towards a degree and the students failing to attain the CGPA of minimum 2.20 on a scale of 4.00 may be placed on academic probation. A minimum Cumulative GPA (CGPA) of 2.20 on a scale of 4 will be required for the award of the degree.
2. The minimum period of probation is one semester but the usual period is one academic year. The probation may be extended for additional semester(s) until the student achieves an overall GPA of 2.20 or more.
3. A student on academic probation failing to maintain at least a CGPA of 2.20 during two consecutive academic years may be suspended from the University. This suspension may be withdrawn by the concerned Head of the Department on receipt of an application from the student and on being satisfied that every effort to improve the grade will be made by him/her. But this can only be done after a full semester of suspension. However, the second suspension will be regarded as final and absolute.
4. Graduating students securing a CGPA of 3.75 or above will be included in the Dean's List of Honor.

Financial Assistances for Undergraduate Programs

1. As per the Private University Act 2010, 3% of the total seats are reserved for sons/daughters of Freedom Fighters, while another 3% for poor and meritorious candidates of Remote and Undeveloped Areas. Students admitted under those two categories enjoy waiver of all types of fees.
2. There is a provision of financial help from the Fund for Welfare for the Distressed Students.
3. If two or more students of the same parents study concurrently as regular students in this University, one of them may get Half Free Tuition Award on application as per the rules of the University.
4. In addition, 1% of the promoted students are awarded Full Free Tuition Award on recommendation of the sponsor.
5. 5% of promoted students will get Half Free Tuition Award based on merit position.

Foreign/International Students Foreign students willing to get admission in any undergraduate program of this university should fulfill the following requirements:

1. Requirements

1. Candidates who possess foreign passport or dual passport, brought up and educated abroad (not in Bangladesh) shall be considered as foreign students.
2. Foreign student must have certificate of twelve years of schooling equivalent to GCE A level with good grades in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.
3. Applicants should have IELTS score 6 or TOEFL score 80. The AUST authority may condone this requirement for candidates having adequate English aptitude.

2. Number of Seats

The total number of seats for foreign students in the Undergraduate program in each Semester is 25 which will be distributed among the departments proportional to their allocated seats.

3. Procedure of Application

Interested foreign candidate fulfilling the above requirements may download the Application Form from the university website (www.aust.edu). The scanned copy of the filled in Application Form then should be sent through e-mail to the Registrar of the university (regr@aust.edu) within the last date of application as mentioned in the advertisement for admission notice, available in the university website. The scanned copy of all the academic transcripts & certificates and 1 (one) recent colored photograph should be attached with the application. The candidates will be selected for admission strictly on merit basis from among the foreign applicants.

Candidates will be informed through email about their selection for admission and then they will have to arrange themselves their visa from the Embassy/High Commission of Bangladesh in their countries.

4. Fees

1st Semester at the time of admission: For Architecture/Engineering: $ 1500 and for BBA $ 1200. Each remaining Semester at the rate of $ 1200 for Architecture/ Engineering and for BBA $ 1000. The payment shall be made before the start of each Semester.

5. Accommodation

AUST does not have any residential facility in its own command for the students. However, the foreign students will be assisted in getting an accommodation at reasonable cost in the proximity of AUST campus.

6. Discipline

The foreign students will have to abide by all other relevant rules and regulations of AUST.

7. Collaboration with Foreign Universities and Memberships

A number of memoranda of understanding (MOU) have been signed between AUST and some foreign universities, viz.

1. Erasmus Mundus Mobility with Asia (EMMA)
2. The University of Wyoming, USA
3. The Washington State University, USA
4. The University of Houston, USA
5. The Sejong University, Seoul, Korea
6. Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand
7. University of Michigan, Flint, USA and
8. Dublin City University, Ireland

The above MOUs would help the students of AUST avail the opportunity of admission in graduate and/or undergraduate studies in these universities.

8. Communications

For further query and information the intending foreign students may write to the Registrar of the University (email:regr@aust.edu).