BEng Civil Engineering

● University of Pretoria
● Study at UP
● BEng Civil Engineering

Civil engineers create facilities that improve the quality of people’s lives and environments. This
process entails research into the proposed facility, followed by the planning, design and construction of
the facility, as well as its continued maintenance. Civil engineers design, build and maintain
constructions such as tower blocks and skyscrapers, dams, canals and pipelines, roads, bridges,
tunnels, railway lines, airports, power stations, towers, waterworks and outfall installations.

Since these facilities have a long lifespan and a direct impact on the community and environment, civil
engineers are trained to deal not only with the analytical aspects of design, but also to liaise and
consult directly with communities and individuals in order to design, build and maintain such facilities
cost-effectively and to the benefit of humankind. Facilities designed by civil engineers form the
infrastructure for wealth and job creation, for instance, in the manufacturing and housing industries.

The development of information technology and computer software that make mathematical modelling
and designs more effective has drastically changed the nature of civil engineering in that it enables civil
engineers to concentrate on the more fundamental aspects of developmental work and design. The
worldwide trend towards environmental awareness increasingly impacts on the civil engineer’s working
methods. Information technology, and environmental engineering and management, increasingly form
a greater part of the training, so that a civil engineer can still be provided with a broad-based
qualification that offers challenging, fulfilling and highly adjustable career opportunities throughout a
career lifespan of from 40 to 50 years.

For more information, please consult the Faculty webpage.

● Disclaimer: This publication contains information about regulations and programmes of the
University of Pretoria. Amendments to or updating of the information may be effected from time to
time without prior notification. The accuracy, correctness or validity of the information contained here
is therefore not guaranteed by the University at any given time and is always subject to verification.
The user is kindly requested to verify the correctness of the information with the University at all
times. Failure to do so will not give rise to any claim or action of any nature against the University by
any party whatsoever.

University of Pretoria 2025; www.up.ac.za; 18:48:41 16/04/2025; Page 1 of 7

Career Opportunities

Civil engineers design, build and maintain constructions such as tower blocks and skyscrapers, dams,
canals and pipelines, roads, bridges, tunnels, railways, airports, power stations, towers, water works
and outfall installations. They are involved in financial modelling, feasibility studies and the
management and rehabilitation of large asset portfolios.

Programme Code

12130007

Closing Dates

● SA – 31/10/2020
● Non-SA – 30/09/2020

Admission Requirements

● The closing date is an administrative admission guideline for non-selection programmes. Once a non-
selection programme is full and has reached the institutional targets, then that programme will be
closed for further admissions, irrespective of the closing date. However, if the institutional targets
have not been met by the closing date, then that programme will remain open for admissions until the
institutional targets are met.
● The following persons will be considered for admission: Candidates who are in possession of a
certificate that is deemed by the University to be equivalent to the required National Senior Certificate
(NSC) with university endorsement; candidates who are graduates from another tertiary institution or
have been granted the status of a graduate of such an institution, and candidates who are graduates
of another faculty at the University of Pretoria.
● Life Orientation is excluded when calculating the APS.
● Grade 11 results are used for the conditional admission of prospective students.
● A valid qualification with admission to degree studies is required.
● Minimum subject and achievement requirements, as set out below, are required.
● Conditional admission to the four-year programmes in the School of Engineering is guaranteed only if
a prospective student complies with ALL the requirements as indicated in the table.
● Admission to ENGAGE in the School of Engineering will be determined by the NSC results,

University of Pretoria 2025; www.up.ac.za; 18:48:41 16/04/2025; Page 2 of 7

 achievement levels of 5 for Mathematics and 5 for Physical Sciences, and an achievement level of 5
for English, together with an APS of 30.
● Students may apply directly to be considered for the ENGAGE programme.
● All lectures at the University of Pretoria are presented in English only.

Note: The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) accredits our programmes and our degrees meet
the requirements for Professional Engineers in SA.

Transferring students

Candidates previously registered for the BSc – Extended programme

The Admissions Committee of the faculty considers applications of candidates who were previously
registered for the BSc – Extended programme, on grounds of their NSC results as well as academic
merit. Such students will only be considered for the four-year programme if they have passed all the
prescribed modules and obtained a minimum of 65% in the Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry
modules, respectively.

Candidates previously registered at UP or at another university

The faculty’s Admissions Committee considers applications of candidates who have already completed
the final NSC examination and/or were previously registered at UP or at another university, on grounds
of their NSC results as well as academic merit. Candidates who were dismissed from other faculties or
universities will not be considered.

Candidates previously registered at a teacher’s college or university of technology

The faculty’s Admissions Committee considers the application of these candidates on the grounds of
their NSC results as well as academic merit.

Qualifications from countries other than South Africa

● Citizens from countries other than South Africa and South African citizens with foreign qualifications
must comply with all the other admission requirements and the prerequisites for subjects/modules.
● In addition to meeting the admission requirements, it may be expected from candidates to write the
TOEFL, IELTS or SAT, if required.
● Candidates must have completed the National Senior Certificate with admission to degree studies or a
certificate of conditional exemption on the basis of a candidate’s foreign qualifications, the so-called
“Immigrant” or “Foreign Conditional Exemption”. The only condition for the “Foreign Conditional
Exemption” that is accepted is: ‘completion of the degree course’. The exemption certificate is
obtainable from Universities South Africa (USAf). Detailed information is available on the website at
click here.

University of Pretoria 2025; www.up.ac.za; 18:48:41 16/04/2025; Page 3 of 7

University of Pretoria website: click here

Minimum requirements
Achievement level
English Home
Language or
English First Mathematics Physical Sciences
Additional APS
Language
AS
NSC/IEB AS Level NSC/IEB AS Level NSC/IEB
Level
5 C >65% C >65% C 33

* Cambridge A level candidates who obtained at least a D in the required subjects, will be considered
for admission. Students in the Cambridge system must offer both Physics AND Chemistry with
performance at the level specified for NSC Physical Sciences in the table above.

* International Baccalaureate (IB) HL candidates who obtained at least a 4 in the required subjects, will
be considered for admission. Students in the IB system must offer both Physics AND Chemistry with
performance at the level specified for NSC Physical Sciences in the table above.

ENGAGE Programme minimum requirements

Achievement level
English Home
Language or
English First Mathematics Physical Sciences
Additional APS
Language
AS
NSC/IEB AS Level NSC/IEB AS Level NSC/IEB
Level
5 C 5 C 5 C 30

Duration of study

4 years, full-time.

Faculty Notes

The Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology at the University of Pretoria
is a leading source of graduates in the engineering, built environment and information technology

University of Pretoria 2025; www.up.ac.za; 18:48:41 16/04/2025; Page 4 of 7

professions. We achieve this by a focus on research to drive innovative and enquiry-led teaching for
educating and positioning our students to be leaders in their professions. The Faculty has extensive and
cutting-edge teaching, learning and laboratory facilities integrated with the excellent suite of facilities
and services offered by the University. We facilitate access to our qualifications through our extended
programmes but expect our students to excel and develop as future professionals through our
programme offering. We invite you to consider enrolling in one of our programmes if you share our
vision of excellence and want to position yourself as a leader in the professions that we support.

The Faculty is organised in four schools: the School of Engineering, the School for the Built
Environment, the School of Information Technology and the Graduate School of Technology
Management. The School of Engineering is the largest of its kind in the country in terms of student
numbers, graduates and research contributions and offers programmes in all the major engineering
disciplines with many specialisations also offered at undergraduate and graduate level.

The University of Pretoria aims to be internationally competitive while also locally relevant. Advisory
boards at both faculty and departmental level promote alignment and excellence in our teaching and
research activities. Where applicable and available our programmes are accredited by statutory and
professional bodies at both national and international level.

Enquiries about the programme

Click Here

How to apply

University of Pretoria 2025; www.up.ac.za; 18:48:41 16/04/2025; Page 5 of 7

University of Pretoria 2025; www.up.ac.za; 18:48:41 16/04/2025; Page 6 of 7
Note: Also consult General Rules and Information on the Yearbook website for additional information.

Disclaimer: Due to the continuous restructuring of the Faculty and this website, some of the information
displayed here may not fully reflect the most recent developments in the Faculty. Any discrepancies
that are experienced may be taken up with Student Administration of the Faculty.

University of Pretoria 2025; www.up.ac.za; 18:48:41 16/04/2025; Page 7 of 7