Degrees & Programs

Civil Engineering surrounds us. Beyond designing, constructing, and maintaining our buildings and bridges, civil engineers create the systems that make life better: clean water, waste disposal, disaster recovery, smart infrastructure. It's the very foundation of modern society, the hopes of impoverished communities, and our path towards a greener future.

Combining strengths from electrical engineering and computer science, computer engineers are at the forefront of invention. Their work leads to faster and smarter computers, new software applications, and technology advances in such fields as robotics, medical instruments, autonomous vehicles and design of many of the devices that impact daily life.

Electrical engineers have been involved in the design of modern conveniences such as iPads and green energy efficient electric vehicles to complex wireless communication systems and smart grid technologies. They are also responsible for the design and development of the electrical electric motors, controls, lighting, and wiring in buildings, automobiles, aircraft, and GPS navigation systems. Some electrical engineers apply their expertise in non-engineering jobs such as purchasing, sales, law, human resources, K-12 education, and consulting.

Mechanical engineers transform ideas into tangible realities. Practically every product used today involved a mechanical engineer to analyze prototypes and design its manufacture. This discipline applies knowledge of engineering, physics, and materials towards the creation of every machine, ranging from the largest aircraft to the smallest sensor.

Built on a foundation of science, mathematics, intensive programming, and computer architecture, the Computer Science program at Gonzaga offers the major a broad range of advanced computer science topics. These include artificial intelligence, computer graphics, robotics, computer networks, database management systems, cryptography, computer security, and natural language processing. Exceptional students can assist faculty in their research on sensor networks, speech recognition, database management systems, and mathematical modeling.

Gonzaga's College of Arts and Sciences offers a separate B.A. in Computer Science and Computational Thinking

Many engineers rise to the highest levels in business organizations to become global leaders and innovators, start international companies, or use their engineering training as a springboard to other fields. They succeed in fields as diverse as investment banking, law, and medicine, and also play a leading role in addressing many world problems including global warming, clean water shortage, power shortages, poverty, nuclear proliferation, and new medical devices and equipment.

Modern society depends on a steady electric supply. No matter how it's generated (wind, solar, water, gas, coal) it needs to travel safely to an end customer. Transmission and Distribution is the critical field responsible for electric lines, transformers, and the "smart-grid" technology that efficiently gets electric power to users.