Civil engineering is a wide ranging profession, as it includes several separate specialized sub-disciplines, linking to knowledge of structures, materials science, geography, geology, soils, hydrology, environment, mechanics etc. Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings.

The earliest practices of Civil engineering assumed to have been commenced between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The first private college to teach Civil Engineering in the United States was Norwich University founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge.

The Sub-disciplines of civil engineering are:
Coastal engineering, Construction engineering, Earthquake engineering, Environmental engineering, Geotechnical engineering, Water resources engineering, Materials engineering, Structural engineering, Surveying, Transportation engineering, Municipal or urban engineering etc.