New opportunities and a greater knowledge network are in store for the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering.

As of July 1, the Lyles School of Civil Engineering and the Division of Construction Engineering and Management have merged. The merger marks a new era for the school as it aims to provide its students with greater industry connections and more internship and co-op opportunities.

“With civil engineering and construction engineering degrees offered under one umbrella, each program will grow student enrollments by combining and leveraging each other’s strengths and address an ever-growing list of industry needs,” said Arvind Raman, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering.

The merger better positions the school and its students to meet the increasing need for qualified engineers in the civil and construction fields in the United States. The country’s bipartisan infrastructure law, passed in 2021, directs $1.2 trillion in federal funds toward transportation, energy and climate infrastructure projects.

“This is an incredibly exciting time at Purdue that will see our students better prepared to become the engineering leaders of tomorrow,” said Rao S. Govindaraju, the Bowen Engineering Head of Civil Engineering and the Burke Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering. “We are always striving to provide our students with the best education and skills possible and this merger aligns perfectly with that goal”

The Lyles School will be better positioned to offer new programs and opportunities, such as certificate programs and professional concentrations, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels more effectively and efficiently. With the expansion in educational and experiential opportunities, the Lyles School is poised to remain at the forefront of preparing the engineering leaders of tomorrow.

This engagement will also launch new professional master’s courses focused on smart cities and urban informatics to upskill the civil and construction engineering workforce on new AI methods, data science and resilience engineering, and to adopt real-world case studies from relevant engineering programs using the city of Indianapolis as a living lab.