Dear Civil Engineering Students:

The faculty of the Department of Civil Engineering welcomes you to the Department. We take your education at UTEP very seriously and are privileged to serve as your educators and mentors in this critical stage of your career. In order to streamline your graduation we have laid out the procedures of student advising to assist you in understanding the graduation requirements and procedures for graduation.

First, upon your enrollment in the Department, you should report to the Department administration secretary (Ms. Ruiz) and establish a student file with the Department. You should keep a personal copy of the degree plan package which consists of 1) a Degree Plan, 2) a Curriculum Flow Chart, 3) a Semester-by-Semester course election schedule, two menus for courses qualified for credits in i) Humanities and ii) Visual and Performing Arts. Check your progress in accordance with the degree plan and curriculum each semester to ensure that you are on track of sequencing your course work.

Mrs. Ruiz will appoint a CE professor to be your academic advisor. You should make an appointment to meet with your advisor in the first month or as soon as you can after you have been informed of the name of your advisor. Please find out your advisor’s office hours and contact information. Your advisor is responsible for providing you with academic guidance and mentoring you throughout your staying at the Department. You should meet with your advisor at least once per semester.

Second, register courses as soon as you can each semester in accordance to the university’s pre-registration procedures. Discuss the courses being offered each semester with your advisor and register as early as possible. You don’t need to wait till the week for pre-registration to ask for advice. Do it during the semester when you meet with your advisor.

During the period of pre-registration, the Department will also appoint a professor (currently, Professor Oey for 2007) to assist you in course selection and pre-registration if, for some reasons, you were not able to meet with your advisor for course selection. Please make every effort to meet with your advisor and/or the Department’s default advisor at their set schedules. The schedule for the Department advisor will be announced in the Department. Always retrieve your student folder from Mrs. Ruiz in the Department office and take it to the meeting between you and your advisor.

Registration at the beginning of the semester follows the same procedures as outlined above.

Third, you are allowed to change advisor under one of the following two conditions:

  • You are involved in research projects with a professor and the professor would accept you as one of his advisees; or
  • You have identified a disciplinary area and a professor has agreed to accept you as one of his advisees.

Change of advisor will be initiated by a professor and is subject to Departmental approval by the Chair. Requests for change of advisor other than the two conditions above will need to be submitted in writing to and approved by the Chair of the Department.

Our experience from the past tells us that planning ahead and interacting with your advisor as early and frequently as you can is critical in sequencing your course selection for a timely graduation. Please meet with our faculty and establish an academic, yet personal, relationship with your professors to benefit your education and enrich your college experience at UTEP.

On behalf of the CE faculty, again I welcome you to the Department and wish you a successful and challenging education at UTEP.


Cesar Carrasco, Professor and Chair