Bachelor of Building Engineering

The discipline of Building Engineering encompasses diverse fields of study that essentially address the scientific, engineering and technological aspects of design, materials, construction, systems, and maintenance as they relate to buildings. The purpose of this program is to instill in our students the knowledge, theory, and skills required in order for them to have a solid predictive capability foundation so that they can optimize building performance and understand or prevent building failures. All the courses in this program are specifically designed to suit the national and international building standards and accreditation criteria, and are useful for all professionals or clients, who seek a better understanding of the way buildings should be constructed in order to optimize both structural strength and longevity.

"The Bachelor of Science in the Building Engineering Program is accredited by the National Centre for Academic Accreditation and evAluation (NCAAA) at the Education and Training Evaluation Commission for a period of 4 years from Sep 1, 2019, to Aug 31, 2023, and agrees to uphold the NCAAA standards for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Higher Education Programs. The NCAAA is the independent body for the accreditation of higher education institutions and programs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

College

College of Architecture and Planning

Campus

Dammam

Track

Engineering

Level

Undergraduate

Degree

BSc

Gender

Male

Years of study

5 (Preparatory year and the Common year)

Credit hours

170

Vision

To be recognized nationally and internationally as one of the leading academic programs in the domain of Building Engineering.

Mission

To provide students with solid knowledge of concepts, theories and sustainability principles for the design and construction of systems and components of buildings, in order to prepare them for professional practice, research and community service.

Values

• Excellence
• Creativity
• Professionalism
• Social Responsibility

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Goals and Objectives

To accomplish teaching excellence.

• To provide highly qualified teaching staff in sufficient numbers to teach students.
• To design high quality courses to accomplish the learning objectives of the program.
• To establish a well-structured teaching plan (curricular plan) to provide high quality educational opportunities for the students.
• To develop and implement suitable assessment strategies for students’ performance.

To achieve students’ learning excellence.

• To admit meritorious students into the program.
• To regularly improve the standards of learning and assessment methods to meet the needs of the job market. 
• To support and motivate students to be effective learner through appropriate training and counselling services.
• To expose students to continuous development programs which required to improve their learning skills.
• To expose students to both extra and co-curricular activities.

To ensure sufficient infrastructure and resources, and conducive learning environment for effective program delivery.

• To constantly update the library facilities to fulfil the needs of both current and prospective students.
• To provide up-to-date information technology resources to achieve the mission of the undergraduate building engineering program. 
• To facilitate a state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories and design studios.
• To ensure that safety, security and requirements of special needs are fulfilled.

To accomplish excellence in research and industry-institute interactions

• To establish bilateral ties with leading industries and research organizations.
• To establish industry-institute interaction cell in the department.
• To promote research activities among students to get involved in the undergraduate research projects.
• To identify research focus areas that are relevant to the needs of both Eastern Province and KSA.

To achieve competency in community services and professional practice.

• To establish a unit/cell for students to motivate and train them and provide opportunity to carry out community services and professional practice.

To accomplish compliance with national and international quality standards as well as the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

• To establish and maintain QMS in the department.
• To achieve national academic accreditation.
• To achieve international academic accreditation.
• To contribute to fulfilling the demands of Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

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Career opportunities

With their wealth of knowledge and expertise in the diverse specialties of building engineering and the built environment, the graduates of the Department of Building Engineering are prepared for the challenges that lie ahead in their promising professional careers.  A few of the numerous career paths include:

• Structural Designer/Engineer
• Construction Engineer/Manager
• Maintenance and Safety Engineer
• Materials Designer
• Environmental Designer
• Architectural Designer
• Facility Engineer
• Site Engineer
• Project Manager
• Building Construction Contractor

 

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Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the Bachelor of Building Engineering program, the students will be able to: 

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Recognize the fundamental principles and theories of basic sciences, mathematics, statistics, computation, mechanics, and research methods, related to building engineering.

2. Recognize the various codes, specifications, standards, and terminology related to diverse disciplines of building engineering including working drawings, and various tools for building information modeling and simulation.

3. Recognize the fundamentals and applications of architecture, construction materials, systems and technologies, and structural systems, analysis and design, pertaining to buildings.

4. Recognize the basics, functions, and applications of building services related to mechanical, plumbing, electrical, energy, safety and fire protection, as well as indoor environmental aspects such as thermal comfort, acoustics, and illumination.

5. Recognize the principles and practices of building construction management, including planning, scheduling, economics, supervision, and maintenance.

6. Recognize the principles of professional ethics and responsibility, and Islamic values.

Skills

1. Analyze information, concepts, and evidence from various sources, and draw meaningful conclusions to address diverse scientific and technical issues in buildings.

2. Analyze complex problems related to buildings and propose creative and innovative solutions with limited guidance.

3. Design and conduct laboratory experiments, field measurements and surveys, and analyze and interpret data, related to building engineering.

4. Design components, systems, or processes of buildings in compliance with the sustainability criteria.

5. Develop integrated design by incorporating architecture, construction, structure, services, energy, environment, life safety, and other relevant components and systems, to realize high-performance buildings.

6. Demonstrate effective oral, written, and graphical communication skills, by using the most appropriate forms of presentation for differing issues and audiences.

7. Utilize appropriate information technology, numerical techniques, and software packages necessary for building engineering practice.

Values

1. Demonstrate ability to work effectively in groups in the building construction industry, whether as a member or as a leader.

2. Demonstrate responsibility for self-learning and enthusiasm for continuous professional development.

3. Demonstrate high level of compliance with professional ethics and Islamic values, and strong commitment to serve the society.

The department of Building Engineering states following conditions for granting the admission to students in its Bachelor Program.

1.  Newly admitted students should successfully complete the First year program before being admitted to the second year.
2. The student should have successfully completed 1st and 2nd year of his study with a minimum Cumulative GPA of 3.00 on the scale of 5.

The entire admission process of the University is controlled by the Deanship of Admissions and Registration through a centralized electronic system namely ‘Student Information System’ (SIS), which is part of the comprehensive software package known as ‘PeopleSoft Campus Solution’.

First Year

Preparatory year is in the Engineering track

Second Year

During the second or Common year, the Building Engineering students will take courses that are required for all of the College of Architecture and Planning. Most of the courses are designed to provide an understanding of the fundamentals of engineering drawing and design and will impart a strong foundation in the basic sciences as well as in engineering, while simultaneously fulfilling NCAAA accreditation criteria.

Third Year

The students will learn how to create comprehensive working drawings with explicit information, data and specifications concerning all of the building components involved. They will come away with the knowledge and understanding of various required architectural functions, types and selection of structural systems as well as be knowledgeable in the areas of design and analysis of numerous building structures. During this third year the students will also be exposed to various building services, they will learn about construction components with insulation, as well as the heat transfer phenomena in buildings and cover topics such as: hydraulics, energy simulation and analysis, heating and cooling load calculations, the basics of generation and distribution of electricity and the design of lighting and communication systems.

Fourth Year

During the fourth year the students will become acquainted with special structures (non-conventional) and be trained to design buildings with high performance levels with respect to architectural, structural, environmental and sustainability considerations. Advanced software tools that are used for building information modeling will be examined and applied.  The students will also cover topics such as: behavior and properties of building materials and experimental testing of their compliance with the standard specifications; concrete technology which covers experimental methods and the design of quality concrete mixing, use of admixtures and related topics; design of reinforced concrete structural components such as slabs, beams, columns and foundations; design of steel structures and structural elements; soil mechanics, which includes the classification of soils, bearing capacity and related topics; basics of designing water supply and plumping systems, storage tanks, fire-fighting, and water networks; structures such as elevators and escalators; construction management which includes planning and scheduling, cost estimation as well as economics related to engineering.

Fifth Year

In this year the students will be able to integrate the various systems (architecture, structure and services) that are involved in a building, while taking into account both environmental and sustainability aspects. The students will have acquired the skills for systematically integrating all of the processes involved in the design, construction and operation of a building. The students will also conduct technical research projects that are tested using real-time applications in buildings. They will gain a deep understanding as well as get experience in several significant areas such as how to prepare and calculate life-cycle costs, learn how to conduct proper sustainability assessments of buildings, prepare and document specifications, understand building supervision and maintenance, risk assessment, and get experience in natural and artificial lighting systems and building acoustics.

Above all, they will leave the University of Dammam as well trained ethical professionals who posses the skills needed to make a significant contribution to the Kingdom; from cv preparation techniques, interview skills, proficiency in both written and oral communication as well as exhibiting outstanding interpersonal skills.