Mapping the Landscape: An Analysis of Transportation Engineering Courses Across U.S. Universities

Abstract: Educating a workforce prepared to address current and future challenges related to transportation infrastructure is critical to the safety, well-being, and prosperity of the public. Transportation engineering is a specialty area often taught within civil engineering programs. Civil engineering programs in the United States are offered at institutions ranging from liberal arts colleges and primarily undergraduate institutions to doctoral universities with very high research activity. These institutions vary in terms of student enrollment, faculty size, and educational and instructional resources, all of which influence the course offerings at each institution. Given this diversity in institutional contexts, a comprehensive analysis of transportation engineering education across these programs is essential to understanding the current state of the field and identifying opportunities for improvement.

To better understand current trends and potential gaps in transportation engineering education, this paper aims to provide insights into how transportation engineering is integrated into undergraduate civil engineering programs across the United States. The paper offers an overview of required transportation engineering lecture and laboratory courses, their prerequisites, and their sequence in the curriculum. Additionally, it summarizes elective undergraduate course offerings in various transportation engineering subdisciplines, identifying trends, emphasis areas, and potential areas for improvement. The results are based on a systematic review of the program of study and the academic catalogs of approximately one hundred accredited civil engineering programs. This study applies the PRISMA methodology for systematic reviews, ensuring transparency and reproducibility, and making the outcomes useful for transportation engineering educators. The findings from this paper will assist educators in future curriculum development and resource allocation for creating new courses that address industry needs. Furthermore, this study provides a foundation for future research on aligning transportation engineering education with evolving technological and societal demands.