CIVL 4111
Engineering Economics
 

WELCOME TO ENGINEERING ECONOMICS!

Engineers solve problems for a living. A successful solution must be both technically and economically feasible. This course provides the tools necessary to determine the economic feasibility of individual solutions and to select the most economical alternative from among competing technically feasible solutions.

Engineering economics is a topic on the Fundamentals of Engineering examination. This course is designed to cover all of the topics you will likely see on the FE Exam. We will also cover topics that will be useful to you in your personal life, like calculating mortgage payments and loan balances, calculating the rate of return on stocks and bonds, and determining the hidden interest rates associated with purchasing goods using installment payments (e.g., rent-to-own).

All course announcements will be posted here, so please check this page frequently.

Monday, January 7
Some of you may not have your textbooks yet. Here are links to Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 from the first edition of the course textbook. These two chapters are very similar in the first and second editions, so this should get you started.

Monday, January 7
The entire field of Engineering Economics started with a book titled "The Economic Theory of the Location of Railways" by Arthur Mellon Wellington. It was first published by John Wiley and Sons in 1887. If you're interested, you can read the book at archive.org.

Monday, January 7
 The course textbook has a companion website that includes podcasts covering key topics, solutions to selected homework problems, and review material for the FE exam. You should become familiar with that website and make good use of it throughout the semester.

Monday, January 7
 Throughout the semester, we will use the Engineering Economics chapter of the NCEES FE Reference Handbook. This is the only reference you will have access to when you take the FE exam so you should become familiar with it before you take the FE exam. You can download a copy of the Engineering Economics chapter here.