The Department of Civil Engineering attaches great importance to fundamental research, application research, interdisciplinarity and improvement of innovation. Combining engineering demand of our countries, department of civil engineering focuses on solving fundamental theoretic and critical technical problems of civil engineering and relevant fields. With its own characteristic and preponderant research directions, department of civil engineering has won National Natural Science Award, State Technological Invention Award and National Prize for Progress in Science and Technology 11 times, not only providing the basis for the establishment of more than 40 national and industrial technical standards, but also solving critical problems of important engineering projects, which has improved the academic influence of its own faculty greatly. The characteristic and preponderant research directions includes: (1) fundamental theory and method research of high-perance structures and new materials; (2) fundamental research on security and disaster prevention and reduction of important engineering projects; (3) research on numerical analysis and calculation methods of new structures; (4) research on construction and management technology of green engineering projects; (5) research on fundamental theory and application technology of underground engineering projects; (6) research on critical technology of sustainable development and new urbanization; (7) research on basic theory and critical technology of  transportation infrastructure construction; (8) research on combination and interdisciplinarity of civil engineering and other relevant subjects.

The Department of Civil Engineering pays a lot of attention to international academic influence of its own subject establishment and guidance of its own characteristic research direction. With more and more papers published on international journals and times cited, the department of civil engineering has been highly recognized and evaluated by international counterparts and its academic level and influence has stepped into the team of international famous subjects. In the international subject evaluation of 2011, international experts considered that structural engineering (including construction materials) and structural mechanic were the most excellent majors in the world, and research on disaster prevention and reduction and protective engineering also led the world. In the future, department of civil engineering will continue to balance the realistic interests and long-term interests, fundamental research and application research, scale of subject and quality of subject. Besides, department of civil engineering will also exploit new research directions and determine the aim, direction and emphasis of development.