Established in 1904, the Department of Civil Engineering is one of seven degree-granting departments within the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University. Graduates obtain a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (B.S.C.E.). The undergraduate program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission/Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET).

The Russ College of Engineering and Technology, of which the Civil Engineering department is a part, had a total of 1,678 students enrolled in the fall of 1999. Of these students, 1,391 were undergraduates. The college currently has 209 female undergraduates, or 15% of undergraduate enrollment, and 89 minority students who comprise 6.4% of the undergraduate student population.