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Land Surveying Courses and Descriptions
ES 1061 - Engineering Problem Solving with Spreadsheets * (Spring)
Syllabus
1 credit hour
An introduction to engineering problem solving through the use of computer spreadsheets. Topics include functions, referencing, conditional statements, graphs, trendlines and iterative solvers.
Prerequisite: A working knowledge of Algebra and Trigonometry.
CE 2072 - Engineering Surveying * (Fall)
Syllabus
2 credit hours
This course covers the principles of measurements of distances, elevations, and angles. It also includes basic error theory in measurements and calculations, traverse field techniques and office calculations, and basic principles of surveying and map making.
Prerequisites: A working knowledge of Algebra and Trigonometry.
CE 2074 - Ethics for the Professional Surveyor * (Spring)
1 credit hour
This is an introduction to the common ethical and moral issues facing professional surveyors in modern practice.
Prerequisites: CE 2070 or CE 2072.
CE 2083 - GIS for Surveyors (Spring)
Syllabus
3 credit hours
This course covers the basic concepts of geographic information systems, the methods and software used to implement them, and their applications to land surveying and analysis of other civil engineering problems.
Prerequisites: CE 2070 or CE 2072 and ES 1061.
CE 2085 - Public Land Surveys * (Summer, Spring)
Syllabus
3 credit hour
This course covers historical factors that lead to the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). Basic fundamentals are discussed, including line types, corner types, and the original survey process. Principles of government, dependent and independent resurveys, and the basic keys to reading General Land Office and BLM survey plans are also discussed. “Bona fide rights” and riparian boundaries in the PLSS are introduced. The non-rectangular entities, the process for section subdivision-including normal, fractional, lotted closing corners, and sections lotted for irregularities found in a dependent survey, and the proper use of off-line closing corners are presented. This class also covers the importance of and process for records research. Discussion leads into the analysis of corner evidence on the ground and restoring lost corners after years of deterioration and neglect. It also covers the role of the present day surveyor in the PLSS and types of complexities that will be faced.
Prerequisites: CE 2070 or CE 2072.
CE 2088 - Writing Land Descriptions * (Fall)
Syllabus
2 credit hours
This course addresses historical and current issues for land description writing and usage for the practicing surveyor. Students will discuss the relationship between written descriptions and field survey data, interpreting old descriptions, and the structure principles of descriptions.
Prerequisites: CE 2070 or CE 2072.
CE 2089 - Basic Geodesy for Today’s GPS Land Surveyor (Fall, Spring)
Syllabus
2 credit hours
This course discusses the history of geodesy from its infancy, including different measurement techniques, coordinate systems, ellipsoids and datums. It provides information about geodetic and Cartesian coordinates and their relationship to one another. This course also provides the understanding of the difference between grid and ground coordinates and the different geodetic and Cartesian coordinate systems available today.
CE 2090 - GPS for Land Surveyors (Fall, Spring)
Syllabus
4 credit hours
From fundamental theory to practical application and advanced technologies, this class will cover all aspects of GPS you need to understand and use GPS as a land surveyor. This class teaches the basics of GPS technology, common hardware, surveying methods, survey design, planning and observing, real-time kinematics and DGPS. You will leave this course with a better understanding of how GPS works and how to evaluate your data to become more efficient and effective land surveyor.
Prerequisites: CE 2089.
CE 3710 - Route Surveying (Even Numbered Years – Spring & Fall, Odd Numbered Years - Summer)
Syllabus
3 credit hours
This course covers the principles of route location and design. The theories of circular, parabolic, and spiral curves, highway and railway geometric design, area and volumes of earthwork, and mass diagrams are discussed.
Prerequisites: CE 2070 or CE 2072 and ES 1061.
CE 3720 - Advanced Surveying (Even numbered Years – Summer, Odd Numbered Years Spring & Fall)
Syllabus
4 credit hours
Students will cover advanced topics in surveying computations and procedures including traverse error analysis, topographic surveying, mapping, astronomical observations, coordinate geometry applications, introduction to geodesy, state plan coordinates, and concepts of least square analysis of survey adjustments.
Prerequisites: CE 2070 or CE 2072 and ES 1061.
CE 3740 - Boundary Control and Legal Principles * (Summer)
Syllabus
2 credit hours
This course in boundary law addresses the fundamental principles of real property as applied to land surveying and related professions. Discussion and applications center on practical situations and concepts commonly encountered while conducting boundary surveys and the determination of the extent of ownership rights. Students explore the scope of the surveyors’ judicial role in real property ownership.
Prerequisites: CE 2070 or CE 2072.
CE 3750 - Surveying Evidence and Procedures for Boundary Location * (Spring)
Syllabus
2 credit hours
This is a practical and working guide to understanding survey evidence and the laws of boundary location for efficient, accurate boundary determination. This material aids in the elimination of errors in land boundaries locations. The surveyor’s liability liability and statues of limitations are explored in depth. Also included are discussions of the surveyor’s role in court.
Prerequisites: CE 2070 or CE 2072.
CE 4700 - Coastal Water Boundaries (Fall of ODD numbered years)
Syllabus
3 credit hours
This course will introduce the student to the physical and legal issues involved in locating the limits of various property rights associated with lands that abut tidal waters. Students will gain an understanding of coastal water boundaries from the outer continental shelf to a coastal river’s head-of-tide by learning how to find, cite, and analyze case law in a virtual or actual law library. This course will also include a brief review of the Public Lands Survey System (PLSS), the Submerged Lands Act and the Swamp and Overflowed Lands Acts.
Prerequisites: CE 2085 or CE 2084 and CE 3740.
CE 4730 - Inland Water Boundaries (Spring of Even numbered years)
Syllabus
3 credit hours
This course looks at islands and uplands that border on non-tidal, navigable and non-navigable rivers and lakes. It examines the various types of "navigability", as well as wetlands and floodplains. The property rights which attach to, as well as the limitations placed on, these riparian parcels will be examined through the prism of statutory, administrative and case law. The goals are for the student to become aware of the fundamental legal and scientific principles that form the basis of boundary, title and/or regulatory/land-use determinations; to be able to apply those principles properly in most situations commonly encountered in professional practice; and to more readily recognize when the assistance-of/collaboration-with other professionals is appropriate.
Prerequisites: CE 2084 or CE 2085 and CE 3740.
CE 4740 - Advanced Public Land Surveys (Fall)
Syllabus
3 credit hours
This class covers advanced topics in situations and problems in the Public Land Survey system with discussion of major court cases involving everyday applications to surveyors. The 1975 BLM casebook and other sources of survey reference are recommended.
Prerequisites: CE 2084 or CE 2085 and CE 3740.
