Koios Education

Civil Engineering Reading List

This Civil Engineering reading list is designed for students considering Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, or related built-environment degrees at universities such as Cambridge, UCL, and Manchester. It brings together reading on structures, materials, fluids, soil mechanics, surveying, design, sustainability, and engineering methods.

You do not need to buy every book on this page before starting university. The purpose of the list is to help you explore what civil engineers think about and how the discipline connects mathematics, physics, infrastructure, materials, environment, and design. You can find further support through the Koios resource hub, the wider reading list collection, and the Beyond scheme.

How to Use This List

Start with the Core readings if you want a broad sense of structures, materials, and engineering thinking. Use the Recommended sections to explore technical areas such as structural analysis, fluids, soil mechanics, and surveying. The Further Reading items are useful once you have a clearer sense of which parts of civil engineering interest you most.

Cambridge Reading List

Cambridge’s recommendations are especially strong for students who want to understand engineering judgment, structural behaviour, design failure, and sustainability.

Core

  • MacKay, D. J. C., Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air.
  • Allwood, J. and Cullen, J., Sustainable Materials – With Both Eyes Open.
  • Gordon, J. E., The New Science of Strong Materials.
  • Gordon, J. E., Structures – or Why Things Don’t Fall Down.
  • Petroski, H., To Engineer is Human.
  • Salvadori, M., Why Buildings Stand Up.

Recommended

  • Adams, J. L., Flying Buttresses, Entropy and O-Rings.
  • Petroski, H., Invention by Design.
  • Petroski, H., Design Paradigms.
  • Petroski, H., Success Through Failure.
  • Petroski, H., Small Things Considered.
  • Levy, M. and Salvadori, M., Why Buildings Fall Down.
  • Cadbury, D., Seven Wonders of the Industrial World.

UCL Reading List

UCL’s list is more technical and is useful for students who want to look ahead to structural analysis, design codes, materials, fluids, and geotechnics.

Core

  • Cobb, F., Structural Engineer’s Pocket Book: Eurocodes.
  • Arya, C., Design of Structural Elements.
  • Eurocode 2: Design of Concrete Structures.
  • Soutsos, M. and Domone, P. L. J. (eds.), Construction Materials: Their Nature and Behaviour.
  • Massey, B. S., Mechanics of Fluids.
  • Atkinson, J. H., The Mechanics of Soils and Foundations.

Recommended

  • Hibbeler, R. C. and Lee, J. H., Structural Analysis.
  • Al Nageim, H., Structural Mechanics.
  • Hulse, R. and Cain, J., Structural Mechanics.
  • Williams, M. and Todd, J. D., Structures: Theory and Analysis.
  • Hibbeler, R. C. and Tan, K.-H., Structural Analysis.
  • Brohn, D., Understanding Structural Analysis.
  • Jennings, A., Structures: From Theory to Practice.
  • Douglas, J. F. et al., Fluid Mechanics.
  • Hamill, L., Understanding Hydraulics.
  • Wynn, P., Hydraulics for Civil Engineers.

Manchester Reading List

Manchester’s recommendations add more on design process, sustainability metrics, software tools, and surveying.

Recommended

  • Striebig, B., Engineering Applications in Sustainable Design and Development.
  • Dym, C. L. et al., Engineering Design: A Project Based Introduction.
  • Gibbons, O. P. et al., How to Calculate Embodied Carbon.
  • Niku, S. B., Creative Design of Products and Systems.
  • Cross, N., Engineering Design Methods.
  • Valentine, D. T. and Hahn, B. D., Essential MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists.
  • Attaway, S., MATLAB: A Practical Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving.
  • Chapman, S., MATLAB Programming for Engineers.
  • Nathanson, J. A., Lanzafama, M. T. and Kissam, P., Surveying Fundamentals and Practices.
  • Ghilani, C. D. and Wolf, P. R., Elementary Surveying: An Introduction to Geomatics.
  • Kavanagh, B. F. and Slattery, D. K., Surveying with Construction Applications.

Further Reading and Online Resources

Using This Reading in an Application

The strongest Civil Engineering applicants can connect technical curiosity with real-world infrastructure and design problems. A good personal statement might reflect on why structures stand or fail, how sustainability changes engineering priorities, or how materials, fluids, and soil behaviour shape practical decisions.

For more support, browse the Koios resources page and the broader reading list collection.