Civil Engineering Department
College of Engineering
King Saud University
Capstone Design Project
CE 498 Graduation Project-I & CE 499 Graduation Project-II
CE 498: Graduation Project-I
 One to two faculty members will be supervising students in each group depending on the nature of the
group.

A practicing engineer from industry will work along with the supervisor to help guide the students
and facilitate field visits and the provision of required design documents.

The nature of the project, its objectives, and assignments of work need to be carried out should be
prepared by the supervisor at early stage of the semester in consultation with the practicing engineer,
and be presented to and discussed with students during the 2nd week. Time table showing all tasks
and time allocated should also be prepared by the supervisor.

The supervisor should make contacts with industry to identify real engineering projects for use as
capstone design projects, and to invite a practicing engineer to work as a volunteer in the capstone
design course.

All project work conducted during the semester must be compiled in a report (intermediate report) and
orally presented to the faculty, the supervisor, practicing engineers, and interested students. The team
supervisor and practicing engineer, and an examiner (a faculty member) will grade the report and the
oral presentation.

This phase includes project selection, a preparing a work plan for implementing and completing the
project, data collection, identification of real-life constraints (e.g. economy, environmental, global,
and contemporary issues), generation of possible design alternatives considering client needs, and
selection of the preferred alternative.

All CE498 students will be attending an introductory lecture (to introduce syllabus of the course) and
design lectures with assignments tackling different civil engineering projects. In addition, subjects
marginally covered in the CE program courses (such as environmental impact and assessment, and
engineering ethics) will be delivered by invited speakers and/or faculty members.

Each set of the design lectures will cover design aspects (e.g. specifications, codes, methods) of a
particular civil engineering project (e.g. building, road, bridge, water distribution system, wastewater
treatment plant, dam, etc.), and must not exceed 4 hours (i.e. two weeks). The purpose of such design
lectures is not to deliver detailed information (that had already been taken in the CE courses) but to
present an overview of the design in a general context in terms of design stages (from preliminary
design to final design), design criteria, needed information and data, design constraints, design
requirements, analysis and design methods, specifications, codes, software and to outline the sources
of all needed information. Each set of lectures concludes by giving a design assignment to the
students. Each student should solve and hand back the solution to the instructor the week after.
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
Marks of the assignments, submission of the intermediate report and its presentation (at the end of the
semester), and lectures attendance constitute 100% of the course grade and there is no final exam.
Summary of the CE498 "Graduation Project-I" Activities
Remarks
For all students. To outline syllabus of the course, & define
the general objectives of capstone design project &
requirements.
Inception meeting with supervisor & practicing engineer
Each group meets its supervisor – Due date for submission of
PPF to the Graduation Project Committee
Each group meets its supervisor
For all students
For all students
Each group meets its supervisor
For all students
For all students
Each group meets its supervisor
For all students
For all students
Each group meets its supervisor
+ For all students
Week
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Description
Introductory Lecture
2
3
Group Meeting
Group Meeting
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Group Meeting
Design Lecture
Design Lecture
Group Meeting
Design Lecture
Design Lecture
Group Meeting
Design Lecture
Design Lecture
Group Meeting
Invited Lecture
report submission
Students Presentation
15
Open presentation to the department
CE 499: Graduation Project-II
 This phase includes design calculations and/or use of experimental tools as required for detailed
design of the preferred alternative that was selected in CE498. Both the supervisor and practicing
engineer will be involved throughout the semester.

At the course’s conclusion, the team submits a final written report (in the 13th week of the semester)
and makes an oral presentation (week no. 14) that is open to faculty, interested students, and the
practicing engineers. The team supervisor and practicing engineer, and an examiner (a faculty
member) will grade the report and the oral presentation.

The final report to be submitted by the team includes project title, executive summary, description,
objectives and constraints, data and assumptions, design alternatives and analyses, details of preferred
design along with pertinent drawings, and results and summary.
Acknowledgment to Practicing Engineers
At the end of the CE499 semester, practicing engineers will receive a recognition certificate and the
department trophy for their efforts and participation. In addition, their names and affiliation will appear in
the department website.
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