The Department of Civil Engineering was established along with the inception of College of Engineering Trivandrum in 1939. Department has achieved manifold progress in various domains over the years and has acquired a legacy of its own. Presently, the Department offers an Undergraduate programme of intake 120 in Civil Engineering leading to the B.Tech degree and six Post- graduate programmes, leading to the M.Tech degree of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University. Various streams of Post graduate programme include Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydraulics Engineering, Geo Informatics, Traffic and Transportation Engineering and Environmental Engineering with a total intake of 108. Moreover, as the Institute is a QIP centre of the AICTE, there are 38 scholars pursuing research leading to Ph. D in Civil Engineering.

The Department has a full fledged infrastructure system with well equipped UG and PG laboratories, five seminar halls and a computer centre. There are many clubs associated with the department established with the intention of fertilizing technical and extra curricular activities of students apart from the regular curriculum. ICI (Indian Concrete Institute) CET chapter is one among such clubs, which organizes many events which enables students in collaborating and interacting with professionals and thus aid in bridging the gap between theory and practice.

The Department holds a dynamic role in Research and Development and also inthe dissemination of its output to the welfare of public by conducting symposia, workshops and short term training programmes. The Transportation Engineering Research Centre (TRC), sponsored by Government of Kerala, with the prime objective of offering better roads for Kerala , has a funding of One Crore every year since 2012, is a feather on the cap of the Department. Numerous research projects sponsored by various departments and organisations including the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, AICTE,Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), NRRDA, Coir Board, and the Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) have been completed and many more are currently in progress.