The Civil Engineering Department began with a casual conversation between Ir. Jacob Rais (Head of the Semarang Land Registration Office) and Ir. Gunawan in 1958, when Mr. Rais’ car broke down. This brief chat led to a large proposal, which was to construct a Civil Engineering Higher Education Institute in Semarang. This idea was then pursued by Ir. Jacob Rais and Ir. Imam Subarkah, and supported by Semarang City building experts such as Prof. Ir. Soemarman, Ir. Oei Djwee Hwie, Ir. R. Soenardi, Ir. Lie Kok Gwan, Ir. Moeljadi, and Ir. Tjoa Tjeng Kie, with plans to establish a Civil Engineering Higher Education Institution.
This idea was achieved on October 20, 1958, when the University of Semarang created an Engineering Academy with a Department of Civil Engineering. During the third anniversary celebration on January 9, 1960, Dr. Ir. Soekarno, President of the Republic of Indonesia, changed the name of Semarang University to Diponegoro University, and on October 15, 1960, the Engineering Academy was renamed the Faculty of Engineering, with Prof. Ir. Sumarman as the first Dean.
Prof. Ir. Sujanto Budiharso was the first permanent lecturer at the Department of Civil Engineering at Diponegoro University’s Faculty of Engineering. Lectures were held in the afternoon at a building west of Tugu Muda (now the Wisma Perdamaian), then moved to Jl. MT. Haryono (previously Jl. Mataram) No. 427, which served as the campus for the Army’s War Authority (Pekuper) and Territory IV. Except for the hydraulics practicum at the Watering Laboratory on Jl. DR. Sutomo (Kalisari), which is a donation from the Public Works Department, practicum activities were carried out in other agencies at the time, including the Semarang Land Registration Office and Gajah Mada University Yogyakarta.
The Civil Engineering Department occupied the White House on the Pleburan Campus (Jl. Hayam Wuruk) in the following time, replete with facilities for drainage, geodesy, geology, soil mechanics, and construction materials.
Diponegoro University Tembalang was created in 1993 using APBN money and the Six Universities Development and Rehabilitation (SUDR) Project. Since 1996, the Civil Engineering Department has been in operation on the Tembalang campus. The Structure, Transportation, Computing, and Construction Management Laboratory has been added to the Civil Engineering Department’s laboratory on this campus. The Building Materials Laboratory and the Structures Laboratory merged in 2004 to form the Materials and Construction Laboratory, while the Geology Laboratory became the embryo laboratory in the Geological Engineering Study Program.
In 1997, the Master’s Program (S2) was established, with emphasis on Transportation, Water Resources, Structures, Construction Management, Infrastructure Engineering, Coastal Engineering, and Geotechnics. The Civil Engineering Doctoral Program (S3) was founded in 2004, with five concentrations: Water Resources, Structural Engineering, Construction Management, Transportation, and Geotechnical.
In 2002, the Civil Engineering Department was awarded a 13 billion ADB Development Assistance Project through the Technological And Professional Skills Development Sub Sector Project (TPSDP) – Batch I on a Competitive Grand basis in order to improve the quality of the teaching and learning process and produce graduates who can compete internationally.
The education structure in the Civil Engineering Department has also changed over time. Prior to the 1980s, education used a package system with a minimum length of study of five years, which was eventually replaced by the Semester Credit System (SKS). The curriculum with a study length of 10 semesters and a load of 160 credits was altered to 9 semesters and a load of 150 credits in the 1993/1994 academic year. The term of study was thus reduced to 8 semesters with a load of 147 credits in 1996/1997. The 2002 curriculum was established in 2002 as a substitute for the 1997 curriculum, with the same length of study and academic load, namely 8 semesters and 147 credits. The 2002 curriculum was established in 2002 as a substitute for the 1997 curriculum, with the same length of study and academic load, namely 8 semesters and 147 credits. The 2002 curriculum was re-evaluated in 2007 and became the 2007 curriculum, with a study time of eight semesters and 144 credits. The 2012 competency-based curriculum was established for undergraduate students in 2012, and they were required to take a minimum of 144 credits over the course of eight semesters. The 2012 curriculum paved the way for the development of outcome-based education (OBE). The OBE curriculum was evaluated once in 2017, before being replaced in 2020 with the Merdeka Curriculum based on Minister of Education and Culture Regulation No. 3 of 2020, this curriculum is actually not much different from the 2017 Curriculum, except that it has the Merdeka Belajar content, where students are given the broadest possible opportunity to use other learning methods outside campus.
The Bachelor of Civil Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University has always received an Accreditation Rating of A since the inception of the Accreditation system. According to Minister of Education and Culture Regulation No. 5 of 2020 on Accreditation of Study Programs and Universities, the accreditation of the Bachelor of Civil Engineering Study Program, which expires in 2020, is automatically extended for the next five years (2020-2024) with the same accreditation rating as before, namely accredited A.
Aside from that, in order to gain international recognition for the prepared curriculum, the Bachelor of Civil Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University participated in the international accreditation process organized by the Indonesian Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (IABEE) in 2018 and received general accreditation recognition for the period of 30 May 2018 to 30 May 2024.
Since 1979, the Department of Public Works and Undip have operated an educational collaboration program. This schooling began on February 27, 1971, with the signature of an MOU between Dr. Ir. Purnomosidi Hadjisarosa, Minister of Public Works, and Prof. Soedarto, SH, Chancellor of Undip. The relationship was put into action on May 14, 1979, with the establishment of the DIII Persungaian LPPU (Public Works Polytechnic Institute) program and a one-year upgrading program for young bachelor graduates in the PU environment. The P1 cross-track program was established in 1981, with bachelor graduates progressing to the S1 program, the DIII Highway program, and finally the DIV Persungaian program, which was established in 1985. Curriculum changes were implemented at LPPU in 1988, at the same time as the DIII Building Building program was launched. The DIV Program was established in 1998, under the joint direction of Pusditek-Kimpraswil, with multiple concentrations in irrigation, development, and creativity. To maximize resources in the Department of Civil Engineering and from the embryonic cross-track program, an Extension/Regular-2 program was established in 1994, which welcomed DIII graduate students and high school graduates in 1997. However, new students for the R2 program have not been accepted since 2012. The inauguration of the Master’s Program in Infrastructure Engineering Management marks the continuation of educational engagement with the Department of Public Works.
The Organizational Structure and Governance at UNDIP have changed as a result of UNDIP’s position as a Legal Entity State University (PTNBH) since 2016. UNDIP Civil Engineering also made organizational changes in accordance with Diponegoro University’s organizational and governance structure (SOTK), so that as of May 1, 2016, the Department of Civil Engineering was renamed the Department of Civil Engineering and now oversees three study programs (prodi), namely the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctor.
The Civil Engineering Department currently has 45 permanent lecturers and a student body of roughly 1000 students. The Undergraduate Study Program has 7418 alumni who have entered the work market in a variety of professional disciplines.
The Civil Engineering Department also collaborates with overseas universities through a credit-transfer plan, in which UNDIP Civil Engineering students can study at partner universities after completing a specified number of semesters at UNDIP.
The struggle and active engagement of its predecessors cannot be separated from the establishment and success of the Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, UNDIP. Since its inception, the Civil Engineering Department/Department has had the following Chairs and Secretaries:
| Period | Chair | Secretary |
| 1958 – 1962 | Prof. Ir. Soemarman | Ir. Jacob Rais |
| 1962 – 1964 | Prof. Ir. R. Soenardi | Ir. R. Soediro |
| 1964 – 1966 | Ir. Soetedja Setiaatmadja | Ir. Soejanto Budiharso |
| 1966 – 1970 | Prof. Ir. R. Soenardi | Ir. Joetata Hadihardaja |
| 1970 – 1972 | Prof. Ir. R. Soenardi | Ir. Joetata Hadihardaja |
| 1972 – 1974 | Prof. Ir. R. Soenardi | Ir. Nirmolo Supriyono |
| 1974 – 1977 | Ir. Joetata Hadihardaja | Ir. Soeryono, Dipl. HE. |
| 1977 – 1980 | Ir. Joetata Hadihardaja | Ir. Darmojo |
| 1980 – 1987 | Ir. Darmojo | Ir. Udiyanto |
| 1987 – 1990 | Ir. Udiyanto | Ir. Roeswan Soediro |
| 1990 – 1992 | Ir. Soeryono, Dipl. HE. | Ir. Sri Tudjono, M.S. |
| 1992 – 1993 | Ir. H. Nirmolo Supriyono | Ir. Sri Tudjono, M.S. |
| 1993 – 1996 | Ir. H. Nirmolo Supriyono | Ir. Roeswan Soediro, M.S. |
| 1996 – 1999 | Ir. H. Nirmolo Supriyono | Ir. Sri Eko Wahyuni, M.S. |
| 1999 – 2000 | Ir. H. Nirmolo Supriyono | Ir. Bambang Pudjianto, M.T. |
| 2000 – 2004 | Ir. Pranoto Samto A., Dipl. HE., M.T. | Ir. Bambang Pudjianto, M.T. |
| 2004 – 2008 | Ir. Bambang Pudjianto, M.T. | Ir. Sri Sangkawati, M.S. |
| 2008 – 2012 | Ir. Sri Sangkawati, M.S. | Ir. M. Agung Wibowo, M.M. M.Sc. Ph.D. |
| 2012 – 2016 | Ir. Sumbogo Pranoto, M.T. | Ilham Nurhuda, S.T., M.T., Ph.D. |
| 2016 – 2020 | Ilham Nurhuda, S.T., M.T., Ph.D. | Dr. Dyah Ari Wulandari, S.T., M.T. |
| 2020 – 2021 | Ilham Nurhuda, S.T., M.T., Ph.D. | – |
| 2021 – | Jati Utomo Dwi Hatmoko, S.T., M.M., M.Sc., Ph.D. | – |
The following are the Civil Engineering leaders from its origin to the present:
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| Prof. Ir. Soemarman Head of the Engineering Faculty (1958 – 1962) |
Prof. Ir. Soenardi Head of the Engineering Faculty (1962 – 1964) Head of the Civil Engineering Program (1966 – 1974) |
Ir. Soetedja Setiaatmadja Section Head of Civil Engineering (1964 – 1966) |
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| Prof. Ir. Joetata Hadihardaja Head of the Civil Engineering Program (1974 – 1980) |
Ir. Darmojo Head of the Civil Engineering Program (1980 – 1987) |
Ir. Udiyanto Head of the Civil Engineering Program (1987 – 1990) |
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| Ir. Soeryono, Dipl. HE. Head of the Civil Engineering Program (1990 – 1992) |
Ir. Nirmolo Supriyono Head of the Civil Engineering Program (1992 – 2000) |
Ir. Pranoto S.A., Dipl. HE., M.T. Head of the Civil Engineering Program (2000 – 2004) |
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| Ir. Bambang Pujianto, M.T. Head of the Civil Engineering Program (2004 – 2008) |
Ir. Sri Sangkawati, M.S. Head of the Civil Engineering Program (2008 – 2012) |
Ir. Sumbogo Pranoto, M.T. Head of the Civil Engineering Program (2012 – 2016) |
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| Ilham Nurhuda, S.T., M.T., Ph.D. Head of the Civil Engineering Department (2016 – 2021) |
Jati Utomo Dwi Hatmoko, S.T., M.M., M.Sc., Ph.D. Head of the Civil Engineering Department (2021 – ) |