The merit to set up the first engineering Romanian school was due to the great Romanian man of the culture and science Gheorghe Asachi (1788-1869) who succeeded to persuade Prince Scarlat Calimachi of Moldova to enforce the act from November 15, 1813 which laid the foundation's of a "class of surveyors and building engineers in Romania".
As a result of Gh. Asachi endeavours too, was created in Iasi between 1835 and 1847, the Michaelian Academy, numbering among its scholars the most representative men of science in that time. This first official institution of Romanian higher education in Moldova succeeded to cover local needs of the higher technical training.
Higher education in Civil Engineering and Architecture in Iasi was initiated also by the great scholar "Gh. Asachi" who set up in 1848 The Application School for Engineering and Constructions even if for only a short time. It was only in 1941 that the Faculty of Civil Engineering (later including also architectural studies) became part of the Higher Polytechnic School of Iasi.
At present, the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture is part of the "Gh. Asachi" Technical University, a leading technical and scientific centre, where the students of the faculty attend the following sections of specialisation:
From the beginning, the training in various domains of Civil Engineering and related areas was oriented to the practical needs of the desugn, execution and testing of the constructions all over the country, in order to cover the gaps in the knowledge of the behavoiur under static, dynamic and earthquake actions. In order to improve the building science, as one can see from the brief description of the main activity fields highlighting the research progress made within the departments of the faculty, a multitude of research items and the objectives has been approached and investigated by the academic staff of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture.
Starting with the academic year 1997-1998, a section of Urban Engineering has been provided.
The students of our Faculty attend the above-mentioned sections under the guidance of the faculty members organised in 9 departments:
Several topics (Mathematics, Physics, Hydraulics, Modern Languages and Physical Education) are taught by staff from other departments within the university.
The duration of courses is 5 years for the students in Engineering of all sections of specialization profiles. The courses for students in Architecture last 6 years. The studies close with a B.Sc. thesis presentation (diploma work); before this, students must sustain a degree examination (called licenta in Romanian), a prerequisite condition for being admitted to present the diploma work. About 10% of the graduates in engineering attend a sixth year, ending with a Master of Science dissertation. The graduates have at their disposal facilities for applying for a Doctoral Degree in Engineering.
The Graduates are qualified for research, design, management and maintenance of Civil Engineering works.
Since its setting-up, the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture has educated a total number of more than 12000 engineers and higher technicians.