Graduate program: Environmental Engineering

Environmental Engineering has been defined in different ways by different groups of professionals. The Bylaws of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers define environmental engineering as ". . . the application of engineering principles to the management of the environment for the protection of human health; for the protection of nature's beneficial ecosystems and for environment-related enhancement of the quality of human life." This definition makes environmental engineering one of the broadest of all the engineering disciplines. It utilizes all of the physical, chemical and biological sciences as the basis for achieving its engineering goals.

Areas of specialty in environmental engineering include: water supply and treatment, wastewater treatment (municipal and industrial), hazardous waste management (present practice and remedial treatment), air pollution control and atmospheric processes, groundwater management (movement and quality control), stormwater management, risk characterization and risk assessment, fate of pollutants and other similar and related areas. Environmental engineering has aspects that are closely related to chemical engineering (the design of treatment processes), chemistry (specific interactions between pollutants and the environment), civil engineering (hydraulic engineering, water resources engineering) and biology (biological waste treatment systems, toxicology).

Environmental engineering should appeal to students who have an interest in the sustainable maintenance of the environment and who are willing to enjoy multidisciplinary approaches to achieve that end.

Students will be admitted only in the Fall Quarter of each academic year. Four consecutive quarters of a two-credit project course are required where graduate students work in teams (likely pairs) on an in-depth industry-based project that culminates in a joint final written report and oral presentation during the fourth quarter. Throughout the year the student teams are required to submit project proposals (first quarter), status reports and draft reports (second and third quarters), and a final report to the client (fourth quarter). The project course includes seminars on project management, proposal writing, presentation skills, ethics, case studies, field trips, and so on. The team must also prepare a manuscript of the work suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed professional journal. To successfully complete the project course, the joint final project report and manuscript must be approved by the team's graduate committee.

Department of Environmental Engineering Website

Master of Science in Environmental Engineering requirements

20 credit hours of core courses
20 credit hours of elective courses
8 credit hours of project course
3 credit hours of graduate seminar

Core Courses
CE 563 Unit Operations in Environmental Engineering 
CE 564 Aquatic Environmental Chemistry
CE 567 Applied Hydrologic Modeling
CE 568 Applied Contaminant Transport Modeling
CE 569 Environmental Systems Optimization

Possible Electives include
CE 562 Treatability Studies
CE 565 Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
CE 573 Groundwater Analysis
CE 566 Environmental Management
CH 450 Air Pollution Control
CH 470 Safety, Health & Loss Prevention
VA 452 Environmental Economics
ME 513 Environmental Noise

Students may take elective courses outside of the Civil Engineering Department (e.g., Mathematics, Chemical Engineering) that are considered by the student's adviser and advisory committee as being relevant and appropriate to the student's course of study.

Course of Study Prerequisite
Students must have completed a laboratory based environmental course and an introductory undergraduate class in environmental science and/or engineering. These are considered prerequisites and will not be counted in the 51 hours required for the M.S. degree. Students without these requirements will be required to take CE 460 and CE 461 in addition to the 51 hours listed above.