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Undergraduate Academics
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering
Environmental engineers apply scientific and engineering principles to assess, manage and design sustainable systems for the protection of human and ecological health. The designs and technologies that they develop provide safe and sufficient public water supplies, enable effective and efficient treatment and resource recovery from wastewater and other wastes, and control pollutant releases that protect water, soil and air quality. Their broad training in basic sciences, mathematics, computational approaches, as well as a strong engineering foundation prepares environmental engineers to apply technological solutions within specific environmental and societal contexts. Environmental engineering graduates are prepared to enter professional practice and to pursue graduate study in environmental engineering and allied fields.
The BS in Environmental Engineering degree program is designed to provide students with comprehensive training in environmental engineering fundamentals. The program has been designed with the goal of receiving accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET under the General Criteria and the Environmental Engineering Program Criteria. Accreditation can be sought once the program has had its first graduates; the program was launched at the start of the 2018-2019 Spring Semester.
Program Objectives and Accreditation Information
EECE Department Mission Statement
The mission of the department is to teach energy, environmental and chemical engineering principles and their application in an inspiring learning environment; to prepare students for engineering careers by developing the skills of critical thinking, analysis and communication proficiency; and to instill a sense of professional ethics and societal responsibility.
Program Educational Objective
The Program Educational Objective for the BSEnvE degree program is that, within a few years of graduation, graduates will:
- Thrive in their professional practice or graduate education, leveraging their knowledge and skills to address complex challenges in environmental engineering or their chosen field.
- Foster a lifelong commitment to learning, growth, and professional development, seeking opportunities to advance their expertise and contribute to their environmental engineering practice or chosen field.
- Be dedicated to positively advancing society by promoting equity, diversity, sustainability, and ethical practices in their professional endeavors.
Student Outcomes
Graduates of the BSEnvE program are expected to know or have:
- An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
- An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
- An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
- An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
- An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
- An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
- An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies
Enrollment & Graduation Data for BS in Environmental Engineering
| Academic Year | Enrollment (all undergraduate levels) | BS Graduates |
| 2018 | 0 | N/A |
| 2019 | 9 | N/A |
| 2020 | 24 | N/A |
| 2021 | 35 | N/A& |
| 2022 | 27 | 4 |
| 2023 | 39 | 5 |
| 2024 | 46 | 11 |
Degree Requirements
The curriculum is designed to prepare graduates for environmental engineering careers and graduate studies. It is guided by the vision of offering the environmental engineering degree with the strongest chemical engineering flavor or any program in the country. The program benefits from the relatively unique context of a department that integrates environmental engineering and chemical engineering.
The degree requires satisfactory completion of a minimum of 126 units. Degree requirements are linked below, and sample year-by-year curricula are available at the top of this page.
- Requirements for students entering (matriculating) in 2022 and prior*
- Requirements for students entering (matriculating) in 2023 and later
*All BSEnvE students may choose to follow the newer degree requirements.
From the courses listed in the degree requirements, the humanities and social sciences courses (except Engr 450X courses) may be taken pass/fail. All other required courses must be taken for a letter grade.
Additionally, all students must earn a total of 45 Engineering Topics units across all courses. In almost all cases, this requirement can be satisfied by meeting all of the BSCHE degree requirements. Engineering Topics units are denoted by the designation EN/TU in the course listings.
Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences Requirement
As part of the overall requirement of 18 units of humanities and social sciences, the BS in Environmental Engineering requires that 3 units be selected from a menu of options that is focused on environmental humanities or social sciences. Current options for this requirement are listed at the bottom of this page.
Electives Requirements
The degree requirements include 15 units of environmental engineering electives. These units permit students to tailor their studies toward specific goals. Some of these 15 units may be taken in other engineering departments, and one is explicitly required to be from a set of natural science options. In collaboration with their advisers, students design a course of study (subject to certain requirements) for the environmental engineering and science electives.
Electives may be chosen from the list at the bottom of the page, subject to the following requirements:
- At least 3 units must satisfy the requirement of a natural science elective
- At least 3 units from EECE courses
- No more than six (6) units from Independent Study (EECE 3999, 4999, 5999) or Senior Thesis (EECE 4979)
Additionally, Engineering Mathematics B (ENGR 3190) is strongly recommended for students considering graduate studies.
More information about Independent Study and the Senior Thesis can be found here. Only advanced (3000-or-higher) level Independent Study courses will count towards the environmental engineering electives requirement.
Approved Courses for Environmental H/SS and Electives Requirements
Below are lists of courses currently approved to count for either the environmental humanities and social science (H/SS) requirement or the environmental engineering electives requirement. Students interested in counting a course that is not on these lists towards a requirement should first discuss it with their academic advisor and then petition the EECE Undergraduate Committee by emailing Dr. Janie Brennan. Petitions should include the course name and description, the requirement you'd like the course to count for, the course syllabus (if available), and a brief statement about why the course should be allowed to count.
Environmental Humanities and Social Science Courses
- Anthro 3616 (Ecofeminism: Environmental Social Movements and Anthropology)
- Anthro 4287 (Anthropology of Water)
- Econ 4511 (Environmental Policy)
- EnSt 3520 (Ecological Economics)
- EnSt 3034 (Pathfinder: Environmental Modernism)
- EnSt 3540 (Environmental Justice)
- EnSt 3530 (Sustainable Cities)
- EnSt 3330 (Multiparty Environmental Decision Making)
- EnSt 4004 (Sustainability Exchange: Community and University Practicums)
- EnSt 4820 (International Climate Negotiation Seminar)
- EnSt 4527 (IPCC: Governance, Policy and Science)
- EnSt 4510 (Intro to Environmental Law and Policy)
- Phil 2080 (Introduction to Environmental Ethics)
- Pol Sci 2010 (Introduction to Environmental Policy)
Environmental Engineering Electives
Natural science elective course options are indicated with asterisks (**).
- All 3000-or-higher level courses in:
- EECE (E44) - with the exception of Biology in EECE
- BME (E62)
- CSE (E81)
- ESE (E35)
- MEMS (E37)
- Chemistry (L07)
- Mathematics (L24)
- Physics (L31)
- Biol 2970 (Principles of Biology II)
- Biol 3810 (Introduction to Ecology)
- Biol 4197 (Community Ecology)
- CSE 2407 (Data Structures and Algorithms)
- Chem 2502 (Organic Chemistry II)
- EECE 2510 (Thermodynamics II) – Only for students matriculating Fall 2023 and later
- Engr 3240 (From Concept to Market: The Business of Engineering)
- Engr 3290 (Independent Study: Engineering Statistics and Startups)
- EnSt 3710 or 5700 (Applications in GIS)
- EnSt 4810 (RESET: Renewable Energy and Decarbonizing the Grid)
- EnSt 5830 (Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic)
- EEPS 3150 (Environmental Impacts of Human Energy Use)
- **EEPS 3230 (Biogeochemistry)
- EEPS 3410 (Intro to Geochemistry) [Note: Requires EEPS 2020 as a prerequisite]
- **EEPS 3420 (Environmental Systems)
- **EEPS 3863 (The Earth’s Climate System) [Note: Requires EEPS 2020 as a prerequisite]
- EEPS 3873 (Geospatial Science)
- **EEPS 4134 (Introduction to Soil Science) or **EEPS 3173 (Soil Science)
- **EEPS 4284 (Hydrology)
- **EEPS 4424 (Aqueous Geochemistry) or **EEPS 4444 (Environmental Geochemistry)
- ESE 2301 (Intro to Electrical and Electronic Circuits)
- MEMS 1100 (Machine Shop Practicum)
- MEMS 1150 (Computer-Aided Design)
- MEMS 2510 (Statics and Mechanics of Materials)
- MEMS 2520 (Dynamics)
- Physics 2170 (Introduction to Quantum Physics)
- SWSP 5660 (Designing Sustainable Social Policies & Programs: A Systems Dynamic Approach)