In the Environmental Engineering undergraduate program, students acquire the technical competency, communication skills, and global awareness to assume a leadership role in the environmental management arena of the future. Students experience a holistic learning environment where they integrate principles from chemical, physical, biological, and social sciences, and engineering disciplines. Field investigation, hypothesis testing by analytical and numerical experimentation, recognition of societal and economic constraints, and synthesis through mathematical modeling are integrated in the analysis of environmental problems and the creation of appropriate solutions. This knowledge base will be tested in the evaluation of real-world natural and engineered processes that impact environmental quality.

Environmental engineers contribute to solving environmental problems. They assess how human activity impacts the environment and work to minimize such impacts, as well as tend to the natural environment as the earth’s life support system. The major areas of work include: air pollution control, wastewater treatment, household and hazardous waste management, environmental remediation, and hydrology and water resources management.