Environmental Engineering Courses

In part due to the increased governmental regulations on engineering and the environment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that environmental engineering careers are expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2014. Students interested in this focus should consider the following lower-division environmental engineering courses:

• Computing and Data Analysis for Environmental Applications: Using a programming language like MATLAB, students gain knowledge and practical experience in using computers to analyze and interpret lab and field data.
• Fundamentals of Ecology: An introductory course designed to improve knowledge of energy flow through ecosystems. Topics covered may include aquatic systems, community structure and stability, and physiological ecology.
• Transport Processes in the Environment: Focuses on large transportation systems and their effect on the environment. Topics covered may include boundary layers, dissolution, bed-water exchange, and particle transport.

Types of courses

Upper-division environmental engineering courses could include the following:

• Waste Containment Technology: Focuses on aspects of waste management, including regulatory requirements, contaminant transport, and the design an operation of waste containment structures and landfills.
• Groundwater Hydrology: Emphasizes the role of groundwater in the hydrologic cycle, relation of groundwater flow to geologic structure, and management of contaminated groundwater.
• Planning for Sustainable Development: Focuses on sustainable development policy and planning, including topics on ecological modernization, international and intergenerational fairness, and democratic governance.

As with most engineering fields, it is possible to specialize within the environmental engineering major. Students are advised to choose courses most applicable to their future career paths.