The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers an undergraduate option in Environmental Engineering. Students taking the Environmental Engineering Option will earn an accredited BS in Civil Engineering, and the transcript and graduate certificate will indicate the Environmental Engineering Option.

What is Environmental Engineering?

Environmental Engineering applies engineering and scientific principles to protect human health and to maintain and improve ecosystems. Our graduates are trained to design, build, operate, and manage organizations and facilities that protect people and the environment.

Environmental Engineering is generally treated as an independent engineering discipline by the engineering profession.

• Engineers can now take the Professional Engineer (PE) license examination in Environmental Engineering.

• Several large professional societies specialize in Environmental Engineering (American Water Works Association, International Water Quality Association, Water Environment Federation, and Air and Waste Management Association). The American Society of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and American Statistical Society have Environmental Engineering divisions that cooperate and co-sponsor activities with these Environmental Engineering organizations.

The Job Market

The primary job market has been for environmental engineers at the MS degree level, and we expect this will continue to be the case. The large firms that specialize in environmental work prefer to hire MS engineers, and our program will continue to place a high priority on this kind of training. Nevertheless, a certain fraction of our BS graduates do environmental work, and many of them go on to graduate school to further specialize in this discipline. The option program will well serve these students.

The Curriculum

The option program differs from the current civil engineering curriculum in several areas. In the engineering core requirement, Transportation Engineering (CEE 370) is replaced with your choice of Hydraulic Engineering (CEE 316). Some courses for the applied engineering requirement must be selected from at least three of the following eight specialty groups: (1) water supply and water resources, (2) environmental systems modeling, (3) environmental chemistry, (4) wastewater management, (5) solid wastes management, (6) hazardous wastes management, (7) air pollution control engineering, or (8) occupational health engineering. The option also offers more flexibility in the natural science requirement. For your convenience, a PDF version of the curriculum is available for you to download.

Enrolling in the Option

You must have concurrent or previous enrollment in CEE 320 at the time you apply to the option. Because we have a limited capacity in our laboratory courses, we need to limit enrollment in the option to 15 students per year. If you wish to enroll:

Get an Option Declaration Form from the department office.
On the form, fill in the date, your name, ID number, and class/year.
Also on the form, indicate that you are declaring to join the Environmental Engineering (EV) Option.
DO NOT fill in the "change advisor to..." line on this form. This will be done for you if you are admitted to the option. If you are not admitted to the option, you will retain your current advisor.
Once the form is completed, sign the form and submit it with an unofficial copy of your transcript to Nanette Kelsey in 2205 Engineering Hall. If Nanette is not in, please submit your materials to her mailbox across from Room 1143 Engineering Hall.

Applications are accepted at any time during the year and decisions regarding admission to the option will be made prior to advising and preregistration in the fall and spring semesters. If the number of applications exceeds 15 students per year, admission to the option will be based on prior academic performance.

If you are interested in taking the option and are not yet admitted into the program, you are advised to follow the curriculum for the Environmental Engineering option. There are two exceptions to this advice - (1) follow the standard Civil Engineering curriculum when considering courses for the Natural Sciences Requirement, and (2) keep room in your senior year plans for CEE 370.

For more information, contact:

Gregory Harrington, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
E-mail: harringt@engr.wisc.edu

Copyright 2008 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System Date last reviewed: 19-Feb-2004 Date last modified: 13-Mar-2008 Date created: 19-Mar-1998 Content by: cee@engr.wisc.edu Accessibility Web services Thank you for visiting http://www.engr.wisc.edu/cee/current/undergrad/curriculum/spring98/enveng/overview.html