What Our Graduates Do
Many graduates with an Environmental Engineering degree continue their education at the finest graduate schools around the world.
They pursue Master of Engineering (M. Eng.), Master of Science (M.S.), or Doctoral (Ph.D.) programs in various related engineering disciplines, or they sometimes complement their engineering degrees with Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Doctor of Law (LLD) degree. Because of the requirements for coursework in biology and chemistry, the undergraduate major in Environmental Engineering is also an excellent choice for students interested in a broad range of environmental issues or in medicine.
Career opportunities for environmental engineering graduates cover the spectrum of private industry, public agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and educational institutions. Environmental engineers may work as designers, planners, operators of pollution control facilities and water supply systems, educators, consultants to private and public businesses, business owners, government regulatory agency officials, or even as elected officials.
In their careers, environmental engineers can engage in a wide range of activities: they can design systems to prevent, reduce, or repair environmental damage caused by human activities; they work to contain, reduce, or prevent hazardous waste, air pollution, and contaminated streams and groundwater; they design water treatment plants to deliver safe drinking water to municipal residents and also design pollution control systems for industries and cities to protect the environment and peoples from a range of possible emissions; they help in the reconstruction of wetlands and estuaries to preserve the environment and to maintain habitat for fish and wildlife. As our societies develop a sustainability focus, environmental engineers should be ready to focus and lead those efforts.