Environmental Engineering (BS)

Environmental engineers have a wide-range of diverse career opportunities across a number of different industries. Graduates often pursue careers in the mining industry, the manufacturing industry, and oil and gas industry, and the chemical processing industry. Graduates may choose from a multitude of career tracks, such as environmental science and chemistry, hydrology and water resources engineering, water and wastewater treatment, site remediation, humanitarian engineering, and public policy and service.

The curriculum requires 131 semester credit hours, which breaks down as follows: 44 credit hours of mathematics and basic sciences, 48 credit hours of engineering topics, and 39 credit hours of general education requirements, such as economics, design, and the humanities.

For the first 3 weeks of summer after the junior year, students take an intensive 3-week course called Field Session. In this course, students collect environmental samples in the field, such as soil and water. These samples are then analyzed in the laboratory as a component of real-world environmental engineering project. This signature experience is unique to Mines.

Over the course of the 4-year curriculum, students have the opportunity to be exposed to a number of Environmental Engineering subfields, such as hydrology and water resources engineering, water and wastewater treatment processes, site remediation, chemical fate and transport in the environment, sustainable engineering design, pollution, prevention, and ecology. The curriculum culminates in a 2-semester capstone design course in which students apply their technical knowledge and skills to a real-world design project.

The curriculum requirements may be viewed in detail in the Undergraduate Catalog. The advising flowcharts below provide a quick snapshot of the coursework in the curriculum.

• 2024-25 Environmental Engineering Curricular Flowchart
• 2023-24 Environmental Engineering Curricular Flowchart
• 2022-23 Environmental Engineering Curricular Flowchart
• 2021-22 Environmental Engineering Curricular Flowchart
• 2019-20 Environmental Engineering Curricular Flowchart
• 2017-18 Environmental Engineering Curricular Flowchart
• 2016-17 Environmental Engineering Curricular Flowchart
• 2015-16 Environmental Engineering Curricular Flowchart
• 2014-15 Environmental Engineering Curricular Flowchart
• 2013-14 Environmental Engineering Curricular Flowchart

Please visit the CEE minors site.

Students can earn the Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering with as little as one additional year of study after their undergraduate degree at Mines.

The Civil & Environmental Engineering Combined undergraduate/graduate program allows courses at the 400 level and above, for the Mines degree programs listed below, to be used for double counting.  Students with uninterrupted registration from the time a Mines undergraduate degree is earned to the time a Mines graduate degree begins are eligible.  For eligible students whose courses meet these criteria, have been passed with a “B-” or better, and meet all other University, Department, Division, and Program requirements for graduate credit, up to 6 credit hours can be double counted, per the Mines Graduate Catalog.  Undergraduate Degree programs:

Civil Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Chemistry
Geological Engineering
Geophysics
Mechanical Engineering
Petroleum Engineering
Mining Engineering

Students from other Mines undergraduate degree programs should contact the CEE department to discuss course options for double counting.

For further information on this opportunity, contact Department Manager Kimberly Brock at kbrock@mines.edu

Prospective students are encouraged to attend Preview Mines (Fall Semester) and Discover Mines (Spring Semester). To register for a Mines’ information session and campus tour (and/or housing tour), please contact admissions@mines.edu. Additional information can be found on their website https://apply.mines.edu/portal/campus-visit.

Current Mines students interested in the Environmental Engineering program are welcome to set up an appointment with Dana Morrison at danamorrison@mines.edu.

The Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org/, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Environmental Engineering and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.

The Program Educational Objectives are:

1. Graduates will uphold the standards of Mines as critical and creative innovators, motivators, collaborators, communicators, and leaders.
2. Graduates will be successfully employed in engineering, science, or other impactful careers.
3. Graduates will engage in continual learning by pursuing additional educational opportunities such as advanced degrees, professional licensure, conferences, training, networking, and society membership.
4. Graduates will be ambassadors of their field, contributing to collective knowledge in industry, research, and society.
5. Graduates will demonstrate ethical and responsible behavior in their professional endeavors, adhering to established codes of conduct and promoting the well-being of society and the environment.
6. Graduates will address emerging world challenges by adapting to rapidly evolving technology and industry trends and remaining current and relevant in their respective fields.

The Student Outcomes are:

1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
2. 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.
3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgement to draw conclusions.
7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

The enrollment and graduation data for the Environmental Engineering program and other Mines programs can be found on the homepage of the Office of Institutional Research.