Environmental Engineering BS

As problem solvers for something as diverse as “the environment,” environmental engineers also need to understand the most current technologies used in practice and have a desire to maintain a high level of learning in this rapidly evolving field.

Drinking water and wastewater treatment are cornerstones of the environmental engineering field, and students' education in these areas is thorough. Turning river, lake, or even sea water into drinking water requires a unique expertise because each water source offers distinctive challenges. Air pollution is a growing concern on scales ranging from the global atmosphere to the indoor environment. From a fundamental understanding of the chemistry and dynamics of air pollution, students learn how human activities degrade air quality and also how to evaluate and design control technology to reduce emissions from industry and other sources. The geology of a location greatly impacts its water resources, and comprehension of hydrogeology is important to an environmental engineer. The amount and quality of water a geologic formation can produce can influence and limit development of a region. Subsurface hydrology can be the most critical aspect in remediation of contaminated groundwater. Sustainable infrastructure, in themes of energy and environment, is yet another challenge that environmental engineers will have the opportunity to address in their careers and our faculty are engaged in the S&T sustainability minor and teach the core coursework in sustainability at S&T.

The environmental engineering work place is diverse. Consulting firms represent a large portion of the work force and many specialize in areas of drinking water and wastewater treatment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state departments of natural resources, departments of health, and the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense all have positions that require a wide array of skills and expertise.

The courses and skills learned as an undergraduate student also provide preparation for graduate studies and advanced leadership roles. Many specialized positions require a graduate education. Within the Missouri S&T environmental engineering program, elective courses include topics such as water and wastewater; geo-environmental; air pollution and control; environmental chemistry and processes; environmental laws and regulation; and environmental microbiology and processes. Some courses are required in each of these areas to provide breadth, which allows graduates to interact with the wide range of professionals in this particularly interdisciplinary field. Project teams may include health care professionals, city planners, developers, and all types of engineers. Additionally, the ever-developing field of environmental engineering is saturated with legal issues, many of which are yet to have precedents or legal statutes established.