Environmental Engineering Minor

Environmental Engineering Minor

Look to the Future of Engineering and Design

Sustainable engineering projects are no longer a novelty. Instead, they represent the present and future of building and infrastructure design. This approach further helps preserve our world’s natural resources.

Looking to fuel this progress? Enhance your bachelor’s degree with a minor in environmental engineering. Take a step toward more responsible design. Improve our world for future generations while reducing humanity’s impact. Acquire a specialization and graduate with a Bachelor of Science plus an environmental engineering minor.

The environmental engineering minor is open to all students at Clarkson University, not already majoring in environmental engineering.

Why Study Environmental Engineering?

Environmental engineering has branched off from civil engineering. All engineers are encouraged to have an understanding of sustainability and responsible design.

  • Where is this knowledge essential? Learn to:
  • Responsibly develop water resources.
  • Reduce the effects of pollution.
  • Eliminate hazards and solid waste.
  • Develop structures and waste management solutions that minimally impact our world.
  • Preserve water, air and soil quality.
  • Spearhead projects that decrease global energy consumption.

Curriculum

  • Materials balances
  • Chemical engineering
  • Ecology
  • Microbiology and molecular biology
  • Water and wastewater treatment
  • Industrial ecology
  • Environmental systems analysis and design
  • Sustainable development engineering
  • Groundwater hydrology
  • Air pollution control

Review the full curriculum below.

Environmental Engineering Minor Core Requirements

Students are required to complete the following courses:

Core Courses

Complete one of the following:

  • CE340 Introduction to Environmental Engineering
  • CE380 Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering
  • CH220 Materials Balances

Capstone Experience

Students are required to complete a Capstone Design course with a specific environmental focus (such as CE490/1/2, MP401, AE451, CH420, EE412, EM456 or ME446) or environmental-related research (such as CE495, CE496 or ES443/4/5/6/7).

Science Courses for the Environmental Engineering Minor

Students must complete one course from each of the following areas:

Chemistry

  • CE487 Environmental Engineering Laboratory
  • CH210 Chemical Engineering Principles
  • CM221 Spectroscopy
  • CM241 Organic Chemistry I
  • CM371 Physical Chemistry I

Biology

  • BY214 Genetics
  • BY222 Ecology & BY224 Ecology Laboratory
  • BY320 Microbiology
  • BY330/EV330 Great Lakes Water Protection

Environmental Engineering Minor Core Electives I

Students must complete one of the following courses:

  • CE434 Sustainable Development Engineering
  • CE479 Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes
  • CE481 Hazardous Waste Management Engineering
  • CE482 Environmental Systems Analysis and Design
  • CE486 Industrial Ecology
  • ES432 Risk Analysis - OR - CE433 Human Exposure Analysis 
  • ES436 Global Climate Change: Science, Engineering & Policy 

Environmental Engineering Minor Core Electives II

Students must complete one of the following courses:

  • BY314 Bioinformatics
  • BY328 Conservation Biology
  • BY412 Molecular Biology Laboratory
  • BY425 Biological Systems & Environmental Change
  • BY431 Limnology & BY432 Limnology Laboratory
  • BY486 Molecular Biotechnology
  • CE430 Water Resources Engineering II
  • CE435 Groundwater Hydrology & Geochemistry
  • CE477 Atmospheric Chemistry
  • CE478 Solid Waste Management and Landfill Design
  • EHS406 Industrial Hygiene Control Methods
  • EHS416 Principles of Occupational Health
  • EV314 Adirondack Integrated Research Project

All Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering courses center around challenges and projects. See how environmental engineering principles help solve problems and work in the real world. This approach defines your capstone. Various co-curricular and extracurricular activities help you build additional experience.

Career Possibilities

An understanding of environmental engineering is an asset across multiple fields. Students with this skill set often get involved with:

  • Environmental compliance
  • Environmental process design
  • Environmental research
  • Project management
  • System modeling

Employers

Reflecting demand for this skill set, our 2023 environmental engineering graduates had an average starting salary of nearly $67,000. Opportunities exist in public agencies, environmental and government organizations, construction, industry, consulting or project management.

Clarkson environmental engineering students have been recruited by companies such as:

  • AECOM
  • Arcadis
  • Barton & Loguidice
  • Brown and Caldwell
  • Burns & McDonnell
  • CHA Consulting
  • D.A. Collins Companies
  • Environmental Design and Research
  • Flatiron
  • General Electric
  • KC Engineering
  • KLJ
  • Massachusetts Department of Transportation
  • Norfolk Naval Shipyard
  • NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
  • Parsons Corporation
  • Sterling Environmental Engineering, P.C.
  • Tri-State Civil Construction

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Contact Us

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Email: cee@clarkson.edu
Phone: 315-268-6529

Interested in learning more about the environmental engineering minor? Contact the Department today with your questions.

Student Perspective

Environmental engineering student Benjamin Girard combined his two favorite hobbies — tinkering and working outdoors — into a career path. In this video, he shares his plans to work in wastewater treatment and how Clarkson's strong connections with employers gave him a competitive edge.

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