Masters in Environmental Engineering

Environmental engineering makes one an expert in minimizing and managing waste, pollution in the air and harmful chemicals in water and soil. Environmental engineering is the study of the effect of human activity on the environment and involves the use of engineering principles to improve and maintain the environment. The US Environmental Protection Agency has identified 10 issues of concern in this matter. They are air, water, waste land clean up, health and safety, climate change, green living and sustainability, chemicals and toxins, pesticides, emergencies and agriculture. By focusing on these issues, environmental engineers improve and maintain the environment for the protection of human health and the ecosystem.

Ever since man stopped living nomadic lifestyles and started building settlements, core issues like waste and sewage have had to be managed. The first environmental engineers were found in our own past, i.e., during the Harappan civilization, where engineers conceived of a perfect system of grids and canals to move wastewater and sludge out of the city to sewage dumps outside. 

In today’s world, a graduate with a Master’s degree in Environmental engineering grapples not only with sanitation systems but new world problems brought about by climate change, scarcity of water and pollution. New advances in renewable energy and ocean thermal energy conversion make the Masters in Environmental Engineering courses one of the most sought after today. 

You will have noticed that many companies nowadays make a huge effort to become “green.” From mobile providers asking you to stop printing your bills to governments banning plastics, all these are efforts to make the earth greener and more sustainable. Quoting from Forbes magazine on this trend – “Environmental engineers are well positioned to profit from this trend. Demand is predicted to grow more than 25% over the next eight years, and many of these engineers will make well over $100,000 a year. Many environmental engineers work as consultants, helping their clients find ways to decrease the environmental impact of their projects.”

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Course Structure

A typical Masters in Environmental Engineering course takes two years to complete. The first year is normally dedicated to core engineering, while in the second year, you study the electives you want to specialize in. Most colleges demand at least 30 credit hours. 
The course structures of Masters in environmental engineering vary from college to college. The broad essentials which you will find in most colleges are:

Water resource management

Air quality and water chemistry

Environmental laws and policy

Environmental technology for sustainability

Sustainable Urban water systems 

In addition, many colleges offer varied courses in:

Energy Management

Renewable energy 

Ocean and Resources management

Marine Microbial Ecology

Solid Thermal and Biomass Engineering

It is best to choose that area of specialization which interests you and opt to go to that college which offers the course.

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Eligibility

To be considered for a Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering, you must have completed a four-year accredited Bachelor's degree, or its equivalent, and demonstrated strong academic achievement in an appropriate discipline. The degree must be either in Engineering, the physical sciences or applied mathematics. Other crucial requirements are as follows:

Minimum GPA of 3.0 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework

Minimum score on the General Aptitude portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Two letters of recommendation

Professional resume or curriculum vitae

A statement of purpose  

Appearing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is required for all international applicants not holding a degree from a United States post-secondary institution. The score requirements are:

Academic IELTS: an overall band score of 6.0 with no individual score below 5.0.

TOEFL: 550 on paper-based or 80 on Internet-based test.

Please note that you must not take the resume, letters of recommendation and SOP (Statement of purpose) lightly. The letters of recommendation should preferably be given by your tutors in college, and many colleges specify that they be sent directly by the person giving the recommendation. You may use this tool of ours to review your SOP. It is automated and hassle- free!