The Environmental Engineering Graduate Program focuses on fundamental and applied understanding of the processes that govern our natural and engineered environmental systems. The program of over 35 research and instructional faculty members and about 70 graduate students covers topics ranging from drinking and wastewater treatment, water re-use, ecosystem processes, fate and transport of contaminants, alternative energy, air quality, sustainability and global engineering.

For more information, visit the Environmental Engineering Program website.

The Environmental Engineering PhD Degree option is available to students who are entering graduate studies for the first time (i.e., with a BS or BA degree), as well as to those who already have a Master of Science (MS) degree. Many incoming PhD students will have degrees in engineering, although students from other fields, such as physics, mathematics, biology and chemistry are also routinely admitted and must acquire any missing coursework during the course of their PhD studies. Students graduating with a PhD from the CU Boulder Environmental Engineering Program are expected to have extensive fundamental knowledge in their field of study, in addition to being experts in their area of research.

At the time of application, PhD students may choose from four research focus areas to help guide the selection of courses. These are the core research areas of the EVEN program:

  • Air quality, energy and climate
  • Aquatic and terrestrial environmental systems
  • Drinking water, wastewater and water reuse
  • Global engineering and resilience, which is usually tied to the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Reslience

PhD Timeline

A PhD student entering without prior graduate coursework will take around five years, on average, to complete the PhD degree. However, it is not uncommon for students to finish earlier or later than this average. A student entering the PhD option with prior graduate coursework from another university may be eligible to
transfer up to 21 credit hours to CU Boulder and can typically finish in three to four years. A student who is working full-time in their field may take significantly longer to complete their degree. Regardless of the time taken to complete the PhD, the primary emphasis is on remaining at CU Boulder long enough to complete high-quality research that satisfies the requirements of the PhD dissertation and defense. If a student is nearing the completion of their 6th year in the PhD option, they are required to file a time-limit extension with the CU Boulder Graduate School via this online form. Please contact the graduate advisors for more information on requesting a time limit extension.

The major milestones of the PhD program include:

  1. Acceptance into the program
  2.  Preliminary exam (during the second year in the program)
  3. Comprehensive exam (after all coursework is completed and one year before the PhD defense)
  4. PhD defense

As the requirements towards the PhD degree are completed, PhD students will advance from preliminary exam status to post-preliminary exam status, then to post-comprehensive exam status. Milestones required to achieve each status are the following:

  • Pre-preliminary exam status (Pre-prelim): Students enter the PhD degree option with pre-prelim status and will typically remain at this status through their first three semesters at CU Boulder.
  • Post-preliminary exam status (Post-prelim): Completion of mathematical proficiency requirement and the oral preliminary exam. PhD students typically advance to this status during their second year at CU Boulder. This status is also sometimes referred to as “Pre-Comprehensive Exam" status.
  • Post-comprehensive exam status (Post-comps): Completion of the comprehensive exam and the course requirement, typically by the end of year four at CU Boulder.

Requirements

PhD students must complete a minimum of 30 graduate-level credits at the 5000 level or higher plus 30 research credits. In order to receive credit towards the PhD degree, students must receive a grade of at least B- in each course taken. Courses in which a grade below B- is achieved cannot be counted towards the PhD course requirement. Generally, courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis cannot count towards the PhD course requirement. Students must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA in order to be eligible for graduation.

​Applicants for this degree must demonstrate the capability for both rigorous academic accomplishments and independent research.

All doctoral students must have completed the environmental engineering core courses (6 credit hours), and a quantitative analysis class (3 credit hours). Coursework must be completed with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00.

Graduates of the department's MS program may transfer up to 30 credit hours of relevant graduate-level courses, pending program approval. Up to 21 credit hours of previous graduate-level work from another institution may be transferred with advisor and Graduate School approval.  

Transfer Credit

Note that students do not need an MS degree to be admitted to the PhD option, but students who already
have an MS degree, or have completed eligible graduate level coursework, may transfer up to 21 hours of
credits towards the PhD course requirements. More information is available on the Transfer of Credit
webpage from the CU Boulder Graduate School. To transfer credits, students must fill out and submit this
form to EVEN graduate program advising team. Students must also submit an official transcript showing
the credits they wish to transfer. If an official transcript with these credits was not submitted when starting
the PhD degree option, a new transcript will need to be submitted.

Note that requests for transfer credit can only be made after completing 6 credits of graduate level
coursework at CU Boulder with a 3.00 GPA. These requests should be submitted as soon after completion
of this 6-credit requirement as possible. Typically, this means that transfers of credit are processed during
the second semester of PhD study at CU Boulder. 

Preliminary Examination

All PhD students must successfully pass the Preliminary Exam, which is intended to assess the potential to successfully complete a PhD in environmental engineering. The objective of the exam is to evaluate a prospective PhD candidate’s understanding of aspects of the fundamental areas for environmental engineering and the need for additional courses or other actions that may bolster this understanding.

The Preliminary Examination emphasizes the fundamental topic areas that pertain to the student’s planned research topic. The goal is to have the students advance to their PhD Comprehensive Exam with an appropriate level of knowledge regarding their topic of research. The Fundamental Topic Areas in the Environmental Engineering Program are:

  • Contaminant fate and transport
  • Environmental chemistry
  • Environmental microbiology
  • Pollution control and treatment
  • Hydrology and water resources
  • Aquatic ecology
  • Environmental sustainability

Most of these topic areas can be applied to multiple environmental compartments (i.e., air, drinking/wastewater, natural waters, etc.).

Comprehensive Examination

The Comprehensive Exam entails preparation of a written Thesis Proposal (Comprehensive Proposal) and defense of the proposal before the student’s dissertation committee. An Environmental Engineering PhD degree requires depth of knowledge in the dissertation/research area, as well as breadth of knowledge across the environmental engineering curriculum. Consequently, the Comprehensive Exam is designed to test student knowledge of their proposed research area, and any general knowledge in the field. It is also intended to evaluate whether a student’s proposed research project is original and creative work, whether it will make a significant impact in the field, and whether it will qualify for publication in quality peer-reviewed journals.

The exam is also an opportunity to demonstrate an ability to present scientific concepts orally. In short, the Comprehensive Exam serves as the gateway to the next phase of the doctoral program: completion of a dissertation.

PhD Dissertation

In addition to coursework, PhD students are required to complete 30 PhD dissertation hours. Students are
not able to register for dissertation credits on their own. Thesis, dissertation, and independent study credits
can only be added by the Graduate Advisor with the approval of the faculty. Thesis and dissertation hours
should be requested via the Course Agreement Form prior to the start of the semester.

The following Graduate School rules apply to enrollment in dissertation hours and should be considered
when determining how many dissertation hours to register for each semester:

  • PhD students must be registered as full time, regular degree-seeking students at CU Boulder for a minimum of 5 dissertation hours during the semester in which they defend the dissertation.
  • A student may not register for more than 10 dissertation credit hours in any one semester, including summer.
  • A PhD student is required to register continuously as a full-time student for a minimum of five dissertation hours in the fall and spring semesters of each year, beginning with the semester following the passing of the comprehensive examination and extending through the semester in which the dissertation is successfully defended.
  • Prior to passing the comprehensive exam, PhD students are considered by the Graduate School to be full-time if they are registered for at least 1 dissertation credit per semester.

There is little advantage to a student registering for more than 30 dissertation hours during their PhD, and students should attempt to complete this requirement in the semester in which they defend. Please contact the graduate advisors for assistance with planning dissertation hour enrollment.

Time Limit

All degree requirements must be completed within six years of the date of commencing coursework.

Learning Outcomes  

By the completion of the program, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate and exercise technical training in core environmental engineering topics that form the foundation of modern-day environmental engineering problems and solutions.
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  • As independent learners, demonstrate knowledge of the scientific literature in environmental engineering topics, the ability to critically evaluate that literature, and the ability to synthesize that knowledge and critical evaluation in written and oral forms.
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  • Successfully design and conduct original research that answers questions of interest to the environmental engineering community and that employs appropriate research methods.
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  • Effectively communicate and present research to academic and public audiences.
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  • Demonstrate expert knowledge in environmental engineering and the ability to synthesize research results in the form of academic writing in peer-reviewed journal publications.