The Master of Science in the Environmental Engineering 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.
Master’s degree students in the CU Boulder Environmental Engineering Program take graduate courses and participate in research and/or project-based learning as part of three different degree choices, each leading to a Master of Science (MS) degree in Environmental Engineering.
- Professional MS option: This coursework-focused degree option emphasizes both project-based and curriculum-driven learning. It is targeted at working engineers and undergraduates considering, or already pursuing, a career in industry, but can also be completed with the ultimate goal of matriculating in a PhD degree option.
- Research-Based MS option: This option is intended for MS students interested in a short-term research experience, leading to the preparation and defense of a research-based thesis. The program emphasizes education through high quality research for students interested in careers in industry, the public sector and academia. In order to enroll in the research-based MS option, students must first secure a faculty advisor.
- Bachelor’s–Accelerated Master’s (BAM) program: Current undergraduate students in environmental engineering may pursue either a Professional MS or research-based MS degree through this option.
Many incoming MS students will have prior degrees in some type of engineering, although students from other fields, such as physics, mathematics, biology and chemistry are also routinely admitted and can acquire any missing background material during the course of their MS studies.
Bachelor's–Accelerated Master's Degree Program
Students may earn this degree as part of the bachelor's–accelerated master's (BAM) degree program, which allows currently enrolled CU Boulder undergraduate students the opportunity to earn a bachelor's and master's degree in a shorter period of time.
For more information, see the Accelerated Master's tab for the associated bachelor's degree(s): BSEV in Environmental Engineering
Requirements
General Requirements
The following course requirements are subject to change; for the most current information, visit the program's Curriculum and Courses webpage.
Students must complete at least 30 credit hours.
For students who have undertaken prior graduate study, up to 9 hours of relevant graduate-level coursework may be transferred to meet the course requirements for the MS degree, following the rules established by the Graduate School for transfer credit.
Degree Plans
Requirements for the Master of Science in environmental engineering can be fulfilled in two ways.
Plan I: Professional MS Degree Requirements
There are four tracks available to students pursuing the Professional Master’s Degree:
- General Environmental Engineering
- Air Quality, Energy, and Climate
- Water Reuse
- Global Environmental Engineering
All Professional MS students must complete the following coursework requirements to be eligible for graduation:
- 30 graduate-level credit hours must be completed with at least a grade of C in each course, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00.
- Elective courses determined in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor.
- For students who have undertaken prior graduate study, up to nine hours of relevant graduate-level coursework may be transferred to meet the course requirements for the MS degree, following the rules established by the Graduate School for transfer credit.
Plan II: Research-Based Master's Degree Requirements
Once a faculty advisor has been found, students may be admitted into the research-based master’s degree
option from the Professional MS, BAM, or EVEN PhD options. Research-based master’s degree students
should consult with their thesis and faculty advisors for course recommendations. Course selection depends
on a student’s chosen area of emphasis, which is chosen from the following five options:
- General Environmental Engineering
- Air Quality, Energy, and Climate
- Aquatic and Terrestrial Environmental Systems
- Drinking Water, Wastewater, and Water Reuse
- Global Engineering and Resilience
All research-based master’s degree students must complete the following requirements to obtain the MS degree:
- 24 graduate-level credit hours must be completed with at least a grade of C in each course, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00.
- Elective courses determined in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor.
- For students who have undertaken prior graduate study, up to 9 hours of relevant graduate-level coursework may be transferred to meet the MS degree course requirements, following the rules established by the Graduate School for transfer credit.
- A minimum of 4 and maximum of 6 semester hours of thesis credit, with a sum of course and thesis credit of at least 30 hours.
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Common Core | 6 | |
| CVEN 5464 | Environmental Engineering Processes | 3 |
| CVEN 5404 | Water Chemistry | 3 |
| or CHEM 5151 | Atmospheric Chemistry | |
| Emphasis Area | 12-18 | |
See list below | ||
| Electives | 0-9 | |
Elective courses will be determined in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor. | ||
| Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar | 0 | |
Two semesters of Environmental Engineering graduate seminar, a non-credit seminar requiring attendance at 2/3 of the seminars each semester for satisfactory completion. | ||
| Plan I: Thesis Option | 4-6 | |
Thesis Credits | ||
| Plan II: Non-Thesis Option | 6 | |
Additional elective or independent study credits | ||
Requirements for Recommended Emphasis Areas
General Environmental Engineering Emphasis
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CVEN 5484 | Integrative Environmental and Molecular Microbiology | 3 |
| MCEN 5131 | Air Pollution Control Engineering | 3 |
| CVEN 5524 | Drinking Water Treatment | 3 |
| or CVEN 5534 | Wastewater Treatment | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| CVEN 5537 | Numerical Methods in Civil Engineering | 3 |
| or CVEN 5454 | Statistical Methods for Natural and Engineered Systems | |
| Total Credit Hours | 12 | |
Drinking Water, Wastewater and Water Reuse Treatment Emphasis
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CVEN 5484 | Integrative Environmental and Molecular Microbiology | 3 |
| CVEN 5524 | Drinking Water Treatment | 3 |
| CVEN 5534 | Wastewater Treatment | 3 |
Select one of the following: | ||
| CVEN 5537 | Numerical Methods in Civil Engineering | 3 |
| or CVEN 5454 | Statistical Methods for Natural and Engineered Systems | |
| Total Credit Hours | 12 | |
Natural Waters Emphasis
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CVEN 5424 | Environmental Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| CVEN 5353 | Groundwater Hydrology | 3 |
| CVEN 5333 | Physical Hydrology | 3 |
| CVEN 5323 | Applied Stream Ecology | 3 |
| CVEN 5537 | Numerical Methods in Civil Engineering | 3 |
| or CVEN 5454 | Statistical Methods for Natural and Engineered Systems | |
| Total Credit Hours | 15 | |
Global Engineering Emphasis
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CVEN 5919 | Global Development for Engineers | 3 |
| CVEN 5939 | Global Engineering and Hazard Resilience Practicum | 3 |
| CVEN 5969 | Water Security, Sanitation & Hygiene | 3 |
| CVEN 5484 | Integrative Environmental and Molecular Microbiology | 3 |
| CVEN 5524 | Drinking Water Treatment | 3 |
| or CVEN 5534 | Wastewater Treatment | |
| or MCEN 5131 | Air Pollution Control Engineering | |
| Total Credit Hours | 15 | |
Air Quality Emphasis
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MCEN 5131 | Air Pollution Control Engineering | 3 |
| MCEN 5021 | Introduction to Fluid Dynamics | 3 |
| or CVEN 5313 | Environmental Fluid Mechanics | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| MCEN 5141 | Indoor Air Pollution | 3 |
| or MCEN 5161 | Aerosols | |
| or CVEN 5484 | Integrative Environmental and Molecular Microbiology | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| CVEN 5537 | Numerical Methods in Civil Engineering | 3 |
| or CVEN 5454 | Statistical Methods for Natural and Engineered Systems | |
| Total Credit Hours | 12 | |
Water & Engineering Management Emphasis
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CVEN 5564 | Water Profession: Communication and Utility Finance | 3 |
| CVEN 5574 | Water Utility Management: Current Issues and Future Challenges | 3 |
| CVEN 5584 | Water Profession: Leadership and Management | 3 |
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.
- Successfully conduct research that answers questions of interest to the environmental engineering community and that employs appropriate research methods.
- Effectively communicate and present research to academic and public audiences.