The professional master's degree (MSENV) in environmental engineering is a coursework-only program that offers possibilities for a range of prospective students.
Whether a prospective student is a working engineer or an undergraduate considering widening their exposure to areas of environmental engineering, we have program options to meet their needs. Prospective professional master's degree students may choose between three different tracks:
- Environmental engineering
- Water reuse
- Water engineering & management
For more information, visit the department's Curriculum and Courses webpage.
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): Integrated Design Engineering - Bachelor of Science (BSIDE).
Requirements
General Requirements
The following course requirements are subject to change; for the most current information, visit the Program's Curriculum and Courses webpage.
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 9 hours of relevant graduate level coursework may be transferred to meet the course requirements.
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.
Program Tracks
General Environmental Engineering Track
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CVEN 5464 | Environmental Engineering Processes | 3 |
| CVEN 5404 | Water Chemistry | 3 |
| or CHEM 5151 | Atmospheric Chemistry | |
| CVEN 5484 | Integrative Environmental and Molecular Microbiology | 3 |
| Air Pollution Control Engineering | ||
| Electives | ||
| Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| Drinking Water Treatment | ||
| Wastewater Treatment | ||
| Choose five additional electives in consultation with the student's faculty advisor. | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 27 | |
Water Reuse Track
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CVEN 5464 | Environmental Engineering Processes | 3 |
| CVEN 5484 | Integrative Environmental and Molecular Microbiology | 3 |
| CVEN 5404 | Water Chemistry | 3 |
| CVEN 5524 | Drinking Water Treatment | 3 |
| CVEN 5534 | Wastewater Treatment | 3 |
| Water Reuse Required Courses | ||
| CVEN 5594 | Water Reuse and Reclamation | 3 |
| CVEN 5834 | Special Topics (Water Reuse Planning and Implementation) | 3 |
| Elective Courses | ||
| General Water Reuse Track: | 9 | |
| Choose one of the following | 3 | |
| Water Resources System and Management | ||
| Special Topics (Advanced Water Treatment) | ||
| And choose two from the following or above: | 6 | |
| Water Profession: Communication and Utility Finance | ||
| Water Utility Management: Current Issues and Future Challenges | ||
| Environmental Organic Chemistry | ||
| Sustainable Engineering Design | ||
| Water Reuse Management Track | 9 | |
| Water Resources System and Management | ||
| Water Profession: Communication and Utility Finance | ||
| Water Utility Management: Current Issues and Future Challenges | ||
| Water Reuse Advanced Technology Track | 9 | |
| Special Topics (Advanced Water Treatment) | ||
| Sustainable Engineering Design | ||
| Environmental Organic Chemistry | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
Global Environmental Engineering Track
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CVEN 5464 | Environmental Engineering Processes | 3 |
| CVEN 5404 | Water Chemistry | 3 |
| or CHEM 5151 | Atmospheric Chemistry | |
| CVEN 5484 | Integrative Environmental and Molecular Microbiology | 3 |
| CVEN 5919 | Global Development for Engineers | 3 |
| CVEN 5939 | Global Engineering and Hazard Resilience Practicum | 3 |
| Global Engineering Series 1 | ||
| Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene | ||
| Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering (Household Energy Systems in the Global South) | ||
| Choose 6 one-credit modules from remaining Global Engineering Series offerings: | 6 | |
| Introduction to Humanitarian Aid | ||
| Disaster Risk Reduction | ||
| Refugees and Displacement | ||
| Special Topics for Seniors/Grads (Program & Project Management (1), Solution Identification & Proposal Development (1), Community Appraisal (1), Study Design & Impact Evaluation (1), Data Collection & Analysis Tools (1)) | ||
| Special Topics (Intro to Development Economics for Engineers (1), Intro to Global Health for Engineers (1)) | ||
| Electives | ||
| Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| Drinking Water Treatment | ||
| Wastewater Treatment | ||
| Air Pollution Control Engineering | ||
| Choose one additional elective in consultation with the student's faculty advisor. | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
| 1 | Global Engineering Series course options can be found on the Mortenson Center website. |
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.
- Effectively communicate and present their scientific knowledge to academic or public audiences.
- Function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks and meet objectives.