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Masters of Environmental Engineering 5-Year program

The Environmental Engineering Profession

Environmental Engineering is focused on the prevention and remediation of air, water, and soil contamination problems to reduce the risks to human health, water resources, and ecosystems. Environmental Engineering is a relatively new discipline that evolved from Civil Engineering and includes aspects of the sciences (Biology, Chemistry, and Geo­sciences) Professional opportunities exist in consulting engineering firms, in industries with significant environmental compliance challenges, and in governmental regulatory agencies. Environmental engineers apply physical, chemical, and biological processes in systems that remove and/or destroy pollutants in water, air, and soils and that reduce nonhazardous solid waste volumes. Specific assignments include provision for safe drinking water, treatment and disposal of municipal wastewaters, treatment and management of storm runoff, management of solid and hazardous wastes, and cleaning sites contaminated by hazardous materials.

Burgeoning national and global population growth will continue to exert demands for clean water, clean air, and environmentally sound disposal of waste materials. These demands will require the comprehensive knowledge and skills of environmental engineers to plan, design, and operate systems to achieve these goals efficiently and economically. The engineers’ role is vital in helping to both detect and identify the potential environmental problems, to implement procedures to correct these potential and existing problems, and to work to improve the quality of life in the 21st century.

The traditional route to the practice of environmental engineering has been by first obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering (BSCE), or one of the environmental sciences, followed by a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering (MSCE) with an emphasis on courses in the environmental engineering area. The MS degree often includes a research component resulting in a master’s thesis. The consulting firms that hire en­vironmental engineers have traditionally looked upon the master’s degree as an entry requirement. With this requirement in mind, a 5- year curriculum was designed to provide a highly competitive professional Masters in Environmental Engineering degree (MEnvE). The MEnvE allows a more concentrated preparation in environmental science topics pertinent to the practice of environmental engineering and emphasizes the design of facilities and practices to rectify environmental problems. This degree program differs from the traditional approach since a BSCE provides graduates with a broad based background across several of the subdisciplines of Civil Engineering and does not allow for specialization within the discipline. For example, at Texas Tech University, BSCE graduates receive course work in structural, geotechnical, transportation, water resources, and environmental engineering. The MEnvE program and the BS/MSCE (with environmental emphasis) programs essentially require the same number of credit hours and require many of the same courses. However, the BS/MSCE option typically requires six academic years because of its research component.


Master of Environmental Engineering (MEnvE)

The MEnvE program at Texas Tech University is one of eight programs in the United States in which students can directly earn an ABET-accredited Master of Engineering degree in Environmental Engineering. The MEnvE degree consists of successful completion of a 5-year “freshman-to-master’s degree” program adminis­tered by the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Texas Tech University. The program has been ABET-accredited at the advanced level, which qualifies the program graduates for reciprocal professional accreditation in Europe, Australia, and many foreign countries, and also qualifies them to pursue their

Professional Engineering License in Environmental Engineering. The MEnvE program is referred to as a professional degree program because the program stresses engineering practice rather than research. Students in the program have numerous opportunities for internships, summer jobs, and participation in research activities while in the program.

The first MEnvE graduates received their degrees in May 1997. Since that time, the MEnvE graduates have found employment with national Civil and Environmental Engineering consulting firms (such as Camp Dresser McKee, Montgomery Watson Harza, HNTB, and Kimley-Horn), petrochemical in­dustries (Exxon, Phillips), regional and local consultants, and government agencies. The program has received praise from the employers, as they are impressed by the depth and breadth of the coursework requirements. The employers are also pleased with the team design experiences that are provided in several of the Civil and Environmental Engineering courses. Those graduates who choose to pursue the Professional Engineer license are doing so according to the testing and experience requirements of their states’ professional engineering boards.

The curriculum, consisting of 160 hours of coursework shown on the following page, provides graduates with strong preparation in biology, chemistry, the engineering sciences, and in the specifics of environmental engineering. Students learn to apply the appropriate unit operations or unit processes to treatment systems for solving water or wastewater problem situations. These same systems are applicable to problems encountered in air, soil, and solid/hazardous waste management as demonstrated through advanced courses in these areas. The program strives to instill in each student a spirit of service and leadership and an appreciation of life long learning, as new technological advances and regulatory incentives crop up often. Development of leadership skills, an awareness of professional ethics, and participation in student organizations prepare graduates from the program for professional practice.

Students are formally admitted to the MEnvE program at the end of the second curriculum year after a review is made of the student’s progress. Transfer students can be admitted into the program. Those interested in transferring should consult with one of the MEnvE program advisors to identify courses that will directly transfer between institutions and programs. Each student meets with an assigned faculty counselor at least once a semester to review the student’s progress and academic effort. Students are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and must meet the University’s graduate school admission requirements before enrolling in graduate level courses. Those students who fail to meet the Graduate School guidelines are encouraged to complete the undergraduate curriculum through the fourth year and receive a non-accredited Bachelor of Science of Environmental Engineering degree. Students admitted to the graduate program must then adhere to the graduate school requirements to be eligible for graduation.

Laboratory and Research Facilities

The Environmental Sciences Laboratory (ESL) occupies nearly 4,000 sf of floor space with over 300 linear feet of workbench area with modern solvent, reagent, and radiation source storage areas. Stocked with standard meters, balances, centrifuges, ovens, furnaces, and specialized extraction and distillation glassware necessary for basic water quality examination, the lab also includes chromatographs with columns and detectors necessary to peform testing for a wide range of inorganic and organic compounds and an autoclave and an incubator for micro biological studies. The ESL has documented competence in all measurements of the standard water quality parameters as well as environmental contaminants.

Current Research

The faculty who teach the Environmental Engineering courses maintain an active research program that covers a wide range of current environmental issues. Total research in the Environmental Engineering area averages 1 .5 million dollars annually supported by Federal, State, and private organizations. Current research projects are being supported by DOE, NASA, TxDOT, USGS, Corps of En­gineers, USDA and

TCEQ. Faculty participate in a variety of State and National committees in both Professional organizations and Government. The research activity directly benefits the undergraduate and graduate education by exposing stu­dents to state-of-the-art technology and pressing national concerns.


Curriculum for Five-Year Environmental Engineering Program

Faculty Interest Areas

Clifford B. Fedler, Ph.D., P.E.: Water reuse systems, arid land systems, aquaculture engineering

W. Andrew Jackson, Ph.D., P.E.: treatment of hazardous compounds in the surface and subsurface, bio­logical treatment of wastes; environmental monitoring

Audra N. Morse, Ph.D: bio­logical treatment of wastes; environmental monitoring

Kenneth A. Rainwater, Ph.D., P.E., DEE: groundwa­ter hydrology, contaminant transport, water resources management; remediation of subsurface soil and water

R. Heyward Ramsey Ill, Ph.D., P.E., DEE: wastewater treatment, solid/hazardous waste management, air pollution control

Further Information:

Additional information on any of the civil engineering programs may be obtained by calling or writing: 

Glenna Andrews
Dept. of Civil Engineering
Box 41 023
Texas Tech University
Lubbock , TX 79409-1023
Tel: (806) 742-3523
Fax: (806) 742-3488

You are welcome to visit the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and its facilities and discuss career opportunities. We suggest calling beforehand to ensure that faculty advisors are available when you visit.

Texas Tech University is committed to the principle that in no aspect of its programs shall there be differences in the treatment of persons because of race, creed, national ori­gin, age, sex, or disability, and that equal opportunity and access to facilities shall be available to all.

"The MEnvE degree in Environmental Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050 , Baltimore , MD 21202-4012 - telephone: (410) 347-7700.”