Environmental Engineering Minor

Environmental Engineering Minor

Look to the Future of Engineering and Design

Sustainable engineering projects are no longer a novelty. Instead, they represent the present and future of building and infrastructure design. This approach further helps preserve our world’s natural resources.

Looking to fuel this progress? Enhance your bachelor’s degree with a minor in environmental engineering. Take a step toward more responsible design. Improve our world for future generations while reducing humanity’s impact. Acquire a specialization and graduate with a Bachelor of Science plus an environmental engineering minor.

The environmental engineering minor is open to all students at Clarkson University, not already majoring in environmental engineering.

Why Study Environmental Engineering?

Environmental engineering has branched off from civil engineering. All engineers are encouraged to have an understanding of sustainability and responsible design.

  • Where is this knowledge essential? Learn to:
  • Responsibly develop water resources.
  • Reduce the effects of pollution.
  • Eliminate hazards and solid waste.
  • Develop structures and waste management solutions that minimally impact our world.
  • Preserve water, air and soil quality.
  • Spearhead projects that decrease global energy consumption.

Curriculum

  • Materials balances
  • Chemical engineering
  • Ecology
  • Microbiology and molecular biology
  • Water and wastewater treatment
  • Industrial ecology
  • Environmental systems analysis and design
  • Sustainable development engineering
  • Groundwater hydrology
  • Air pollution control

Review the full curriculum below.

Environmental Engineering Minor Core Requirements

Students are required to complete the following courses:

See the course catalogue for current Bachelor's requirements and course numbers.

Course Catalogue

Core Courses

Complete one of the following:

  • Introduction to Environmental Engineering
  • Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering
  • Materials Balances

Capstone Experience

Students are required to complete a Capstone Design course with a specific environmental focus or environmental-related research.

Science Courses for the Environmental Engineering Minor

Students must complete one course from each of the following areas:

Chemistry

  • Environmental Engineering Laboratory
  • Chemical Engineering Principles
  • Spectroscopy
  • Organic Chemistry I
  • Physical Chemistry I

Biology

  • Genetics
  • Ecology & Ecology Laboratory
  • Microbiology
  • Great Lakes Water Protection

Environmental Engineering Minor Core Electives I

Students must complete one of the following courses:

  • Sustainable Development Engineering
  • Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes
  • Hazardous Waste Management Engineering
  • Environmental Systems Analysis and Design
  • Industrial Ecology
  • Risk Analysis - OR - Human Exposure Analysis
  • Global Climate Change: Science, Engineering & Policy 

Environmental Engineering Minor Core Electives II

Students must complete one of the following courses:

  • Bioinformatics
  • Conservation Biology
  • Molecular Biology Laboratory
  • Biological Systems & Environmental Change
  • Limnology & BY432 Limnology Laboratory
  • Molecular Biotechnology
  • Water Resources Engineering II
  • Groundwater Hydrology & Geochemistry
  • Atmospheric Chemistry
  • Solid Waste Management and Landfill Design
  • Industrial Hygiene Control Methods
  • Principles of Occupational Health
  • Adirondack Integrated Research Project

All Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering courses center around challenges and projects. See how environmental engineering principles help solve problems and work in the real world. This approach defines your capstone. Various co-curricular and extracurricular activities help you build additional experience.

Career Possibilities

An understanding of environmental engineering is an asset across multiple fields. Students with this skill set often get involved with:

  • Environmental compliance
  • Environmental process design
  • Environmental research
  • Project management
  • System modeling

Employers

Reflecting demand for this skill set, our 2023 environmental engineering graduates had an average starting salary of nearly $67,000. Opportunities exist in public agencies, environmental and government organizations, construction, industry, consulting or project management.

Clarkson environmental engineering students have been recruited by companies such as:

  • AECOM
  • Arcadis
  • Barton & Loguidice
  • Brown and Caldwell
  • Burns & McDonnell
  • CHA Consulting
  • D.A. Collins Companies
  • Environmental Design and Research
  • Flatiron
  • General Electric
  • KC Engineering
  • KLJ
  • Massachusetts Department of Transportation
  • Norfolk Naval Shipyard
  • NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
  • Parsons Corporation
  • Sterling Environmental Engineering, P.C.
  • Tri-State Civil Construction

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Contact Us

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Email: cee@clarkson.edu
Phone: 315-268-6529

Interested in learning more about the environmental engineering minor? Contact the Department today with your questions.

Student Perspective

Environmental engineering student Benjamin Girard combined his two favorite hobbies — tinkering and working outdoors — into a career path. In this video, he shares his plans to work in wastewater treatment and how Clarkson's strong connections with employers gave him a competitive edge.

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